Tuesday 29 December 2015

A Baby Quilts Journey- From the Meeting to the Baby!

Chloe delivering the December batch of quilts to the hospital!
Most people know I love my quilt guild. I mean really love, these ladies are pretty much the most talented caring group I have ever been with. This year I stepped up to become the baby quilt coordinator (I have the best little job!).




OK, so here is the small part I play (the quilters who make all those quilts are the stars! I make a few every month myself)






Step 1 You bring the quilts to me! Find me at the guild meetings the first Monday of every month, I will be sitting at a table with a pile of little quilts on it. I put them in a bag at the end of the meeting and bring them
                                  home! 


 (I may not be dancing on the table, but you get the idea!) 








Step 2- Now I take all the quilts and wash them. This step is important because during the washing process any 
seams that aren't secure will show and I can fix them before donating them. It also ensures that the quilts and clean, I wash them with special baby detergent I use with my own baby. I will put the quilts in the dryer with a dryer sheet to remove static. This static is unwanted in the incubators with the babies.








Step 3 - Next step is to get that baby to bed so I can sit down with a cup of tea and check the quilts for imperfections that I can fix with some stitching. I will attach labels to quilts that have not been labelled by their makers. (No my dog Bella is NOT allowed near the quilts, but she wanted to be in the photo )





Step 4Now I take our perfect little quilts and I give them a quick and light press to make them nice and smooth (they can get a little too wrinkly in the dryer) . Its my last chance to check for any opened seams or missing labels. 

It is best to watch something like Downton Abbey during this step. I find it helps ;) 







Step 5-  Now it is time to stack all the quilts in a nicely folded pile and then get them into blue plastic leaf bags (never use garbage bags). 







Step 6 - Now I go get the baby, she is probably done her nap by now. 

 There she is! 



Step 7 Last step is to pick up the kindergartner from school, get the husband from work and head into the Civic hospital. I take the quilts up to the fourth floor ( very quietly, babies are sleeping ) and head to the Special Care Nursery. 

Then I speak to the nurse at the station, they are always excited to see those quilts!
At this time my daughter tends to peak through the window at the little babies with their families (often snuggled in last months baby quilts!) 

The nurses are always so friendly with my daughter and show her the little babies and thank her for her help. 

By now I thank the nurses for their time, give a friendly wave and put that family back in the car, and grab some dinner. 

Repeat each month!


Thanks for stopping by! I hoped this enlightened anyone who was wondering how the whole thing works :) 


To read some great testimonials from nurses and families who received your quilts, click here: 
http://www.slbsewing.com/quilt-stories-updates



Make a baby quilt! <3 

1 comment:

  1. What a great story, Samantha - thanks for taking such great care of these little quilts for us. Happy New Year!

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