Saturday was the annual pillowcase making day at Country Piecemakers Quilt Guild. Our November meeting has been dedicated to making cases for Ryan's Case for Smiles, the new name for ConKerr Cancer, for the last seven years. Wow! A group of quilters that generally number 42 to 43 members have cranked out 2243 pillowcases in that time. In reality only 20 to 25 members show up at any one meeting and this past week was lower than normal with 19. And, yep, less could stay to work on the pillowcases.
But our pillowcase leader was well organized and we all buckled down to make cases. C announced that we made 100 pillowcases on Sat. This year alone we made and donated 400 pillowcases. C has a dedicated closet to pillowcases and fabrics for pillowcases. She announced it was bare. Time to restock as all of these pillowcases have been given to the organization for distribution.
Some of us used sergers, others used regular sewing machines. All the cases were made with French seams. A group of gals ironed, turned, pinned and carried cases from ironing boards to sew machines. We were a well oiled machine!
Knowing I'm seeing a guild member tomorrow, I decided I was going to make a pillowcase to help restock the closet. I can't make the December meeting and who knows what the weather will be like in January but at least one lonely pillowcase will start the restocking of the closet. And, I'm down a yard of fabric. Did I mention we are meeting at the local quilt store with every intention to look at buying some fabric? (And, yes, long time readers -- eventually I'll figure out my fabric usage and purchases/acquisitions since I last reported. I know I've been going pretty crazy on the purchases.)
I know I've made at least one, possibly two baby quilts out of this fabric. I still have some left and I'm thinking of fussy cutting the musicians to make Happy Blocks. That is any easy pattern to make and perfect for donation quilts.
Do you want to make a pillowcase or two? They are great for gifts for the grands or for donations to various organizations. I used directions from Craftsy but used the guild's measurements. We use 26" for the main case, 10" for the cuff and 2" for the accent. (Honestly, I think a 2" accent is too big so I used 1 1/2" accents -- and I can always find a strip in my strip drawers.) The 26"/10" makes great sense as you can buy two different 1 yard pieces and get 2 cases out of it.
Happy Quilting All! Bonnie
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Fantastic job on all the donation cases! Twenty-six and ten make a lot of sense. I quit adding the accent strip because I don't like how it flops around after laundering and it's tough to press it flat. If I use an accent strip, I top stitch it down.
ReplyDeleteI guess every organization has members "who just can't stay to help" - don't get me started on that topic. . .
Sounds like you had a real assembly line going! Great work.
ReplyDeletePillowcases are great donation items. I just donated 36 pillow cases to flood victims in West Virginia. Only 2 quilts, 1 person can only make so many. Great job.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great idea! Congratulation on that huge number made. Our retired teachers made about 25 for our local crisis nursery. I hope to make a few for Christmas presents, too.
ReplyDeleteSo cute. Pillowcases are a great idea - quick to make and always sure to please.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Preeti.
love that fabric and those pillowcases. so so adorable.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great cause for that adorable pillow case. Sounds like a great way to use up some stash.
ReplyDeleteA pillowcase-sewing event is always fun. Assembly lines make the process faster. I'd make more pillowcases but my kid-friendly novelty fabrics are almost always smaller pieces.
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