Celebrate! Good Stitches

 

It's time to Celebrate!

do. Good Stitches {a charity bee} has been making modern quilts for charity since it began as just a few quilting circles summer of 2010.  We're combining the fun and community of a virtual quilting bee with a wonderful reason for being - to bless and serve those in need with a tangible expression of love.  Our bee is composed now of 21 circles, each circle made up of 10 sewists.  Each month each circle works together to make a quilt for their chosen charity.  This all happens over at Flickr, a free online platform for sharing pictures that's also great for organizing groups. If you're active on Flickr and enjoy quilting in a modern style, why don't you join us?  Next year, we'll be celebrating you!   

Meanwhile, there is a way for non-bee members to join our party via the Charity Drive.  Also retired do. Good Stitches quilters are eligible for the Quilter's Grand Prize.  Just scroll down for details...

So what is Celebrate Good Stitches?  It's an end-of-the-year bash to celebrate and encourage our members in their work.  The bee only exists because so many folks have volunteered their time and fabrics on an ongoing basis to make blocks and do the hard work of quilt-finishing and crucial leadership.  I know that the quilters especially can use some extra momentum to finish up quilts!  Celebrate Good Stitches is a chance to give a shout for what we've accomplished and award prizes to all types of do. Good Stitches members.  Here's how:

Members Awards

Every pair of hands deserves our thanks.  I wish I could pass out prizes to all 210 beautiful people who currently make up this bee!  Happily some very generous souls have agreed to do the next best thing.  To make sure that everyone feels the love, Members Awards will be randomly bestowed upon 1 member from Every Circle.  That's a lot of prizes and they're good too!  

Julie at Intrepid Thread is providing $25 gift certificates as Members Awards for the Love circle, Faith circle, Hope circle, Joy circle, Peace circle, Bliss circle and Inspire circle.  Thank-you, Julie, for jumping at the chance to encourage our bee with these gifts!

The team at Fat Quarter Shop is providing $25 gift certificates as Members Awards for the Grace circle, Cherish circle, Harmony circle, Trust circle, Empower circle, Dream circle, and Imagine circle.  Fat Quarter Shop is always so generous to the online sewing community.  Thank-you for being a blessing to our bee!

Kathy at Pink Chalk Fabrics is providing $25 gift certificates as Members Awards for the Care circle, Heal circle, Believe circle, Wish circle, Cheer circle, Happiness circle and Promise circle.  Thank-you, Kathy, for stepping forward to give generous gifts of celebration to our members.  

The Members Awards gifts will be randomly bestowed on December 11th!  All members currently active in the bee on that date will have a pretty good chance to win!  


Best of 2012

Alright, now let's have a little fun.  This prize goes to the whole circle whose quilt is voted best of 2012.  Yes, that means every member of the winning circle gets a juicy prize, this time sponsored by Marmalade Fabrics.  But first, the details...

On December 1st the host of each circle will facilitate a private, inner-circle vote to determine which quilt the circle will present as their personal best of 2012.  Circles must choose from quilts that they finished in 2012, regardless of when they were started.  That means you have time to finish your favorite quilts that aren't quite complete.  Get them done before Dec. 1st for a chance at Best of 2012.  After the circle of 10 members vote, each circle host will notify me of the circle's representative quilt.  

All 21 quilts (one representing each circle) will be presented at Stitched in Color on December 11th for voting.  The general public (both bee members and all readers) will vote to select the overall Best of 2012 quilt.  Current members of the winning circle will each receive



a gorgeous Bottled Rainbow Fat Quarter Set, plus 1 yard of a Kona neutral of your choice!!!  Marmalade Fabrics is providing all 10 prizes, featuring quality Kona fabrics in my personal rainbow of choice (updated with new Kona colors this summer).  The Bottled Rainbow Fat Quarter Set includes 16 fat quarters.  



Add to that your favorite Kona neutral and you'll be quite set for a stunning quilt!

Can we say THANKS to Marmalade Fabrics!  Tammy at Marmalade knows that we modern quilters heart solids.  She stocks a very nice selection including crossweaves and Essex.  I was totally stoked when she offered this amazing prize!!!

Quilter's Grand Prize

Ok, this one's my favorite!  Earlier this year I received a roll of Warm & Natural batting from The Warm Company.  It made me soooo happy.  So, soooo happy.  Everytime I baste a quilt, I totter through the house like a penguin carrying this gigantic roll to my sewing room.  It's perfectly delightful.  I can't think of a better gift to give any quilter.  Because we all love our fabric, but we need our batting!



The Quilter's Grand Prize is your motivation, oh quilter, for finishing that bee quilt now!  Each do. Good Stitches quilt finished in 2012 by December 10th qualifies as an entry into the Quilter's Grand Prize drawing.  Finished means quilted and bound!  If you finished a qualifying quilt in 2012 but are no longer active with do. Good Stitches, you can still submit your quilt for this drawing!

On the 10th, I'll open a link party here at Stitched in Color for all finished in 2012 do. Good Stitches quilts.  More quilts?  More chances to win!  And, if you finished a quilt for another member (i.e. someone passed you the blocks or quilt top) then you're the quilter who earns a chance to win!

Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing our year's work gathered in one place.  I think it'll be encouraging for all involved, just to enjoy that sight!  On December 11th one quilter's number will be randomly selected from the pool of 2012 finished quilts to receive her choice of Warm & Natural or Warm & White batting in a gigantic (and quite valuable) 90" wide, 40 yard roll.  And you'll be set to make a whole lot of quilts!  Some, no doubt, for charity.

The Warm Company makes lots of great products, but their low-loft Warm & Natural batting is my top recommendation for batting.  It's affordable, soft and durable.  I use it for machine and hand quilting with happy results!

But what if I'm not in the bee?  Well, I bet you do good stitches too.  So, here's a chance for you to join in!  Finish 1 quilt for charity between now and December 10th and you'll be entered to win the Charity Drive prize sponsored by Mad About Patchwork.  We'll have a link party for Charity Drive quilts on December 10th.  And, we'd love to see what you've created to bless others via your chosen charity.  If you're not sure where to donate, consider Project Linus (for seriously ill children), Wrap Them in Love (for children in poverty), My Very Own Blanket (for foster children), Alternative for Girls (for homeless and high-risk girls) and Threading Hope (for children in poverty).  

Mad About Patchwork will gift an 18-piece Winterkist Fat Quarter bundle to one lucky quilter who makes a quilt for charity finished between November 1 and December 10.  Pam at Mad About Patchwork ships out of Canada. This prize is open internationally!


I am very grateful to each of these fabric shops who is generously supporting charitable quilting.  You know that we're going to use those gifts to keep that cycle of fabric and quilt running along! Thank-you sincerely!

I think this is going to be a whole lot of fun!  I hope you do too!  Please spread the word about our Charity Drive, as I'm sure there are lots of people who want to do. Good with their quilting but don't have the time to devote to ongoing bee work.  And, of course, we want all do. Good Stitches members past and present to feel the love!

Let's Celebrate!