A Baby Quilts Journey- From the Meeting to the Baby!

Chloe delivering the December batch of quilts to the hospital!

Most people know I love my quilt guild. I mean really love, these ladies are pretty much the most talented caring group I have ever been with. This year I stepped up to become the baby quilt coordinator (I have the best little job!).

OK, so here is the small part I play (the quilters who make all those quilts are the stars! I make a few every month myself)

Step 1 - You bring the quilts to me! Find me at the guild meetings the first Monday of every month, I will be sitting at a table with a pile of little quilts on it. I put them in a bag at the end of the meeting and bring them

                                  home! 

 (I may not be dancing on the table, but you get the idea!) 

Step 2- Now I take all the quilts and wash them. This step is important because during the washing process any 

seams that aren't secure will show and I can fix them before donating them. It also ensures that the quilts and clean, I wash them with special baby detergent I use with my own baby. I will put the quilts in the dryer with a dryer sheet to remove static. This static is unwanted in the incubators with the babies.

Step 3 - Next step is to get that baby to bed so I can sit down with a cup of tea and check the quilts for imperfections that I can fix with some stitching. I will attach labels to quilts that have not been labelled by their makers. (No my dog Bella is NOT allowed near the quilts, but she wanted to be in the photo )

Step 4- Now I take our perfect little quilts and I give them a quick and light press to make them nice and smooth (they can get a little too wrinkly in the dryer) . Its my last chance to check for any opened seams or missing labels. 

It is best to watch something like Downton Abbey during this step. I find it helps ;) 

Step 5-  Now it is time to stack all the quilts in a nicely folded pile and then get them into blue plastic leaf bags (never use garbage bags). 

Step 6 - Now I go get the baby, she is probably done her nap by now. 

 There she is! 

Step 7 - Last step is to pick up the kindergartner from school, get the husband from work and head into the Civic hospital. I take the quilts up to the fourth floor ( very quietly, babies are sleeping ) and head to the Special Care Nursery. 

Then I speak to the nurse at the station, they are always excited to see those quilts!

At this time my daughter tends to peak through the window at the little babies with their families (often snuggled in last months baby quilts!) 

The nurses are always so friendly with my daughter and show her the little babies and thank her for her help. 

By now I thank the nurses for their time, give a friendly wave and put that family back in the car, and grab some dinner. 

Repeat each month!

Thanks for stopping by! I hoped this enlightened anyone who was wondering how the whole thing works :) 

To read some great testimonials from nurses and families who received your quilts, click here: 
http://www.slbsewing.com/quilt-stories-updates

Make a baby quilt! <3 

Why Every House Needs a Guinea Pig!

Long time no writing! This season my baby turned one year old and we are back online, back to sewing, back to exploring.

This year I would love to recycle more. I have always loved nature and animals since I was a small child. My love for preserving this planet and making it better for my children is something I really feel strongly about.

I feel like I am not the only quilter with this mentality. Quilting is recycling. Quilting started as a way of using up old fabrics and turning them into something that was a necessity. Warm blankets were needed, fabric is expensive, voila. This is recycling at its finest (no blue bin looks as pretty as a quilt). I try to apply this idea of waste nothing to all of my life.

A way I have embraced this is best shown in our holiday traditions. Instead of buying new decorations every year for whatever holiday, I will go around the house and grab things that could apply and just group them. I make quilts from scraps and hang them at a certain holiday, my kids look forward to these pieces, they become heirlooms, and create no waste while being festive. 

 Also, I love tidiness and organization as much as I love my holistic eczema creams and handmade shampoos in recycled plastic bottles. This year we received a new filing system for Christmas and I couldn't wait to label and sort and group.While sorting, I ended up with a huge pile to shred but before I tossed all that shredded paper away, I realized something.

I realized every house needs a guinea pig! No, I'm not joking. I may be a bit allergic but that doesn't stop me from having one of the cutest rodent creatures in my living room. Not only is this little guy a squeaky friendly, never bites, great with kids little friend... but he is a GREAT recycler! 

Let me explain, Mr. Guinea Pig lives on shredded paper, and eats a large amount of leftover food. Whenever we clean out the fridge he gets all the fruits and veggies he can handle. He eats pretty much anything and he eats it fast. When he eats these, he eats his kibble less, taking less money to house him as well. He sleeps on shredded scribble drawings and junk mail. 

We may not live on a farm, but I would like to adopt a more old school farmhouse philosophy. Waste nothing. No fabric thrown away, mend instead of replace, and don't waste any food. 

Happy Making <3