Found a Quilter

It's been a long time since my last update. I apologize for that. The good news is I have found a quilter that has the knowledge, the time and the technology to quilt Robyn's Gift quilts with phrases in the borders. I sent her a batch of 60 quilts to work on and they came out beautiful. This first batch I am calling the "Inspiring Hope" edition. I have a variety of sentiments around the borders that read "watch sunsets" "hold hands", " always keep a song in your heart" etc. My second edition will be named "Inspiring Faith". These quilts will have religious passages.

I have also made a custom quilt for "Swim Across America". "Swim Across America" is an organization made up of former Olympic swimmers, Master Swimmers and recreational swimmers, who raise money for cancer research. This year I am participating in the Dallas Inaugural Swim at Lake Ray Hubbard. I have chosen to swim the two mile open water swim. You can visit www.swimacrossamerica.org to read more about the event. The event directors asked if I would make a quilt for the raffle to raise more funds. The quilt is pictured above. I used the SAA color theme of red, white and blue. The phases are quilted in red thread with the letters of the top border are colored in using fabric markers. The top border reads "Swim Across America, June 11, 2011" with "Making waves to fight cancer". The side and bottom borders read:

"So many of our DREAMS at first seem impossible, then they seem Improbable, and then when we Summon the Will, they soon become Inevitable" Christopher Reeves

The quilt is backed with a soft fleece and quilted in white thread.

I am very excited about how my little quilt organization is moving along. It has taken a long time getting here. The biggest hurdle was finding a long arm quilter that had the machine and technology background to digitize text so the letters all ran smoothly together when quilted.

So until next time, just remember when life gives you scraps, make a quilt.

Made 4 quilts this summer

Made four quilts this summer. They all feature the same block and are custom made for each recipient either by color choices or theme.

This West Point quilt was made for one of my husband's classmates who has colon cancer.
This quilt features sunflowers given to the server at the country diner that I frequent for breakfast. She has an aggressive form of breast cancer.
This quilt is one of my prototypes once Robyn's Gift is launched. The white border is made of preprinted fabric that has inspirational words of family, dream, dance, laugh celebrate etc. I am hoping that I have found a quilter that will be able to quilt phrases in this border of the recipients choosing. This quilt was given to a family friend who at age 80 something has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Sponge Bob quilt was made for a high school friend of mine, who is not ill, but wanted to support Robyn's Gift. The outer border is a batik that looks like seaweed growing in a tropical lagoon. Thank you for taking a peek at some of my work.

Keeping my fingers crossed

It's been a while since my last entry. I have been researching trying to find a long arm quilter who can quilt text inside one of the borders of my quilts. I tried someone with a Compuquilter Long Arm and that didn't go very well. The lettering was skewed and they could not keep the phrase inside the border. That was a disappointing experience. I went through a period of having a defeated attitude.

While in NH, I stumbled on another quilter. I couldn't believe my eyes. She had a Gammel Long Arm machine and attached to it was an Intelliquilter. The Intelliquilter is basically a computer that is wired into your long arm so you can digitize your designs. I asked if she could text and she said YES. Hope is on the rise. I dropped off one of my prototype quilt tops and she is practicing on it. As it turns out, she has a group of quilters that come to her shop and they all have breast cancer. So she is going to ask each person if they had a quilt made for them what phrase or words would they want quilted in the border. She will practice with these phrases and learn the process of fitting the words inside the border. If she is successful and I hire her, this project could get very big and she may want to start thinking of help. She told me she already has that covered. WOW! She sounded very optimistic.

So I am keeping my fingers crossed while she is clearing her schedule to work on the sample top. I told her I have 70 quilt tops ready to be quilted and bolts of fabric for my next 100 quilts. Her eyes started to glaze over. I shared with her that my goal is to sell 500 quilts a year. That way I can donate $30,000 to medical research, prevention and finding cures. We were both very excited! I left her store with a skip to my step.

Breaking News on Ovarian Cancer Research

Here is a link about the latest news on Ovarian Cancer.

One of these days I will learn how to link something on my blog.

I might be able to quilt but I am certainly technology challenged.

http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/05/21/researchers-closing-in-on-ovarian-cancer-screening-method/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl9|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolhealth.com%2F2010%2F05%2F21%2Fresearchers-closing-in-on-ovarian-cancer-screening-method%2F

Quilt Making 101

When I came up with the idea of making quilts, I didn't really consider the process of how a quilt is made and the training involved. I have been doing it for so many years it seems natural for me. However for those who have never made a quilt it can be very intimidating. I have worked hard in simplifying the process for our vendors. I have chosen a pattern with all straight lines, minimal cutting and easy piecing. Thank God, I have my husband, Buzz, to help with all the calculating of fabric yardage needed to make the quilts in bulk.

