Comfort Quilts Project

COMFORT QUILTS PROJECT

Project Background

The Comfort Project is a guild wide effort to mass produce and donate small, lap size quilts for people of all ages in places like hospitals, elder care facilities, foster care, and homeless shelters.

Our Comfort Quilts Project is a big deal.
BIG as in it's a charity project that has been in operation for decades and as a result in fine tuned.
BIG as in lots of opportunities to volunteer your time & talents, simple as the needs may be.
BIG as in the hundreds of recipients each year who receive a special quilt due to an unfortunate circumstance in their life.

Pacific Care Center taking delivery of 100 Comfort Quilts (Aug 2022)

Who to Contact

This project is managed and
organized by Mary Shadbourne.
She can be reached at:
comfortquilts@southbayquiltersguild.org

How Can I Get Involved

For kit prep, contact Mary at comfortquilts@southbayquiltersguild.org
For kit assembly, get one or more bags from Mary (with instructions) at guild meetings to take home and sew together (into a finished top) at your leisure
For a sweat shop, await the Sign-Up Genius e-mail sent a few weeks before the 2nd Tuesday of the month to secure a spot. Positions include: pinner, sewer (bring your own machine), trimmer, and turner. We meet from 6:30pm prompt) - 8:30pm at:

Levy Adult Center, Room 3
3420 W 229th Pl, Torrance
(parking is behind the school near the sports fields)

For closing, labeling & tying, contact Mary at comfortquilts@southbayquiltersguild.org to arrange pickup & return.

The Making of a Comfort Quilt

The production of a comfort quilt is broken up into multiple steps that accomplish similar tasks in the right place with the right tools and people.

At our central location:

Donated fabric is laundered, ironed and refolded, if necessary. Larger pieces are saved for backings; smaller pieces are cut into 6 ½” strips and/or squares. Leftover strips, narrower than 6 ½”, are set aside for scrappy quilts.

Finished tops are paired with appropriate backings and readied for a group get-together fondly nicknamed a "sweatshop". Leftovers (fabric too small for backings) are cut into 6 ½” strips and sent to “cutters.” Narrower strips of fabric are sent along with matching 6 ½” strips. Cutters return the strips with the cut squares, and they are used for back art during the backing process.
6 ½” strips are sent to cutters for cutting into 6 ½” squares.
6 ½” squares are counted and sent to “kitters” who assemble all the right pieces together that constitute a quilt top (for someone to piece together into a finished top)

At our guild meetings:

Kits are taken to the general guild meetings for members to take home and finish (sew) into finished tops. Members also return finished tops to the general meeting.

At our "sweat shop":

One evening a month, (usually the 2nd Tuesday, though not during the summer) members gather to sandwich, sew, trim and turn 50 to 80 quilt sets. Some are sent home with participants to be closed (they are turned rightside out through a small opening) and labeled.

At our central location:

Occasionally, we have daytime work parties where tops, backs & batting are already pinned for participants to sew, trim, turn, label, close, and sew (creating a faux binding look). A work party typically completes about twenty quilts.
Closed and labeled quilts are pressed, “flossed” and re-bundled for tying.

At our guild meetings:

“Flossed” quilts are sent out for tying at these special guild meetings, or members check out bundles of quilts at general guild meetings to tie at home.

At our central location:

Tied quilts are returned for final pressing/inspection. They are sorted into categories and packaged ten quilts to a bundle for delivery.

Finished quilts are delivered to grateful recipients all over the South Bay.