RAG QUILT GATHERING

Tess Buswell, Ceil Olmstead, Gloria Clair, Barbara Lovley, Judy Nichols, Crystal Parent, Sue Mornault, and Linda Stevens. 

My wonderful volunteers hard at work. 

 

I was truly blessed to have nine wonderful volunteers come to my home yesterday to make rag quilts. These ladies help me to make 27 rag quilts to be donated to our local cancer centers and outreach programs in the Northern Maine Community.

I have had to start using the hubby's garage to set up my sewing gathering as we are growing in numbers. I continue to see new volunteers at my gathering and I am so very grateful and thankful for this BLESSING!!

They donated their time without any hesitation. I just love these ladies. I could not continue to grow my chapter if it wasn't for them.

I try to make it a very easy and relaxed gathering. I have everything prepared for them ahead of time and have 4 sewing machines to share with those who do not have a sewing machine and would like to come to the gathering. 

• I purchase all the material
• Cut all the flannel into 10" squares
• I select the prints that coordinate with each other and put them into piles all ready with the count needed to make an easy design.
• I designed many pattern in microsoft excel of a rag quilt design and then print it off for them to refer to. I print off enough to have at each table. 
• At times I don't put them into stacks of coordinating fabrics so that they can create a more intricate print design as seen in the example below. I created A, B, C, D, E, F etc., 2" squares that they will place on the stack of different fabric prints when they are working with more than two prints. This was they can follow the pattern without having to lay all the blocks out. 

For example the pattern below calls for 5 prints to be used.

They would go up to the table that has the cut stacks of different fabric prints to choose from and pick out their prints.

I will have at least 3 - 4 rag quilt designs I created for them to also choose from.

They can then look at the design and place the letters on the stack of prints to coordinate with the pattern. 

Place a letter on top of the stack of prints you want that coordinates with the Rag Quilt design you are making. This makes it easier for them to complete their rag quilts and lets them keep all their prints in stacks. They can look at the pattern and pull the print from the stack that has the matching letter card to the block in the rag quilt design.

So for the example rag quilt design above they should have five stacks of five different prints. 

Try a gathering at your own home to make rag quilts for your local cancer centers. With the colder season approaching us here in Northern Maine, this makes a perfect gift for a cancer patient.