giveaway! quilting for peace.
i’ve always wanted to learn to quilt. it seems like such a worthwhile pursuit, and a lovely hobby, not to mention such a throughtful and beautiful handmade treasure to pass down to future family generations.
this week, i’d like to give away a book that teaches you that skill, and shares some beautiful photographs (by a favorite photographer of mine, allyson gowdy) and techniques, called ‘quilting for peace, make the world a better place one stitch at a time‘, by katherine bell. ‘quilting for peace’ shares stories of individuals and organizations devoted to quilting for those in need and raising awareness for social causes.
to enter to win this lovely book, simply comment below by next wednesday, april 21st, sharing your favorite way to help out those in need. hopefully, we’ll all learn something new and worthwhile, and, have a chance to win ‘quilting for peace’. i look forward to reading your comments!
I love participating in Craft Hope projects…using my craftiness to make things for people in need. I also love volunteering in my community. The people of Providence are what make this a great place to live, and giving back and getting involved makes me feel better connected to that network of amazing people.
What a great giveaway! My passion is helping animals. My husband and I adopted a pregnant dog that had mange and an ear infection that would have otherwise been put to sleep. We nursed her back to health, delivered her puppies the day before our wedding and found good homes for them. I try to encourage others to adopt pets instead of buying them from breeders.
I would love to win this book! My mom, aunt and I are involved in a quilting group in which each person quilts sections and when it is put together, the quilt is auctioned or given to various local charities, such as The Center for Women and Families. Quilting skills have been passed down to the women in my family for generations; I only wish I was a little better – maybe the book will help! Thanks for a great giveaway! xo
What a neat book! I have been wanting to learn how to quilt lately and I would love to read stories of how people use their crafting skills to help people in need. Besides crafting in my free time, I really enjoy volunteering my time to help people in need, especially at a homeless outreach in my community, so I think it would be really interesting to learn how to incorporate these things together.
What a lovely give away! I would use this book when we go back to Tanzania next summer (and I woudl use myself until then to figure it out) , it looks very inspiring. I (together with my husband) have been working with orphans and street children in Tanzania. on my blog there is a link “african safari” to my “blog” for our project there. As art is my passion I have always tried to make things with the children and we are dreaming on some fair trade options in the future. I made necklaces and cards that provide funding for the project (see blog). I could totally see quilts made out of african fabrics by some students that learn to become tailors. Ooooh.. if only I was there right now!
love your blog by the way….
This is a great idea, I love anything that involves crafting for the greater good. My grandmother used to make beautiful quilts back in the day and I have always wanted to learn. I have been volunteering for a non-profit in Houston since I moved here last year. We are devoted to transforming the whole community in which our organization is located. I am involved in two of the programs. I tutor one-on-one with the school children in the area, and I also mentor a 12 year old girl. Check us out.. http://www.generationone.net/
Hilary
Is this giveaway open to US residents only or worldwide? I would love to participate, but don’t live in the US.
I’m the president of a student dance association and every year, we organise at least one big event for charity; this year, it’s a dance evening with a workshop, demonstrations and a lottery. We spent days walking into (almost) every store in town to ask them to sponsor the lottery and got lots of great prices together. All proceeds of the evening will go to the Ronald McDonald house and to a fund that makes it possible for girls in Afghanistan to receive education.
Other than that, I donate an amount to WWF every month – it isn’t much, but I’m a student and every little bit helps, right?
I really like your colors in your quilt. I love books to collect and look at them too. I’m a self taught quilter.
pat
ohhh I would love to win this book! quilting is my real hobby and that book have beautiful proyects!!! most of my quilts I gave to my family, as a gifts. i love animals but i can’t adopt all of them so, i go to diferents pet organizations and i donated pet food, toys…
thanks for the chance to win!!
