A few days after the tsunami in Japan, I started praying for ways to help. I felt incredibly helpless, but I had to do something. I've rarely, if ever, had a tragedy strike me so personally, and I still don't know why this particular one should grieve me beyond any other, but it has.
It occurred to me then that there are many people - especially children - who have lost everything, and are homeless now. While Japan does a marvelous job of taking care of their own, what better way to show those people love than with handmade quilts?
Unfortunately, I had no idea how to get quilts to Japan, or even how many I could make. I am a very slow quilter (though I'm hoping with the new foot I just ordered for my sewing machine to be able to start quilting a bit more expeditiously!), and one person alone, even a very fast quilter, couldn't do much.
Then this morning I found the perfect place to send quilts through - they are collecting quilts from all over, so it's not just one person, and they have connections in Japan, so the quilts will have a local distribution center.
http://www.quiltersnewsletter.com/blogs/insideqn/2011/03/18/call-for-quilts-for-japan/
For my Canadian friends, if you don't want to have to ship to the US, I also found a Canadian group doing much the same thing.
http://www.quiltsforjapan.ca/home
If you are a quilter, and you've been looking for a more personal way to help Japan than just sending money, here's a great opportunity! They need the quilts by the end of April, so don't delay too long. I just bought fabric this weekend to start a spring quilt for Gracie, but I think that project will have to way just a little bit longer. She has a nice comforter on her bed already - the need in Japan is a bit more pressing.
Thankfully I have lots of scraps for quilt tops, and reams of fleece to use for backing (which also eliminates the need for batting - nice), so I shouldn't have too much difficulty in putting together one or two by the deadline.
Hopefully some of you will join me!
2 comments:
That is awesome! I'm not a quilter, but I think this is an awesome way you're helping/
Not a quilter, but to share an idea - for a college mission trip, a group I was in collected "gently used" t-shirts and made quilts out of them, cutting large blocks (10x10 or so?), usually featuring whatever logo or design was on the shirt and then piecing them out with solid blocks cut from the back. I thought it sounded kind of tacky, but the girls leading the project had good color sense and once they were arranged they were very cute - playful, colorful, and, since they were all knit, very soft and comfortable.
We took them to Mexico and distributed them to families - I remember in particular there was one with a big red Coca-cola logo right in the middle that was coveted by several of the native kids. They love Coke in Mexico, lol.
Anyway, just a thought to share around - it makes for a very economical way to help, since you can get old t-shirts at thrift stores for a song.
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