To make a quilt the fabric has to be cut into strips,. The strips are sewed together, and then re cut into units. The units are sewed to make the repeat pattern otherwise known as the block. Once you have enough blocks made, they are sewed together to make the quilt top. The final step of the quilt top is adding the outer borders. Once the quilt top is finished you layer the top, batting and backing fabric like a sandwich and quilt these layers together. After quilting, the label is put on the back and the raw edges bound. So far our vendors have understood the process. Buzz and I have gotten many compliments on how well we have broken down the steps, with illustrations and examples for them to follow. They wish all their customers did the same.

The cutters and sewers were excited when the first test top was finished. At last they could see what all these pieces were going to look like as a whole. Production is moving along. The quilt tops are in the sewing stage. By the end of June they should be ready for quilting. The next few weeks I hope to have hired a couple of long arm quilters who will quilt and "write" the phrases in the white middle border. (see picture) I have some people in mind and it's a matter of working out some of the details. I am still having trouble finding the wide flannel that I would like to use for the backing of the quilt. I hope I do not have to fall back on a cotton fabric for the back. Flannel backs are so warm and cuddly.

After the quilts are quilted the next step is to attach a label to the back of the quilt. The label is an important part of any quilt just like a signature with a date is for a painting. At a minimum it states who the quilt belongs to, who made it and date. That way the quilt can be handed down to the next generation with a documented history. I am thinking of using an iron fuse fabric or maybe a transfer material instead of sewing the label. I am open to suggestions. If I use a transfer material, I can create a "picture" of a label, edit it with names and date, and then print it out on the transfer material, iron the transfer onto the back of the quilt. The process being similar to making t-shirts. I have to work on that. Otherwise the label needs to be sewn into the borders and tacked down so it wont tear away. If I have it sewn, it could be labor intensive. Each quilt would have it's own personal label. Trying to keep things simplified is difficult to do.

We still need to find out what the State of Texas Textile laws are for blankets. I know we need a material and care instruction label but I don't know if we need non-flammable batting. I went to a craft fair and spoke to someone selling her quilts. She did not have any care/material label and never worried about the non-flammable batting. HMMMM?

Looking forward to 2011 is very exciting. I have already started planning on making a quilt for men and children. Plus I am designing an "Americana" quilt for the armed services, police, and fire department heros.

It is occurring to me that people who purchase these quilts may not have a life threatening condition or may not know anyone who is. They just want a quilt that speaks to them. That's great too! The more quilts that are sold the more funding goes to medical research, programs, and education. I figured that if I sell 500 quilts in a year, I could donate $30,000 towards cures and preventions. Wouldn't that be amazing?!

In health,

Robyn

"Robyn's Gift" mission is to provide relief from the trauma associated with life threatening illnesses.

How Robyn's Gift was started

The idea for Robyn’s Gift has a special story. I had two important people in my life pass away within three months of each other. My good friend and fellow quilter, Harriet Pankratz, died of Breast Cancer in June 2007. That September, my cousin, Carol Bleecker, passed away from Ovarian Cancer. Both women were tenacious in their efforts involving cancer research and prevention. They both volunteered for testing new chemotherapy and radiation procedures. Carol took her passion a step further and advocated on Capitol Hill for there to be more funding legislated for Ovarian Cancer research, specifically to develop a blood test that would measure cancer markers.

Although Harriet and Carol had never met, they changed my life in a profound way. Harriet rekindled my love of quilting. She introduced me to a book titled “More Quilts for Baby” by Ursula Reikes, from which I draw my inspiration . I enjoyed many years quilting with Harriet, being her friend as she battled breast cancer for over 10 years. When I heard the news about Carol, I was shocked. Her battle lasted a short 18 months.

As I watched both women slip away from me I couldn't shake the feeling of helplessness. What could I do to help relieve the trauma these women were going through? When Carol decided to start hospice, I decided to get sewing. I made her an inspirational quilt using fabric printed with the teal ovarian cancer ribbon, and I used a hydrangea flower print knowing how much she liked hydrangeas. When I presented Carol her quilt, she threw off her flimsy hospital blanket and immediately wrapped herself up. She then declared that in lieu of flowers she wanted her urn wrapped with her quilt. I knew then that she loved her quilt. She remained bundled in her quilt till she passed. Carol's mother now keeps the quilt as a reminder of Carol's strength and spirit.

As I drove away from Carol’s funeral service, I wanted to do something in my friends’ memory. I realized that there are others like me in a constant state of grief and helplessness, wanting to help but not knowing how. I came up with the idea of starting a non-profit organization to sew personalized lap quilts intended for people fighting life threatening illnesses. Each quilt would have a quilted border of inspirational words to draw strength, hope and love from. The goal being to help find a cure by sending my profits to medical research. Thus, Robyn’s Gift was born.

Please share my story with other survivors and their families so that they may have a quilt to keep them warm. Together we can make a difference.

My prayers are with you,

Robyn Shiely

"Robyn's Gift" mission is to provide relief from the trauma associated with life threatening illnesses, one quilt at a time.

Getting Set Up

Getting set up to share the news about Robyn's Gift! Off to visit new blog friends!