This book looks beautiful, and I have always wanted to quilt. It’s actually funny that this book raises awareness about social causes through art, because that is my favorite way to spread awareness about issues I am passionate about. I am part of a community photography society, and we recently held an exhibition around themes of social activism, with benefits going towards Amnesty International. Combining an art your passionate about (like quilting or photography) and putting that passion to make it helpful to a cause you are passionate about is a wonderful thing!
I love to remind people that they’re amazing. Whether its someone asking for money on the street or my mother, I always remind people of their worth. Life is so short and precious and we all made it here. Lets make it great!
Ever since we became parents (3 years ago), we’ve thought a lot about how to teach peace and compassion to our daughter. On her 3rd birthday, we began a tradition we home to keep by asking guests to bring food donations as their gift. Then our daughter helped us to bring the big box of food into our local food bank. There was a lot of discussion around birthday and gifts and giving and how times when we are so lucky and fortunate are the best times to give back. Hopefully, in the future, birthdays will be a time when we come up with a new project to help out our community, and she will learn that she has the power in her heart, head and hands, to help so many out.
Beautiful idea! I volunteer walking animals at the shelter, and when I have a little extra money I have bought blankets from Goodwill and taken them for the animals to have something soft to sit on. I also carry fruit in my car for panhandlers, who are usually pretty nice around here.
When I meet someone in need, I simply like to make them laugh and have a good time!! That’s what works for me when i’m down :)
i like to serve dinner to homeless and then eat the dinner with them, listening to their stories
I’m a great listener! Listening can be one of the best ways to help a person work through tough times. If the person is far away I send the message: “If talking helps, I am only a phone call away.”
I love cooking, and love to share my love for cooking and food with those in need. I need to do it more!
We try to help those in our lives that are having a hard time making ends meet month to month when we’re able to help. We’ve had more than our fair share of worry over how we were going to fill the fridge or pay a bill in our eight years of marriage but things have been looking up lately and it’s such a good feeling to be able to share and ease the burden. We’ve cooked meals for hungry neighbors and bought gas and groceries for a family member in between jobs. It’s nice to know those we love have done and would do the same for us.
I like to use my supersonic powers of organization to help others find solutions for tricky life problems, like poverty, living in earth friendly ways, and following their dreams.
I love to quilt and I LOVE pretty pictures! Thanks for yet another lovely giveaway!
My family and I like to hand out warm fleece blankets and mittens to the homeless people on the streets or at exit ramps during the fall and winter.
I love crafting, sewing, doing anything that involves being creative. I grew up in a small town and have remained very close with a lot the residents there (even though I live in a different country). We are all starting to create our own families and with each birth of a child a group of us gets together to create a quilt for the new baby. One person takes on organizing it, gets the materials and sends out precut “squares” with a theme and away we go. When we are each finished our square, we send them back to be stitched together for the newest addition to the family.
I always contribute to local charities; but I find my best way of helping is recognizing people in my community who need emotional/personal support. I try to make a point of befriending these people and backing their cause – whatever it is.
Would love to win this for my mom. She’s just started quilting and is a super-compassionate full-time community volunteer.
I’m really bad at sewing, so this will be a gift to my Mom, if I ever win! ;)
I’m an avid reader, and I wear glasses. My worst fear is to become blind someday – that would be a nightmare to me. So in the meantime, I record popular books for the blind and the sight-impaired. I have been told I have quite a nice reading voice (I sing too), so I want to put it to good use!
-Vic
lovely projects. lovely quilts.
i love making meals for those i’m in relationship with- whether it be money problems or family issues, it’s so satisfying to have a home-cooked meal when life can be insane and crazy.
I enjoy volunteering at animal shelters as a dog walker.
I am graduating law school in less than a month and planning a career advocating on behalf of foster youth. I have been volunteering with children and their families in low-income communities for several years, so I am excited to finally get out there and use the law to secure their rights! However, when I am not studying the law (when is that???), I LOVE making use of my trusty ole sewing machine. Right now I am finishing up a lap quilt for my grandma who taught me to sew when I was just a little girl. Hopefully it will be nice enough that she will not think of herself as a bad teacher!
i want this book! lol. honestly i don’t have that much time to volunteer, being a full time student and also working a part time job, but i have recently started donating blood to the American Red Cross. I know that a lot of people really need blood, and in doing this, i feel like i am helping someone who can use my type O blood.
