Rag Quilting for Project Linus

Three snuggly quilts await new homes

Many moons ago, I undertook a rather large charity project, and since I began that project, I have made over 200 rag quilts. I chose to make rag quilts for my project because rag quilting is, quite simply, the easiest and silliest blanket-making method that I've ever seen, resulting in the most delightfully snuggly blankets imaginable. If you can cut on a straight line and sew on a straight line, you can make a rag quilt! It really is that simple. If you want to learn more about it, Wendy Bernard has written an excellent tutorial which you may download for free right here. Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yes, the charity project. Well, we finished that project, we actually did! Almost 250 quilts in less than a year by no more than three sewers. . .I'm still quite proud of that, let me tell you! But I was saying, after we were finished with that particular project, I had a few quilt squares left over. About 15 blankets' worth, in fact. Those squares, they sat and they sat and they sat and they sat. For about three years, they sat. I even had to move those big trash bags full of quilt squares from Florida to Kansas, and still they sat. I'd promised myself that I'd finish them up and donate them to some kind of charity, but see, after that Big Project, I thought if I never saw another Quilt Square, it would be too soon. Fast-forward to April, this year. One of my LYSs here in Kansas City hosts charity drives throughout the year, and they announced that the second-quarter charity would be benefitting Project Linus. If you've never heard of Project Linus, you should definitely give that link a visit, because they are a most worthy charity organization which has brought comfort and warmth to almost 3 and a half million children through the gifting of handmade blankets. If that doesn't just blow your mind, well. So you know what I did? I hauled those big bags of quilt squares out of the basement, dusted them off, opened them up and got to quilting! I've already donated 10 so far, and I have only 3 left to finish up before this Sunday's deadline.

I'm curious: How are you using your talents, whatever they may be, to benefit those less fortunate than yourself? I'm not talking about just giving money to charities, here - I'm talking about getting down in the trenches and really doing something. Do you volunteer at a soup kitchen? Knit caps for preemie babies? Crochet prayer shawls for the sick? Perhaps you volunteer your time regularly at an organization like The Ronald McDonald House or Heart Gallery of America (which, by the way, is awesome and I just heard about the other day). Share with me! How are you changing the world? :)