The Hardest Part is Just Sitting Down and Getting Started

I can't tell you how many times over the past months I've thought "I should go downstairs and blog", a thought immediately followed by "I will, I'll do that after a while".  And of course I never did.  Until today. 

 

I have actually been stitching, and I've had a couple of finishes, although I expect I've had the finishes because I've been under a deadline for both of them.  The stuff I've been working on for ages -- still unfinished.

 

The pieces I've finished have been quilt squares, and there's a little bit of a story behind them.  Back last winter, I had seen articles in a couple of the cross stitching magazines about organizations that make quilts for nursing home residents and for children with life-threatening or life-altering diseases.  The articles were interesting, and tucked them in the back of my mind.  Then, on the Saturday before Easter, we lost my dad.  He had been hospitalized in ICU for a couple of weeks after complications during a heart valve replacement procedure, and we had just taken him to hospice when he passed away.  Even though he was only at hospice very briefly, the nurses there gave us a lap quilt; every patient who comes to the hospice there gets one.  They're made by a group that stitches them specifically for hospice.

 

I don't quilt, but I remembered the magazine articles I had read, and I realized that this might be a way for me to pay it forward.  One group is called World of Charity Stitching, and they make quilts for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities.  They also do tote bags and stitched bookmarks.  The first piece I stitched for them was for a travel-themed quilt; I found this map of Ireland on etsy:

 

I also found a group called Love Quilts USA.  They make quilts for children who have life-threatening or life-altering illnesses.  I've done one block for them so far; it was for a Christian-themed quilt, and I found this design on-line (don't remember where). 

Love Quilts also has a branch in the UK, and I'm working on a square for them right now.  I'm a slow stitcher, so I do have to set myself some rules.  I can only do one at a time.  I also only stitch themes that I enjoy stitching.  For example, if the requested theme is superheroes or Disney princesses, I'll probably skip that one in favor of something that I like to stitch, like butterflies or cats or flowers.  That may sound a little selfish, but there are generally a variety of themes available and lots of stitchers who want to stitch pieces for the quilts.  I don't want to give someone a piece that I hate.

 

I've added links to the web sites, if anyone is interested in checking them out.

 

Once again, I'm going to try to get back into the blogging groove.  I've made progress on some of my WIPs since I last blogged, so I'll try to get some pics of those posted next week.

 

Happy stitching, everyone!