2016 Christmas Quilt Project

We are thrilled to announce our 2016 Christmas Quilt Project. This year we will be distributing Christmas Stockings to babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Special Care Nursery in hospitals throughout WA.

We are grateful to Amy Smart who blogs at Dairy of a Quilter in providing permission for us to use her 'Easy Quilted Stocking Tutorial'. You can find the instructions to make your Christmas Quilt here.

Last year we were overwhelmed by the generosity of the public, we had donations from all over the country and stopped counting Christmas Quilts when we reached 1000! Please don’t let that deter you as the more we receive, the more we can distribute!

We have set out the guidelines below to assist everyone in the administration of the project. Tiny Sparks WA is completely volunteer run and most of have children and work so we’d be really grateful if you could please read this information carefully before contacting us.

FAQS

  1. Can I deviate from the instructions/patterns/specifications? – No, we ask that you follow the instructions carefully. They have been set out for a reason. The hospitals have very specific guidelines about what can be around the babies in the NICU and SCN.
  2. What material should I use? – 100% cotton (or very close please). No flannel.
  3. Should I prewash the material? – Either way is fine please.
  4. What cotton should I use? - Cotton or poly/cotton blend is fine.
  5. What designs can the material have? – Anything that is in the Christmas spirit, please make sure the design is child appropriate.
  6. Can I add a personal touch to the stocking? – Yes! Embroidery and applique is fine.
  7. Can I add my name, sewing tag to the stocking? – Yes, we just ask that you keep it small.  
  8. Can I contact you to make some other arrangements? Given the volume of donations we handle we cannot make individual arrangements.
  9. Will I get a personalised response about my donation? We will attempt to acknowledge all donations sent in, although are only able to do so if you provide us with your name and email address clearly written inside your donated quilt project package. We are unable to post a response due to limited resources. Please allow for up to a month for us to acknowledge any items posted or hand delivered.
  10. How many stockings can I make? – We would prefer that each person make no more than 10 stockings each.
  11. Do you need Christmas Quilts for 2016? – No, we have some reserved from last year which will be distributed along with the Christmas Stockings.
  12. What else can I sew for you? – We need sewers and knitters all year round. If you’d like to help further, please see the details here.

When and how can I get my donation to you?

  1. We ask that all donations are received to us by 30 November 2016. This will enable us time to sort and send out donations state wide in advance of the Christmas postal rush. Any donations received after this time will be put aside for next year.
  2. You can post your Christmas Stocking to us at:
    Tiny Sparks WA, PO Box 1114, West Leederville WA 6901.
  3. Please note that any old addresses that you may have are no longer suitable for donations.

If you have a question that has not been answered in the above, please email us at admin@tinysparkswa.org.au It may take us 48 – 72 hours to respond to you. 

Volunteering Busy Bee

Tiny Sparks WA invites you to our 'Volunteering Busy Bee', where just one or two hours of your time could make a lasting impact to a family embarking on a difficult and uncertain journey. Various activities associated with our Care Package and gifts programmes will be the focus of our morning; we look forward to seeing you!

Morning tea will be provided for our generous volunteers and the Busy Bee can also be utilised as a drop-off point for donated items (e.g. knitted/Sewn items). For catering and venue capcity requirements it would be appreciated if you could register your interest via this link.

Activtieis include:
- Packaging of Mothers' Day Gifts
- Assembling Care Packages
- Packaging inkless hand & foot print kits
- Cutting donated fabrics to size
and more!

Quilters Needed - Christmas Quilts

We are looking to provide 200 Christmas quilts to neonatal nurseries right across Western Australia and need your help!

Jill of Patchwork Place in Albany has kindly designed a pattern for us to share with our sewers and hope that they might join them in creating some beautiful memories. You can download the instructions here, or find them below.

You can post or deliver items to Tiny Sparks WA, PO Box 1114, West Leederville WA 6901.

We would appreciate if they could be sent in by the 4th December to allow us time to put together and send off to the metro and regional hospitals.

Update: Thankyou to all of the generous quilters across Western Australia and even the rest of Australia who have contributed to this program and answered our request for assistance! We have been overwhelmed with the response and surpassed the 200 quilts requested. Make sure you subscribe to our blog and 'like' our Facebook page to keep up to date with all things Tiny Sparks WA and for news of next years project! Original blog and request below FYI)

 


Christmas Quilts for Tiny Sparks WA

 

Size 16" x 24"
 Or
41 cm x 61 cm

Requirements

Piece backing approx. 18" x 26"  (45cm x 65 cm) - white or cream
Piece 100% cotton light weight batting/wadding same size as backing piece.
Small amounts of Christmas coloured fabrics.

Suggestions

Any basic 4"  or  8" block pattern

No borders.
Keep blocks simple.
Avoid using yellow or gold.
Use conventional quilt binding or a commercial satin or pre-made binding or finish by “bagging” then turning through to right side. Top stitch around edge if using last method.
100% cotton fabrics (though not essential) are easier to work with.

A - Basic 4" Block - Total of 24 squares cut 4 ½" x 4 ½ "  in Christmas colours

  1. Arrange design into 6 rows of 4
  2. Join together into rows with ¼ " seam.
  3. Press seams in row 1 to the right, in row 2 to the left, row 3 to the right etc
  4. Join the rows together.
 
Basic 4" Block - 2 alternative designs

Basic 4" Block - 2 alternative designs

 

B - Basic 8" Block - Cut 6 squares 8 ½" x 8 ½ "in at least 2 Christmas colours.

  1. Sew into 3 rows of 2.
  2. Press seams in alternating directions then join rows together.
 
Basic 8" Block

Basic 8" Block

 

Finishing Quilts

  1. Lay the backing right sides down, place the wadding on top and finally the pieced top right sides up. Pin together and quilt.
  2. Prepare binding by joining the 2 bits end to end with a mitred (angled) seam.
  3. Press in half lengthways. Sew onto the right side of the quilt having ALL raw edges level. Mitre the corners as you sew.
  4. Trim off the excess from the edges.
  5. Handstitch the folded edge of binding over onto the back of the quilt.

Finished Quilt created by Jill of Patchwork Place, Albany