Our church volunteers at a local homeless shelter each month (providing a meal for the group there). I try to go as often as I’m able to be there.
i think its so important to invest in those around you, listening, being there. you can’t save the world but you can make it better for those around you.
When walking around town I say hello and smile to everyone I pass. You never know, that could make someones day and make the city a better place
i try to follow the examples set by my wonderful parents – to be patient and put myself in ‘other people’s shoes’ before responding in haste or judgement, to give money and food to food banks, to volunteer at church and elsewhere in our community, to recycle and donate things (not just put them in a trash to make them someone else’s problem), to smile at people and at every chance i get to buy something to drink from little children’s neighborhood lemonade stands …
thanks for the opportunity (and reminder to myself about what’s really important) and the great give-away.
I belong to a group of ladies and we have made quilts for a local childrens home, breast cancer patients and made several quilts to raffle off for various causes- help make a park handicapped accessible, the local fire department for equipment and made wallhangings to put in new houses for Habitat for Humanity. I have to say with all the things we make I feel like I get so much more than the reciever could get in the fact that I feel like I may be helping somone in need. The old saying the more you give the more you get could not be more true.
I’d love to learn to quilt. As a cancer survivor I give both my time and money to Dana Farber Cancer Institutes Mission Possible. I also walk in breast cancer walks and contribute to the Jimmy Fund at DFCI. Great Giveaway! Thank you, Beth
my mom loves to make quilts. i’ve made one before with her assistance. ultimately i’d love to win this book to help me make my own…i think that’s why they make perfect gifts…they are tactile story boards…plus i like to name them :)
i volunteer for make a wish and it has been life changing…what i’ve discovered most though is that helping others actually helps myself…and i think taking care of yourself is the best thing you can do for anyone else…
ah, to get back into sewing again! i used to sew up a storm! now i spend most of my time knitting – my current favorite way to help others is to knit hats that i then donate to charity. the goal? One hundred hats in one year!
I’ve been learning to machine quilt, but I thnink hand quilting would be very satisfying. I’ve given some away as gifts and they have been loved! Handmade is the best gift of all. Each Christmas I give to a charity, but I think showing kindness everyday is the best charity. A little smile to a stranger or an unexpected compliment helps make the world a better place and inspires other do to the same.
such a beautiful home.
and not to mention herself and her artwork.
just stunning. glad to have seen this today.
whoops, I commented on the wrong post. what a duffer!
that was for the post re Lisa Solomon.
but these quilts are lovely too!
great! i like to help by donating creative items to different charities and also teaching others how to create.
As a budding photographer twice a year I do free family portraits for military families. Just the smallest family laminated photo so our brave military men and women can tuck in a pocket while on duty.
My mom is also a huge quilter, and has done work with various charities, including Packard Standford Children’s Hospital.
our family contributes to many of the charity drives that our daughter’s school organizes. we donate our gently used clothes, eyeglasses, and housewares to a charity that helps formerly homeless people set up their new apartments. i donate extra yarn and fabric and patterns to charities as well. as a sparks girl guide leader i hope i am helping little girls learn leadership, team work, and sharing with others.
Hi! I sew with a little community project of unemployed ladies in South Africa, helping them improve their skills. The book would be an AMAZING guide in helping me improve their skills further! I also run an online shop, Babazeka.com, which promotes and sells things that’ve been handmade by community projects from all around South Africa. Lots of people in this country who need help in uplifting themselves…
I love your blog even though the seasons don’t match (Southern hemisphere gal) which is sometimes a little confusing. I have discovered so many new blogs, artists and ideas from you and the inspiration to try new things. So when I saw the quilting book offer I immediately thought of one of most closet friends (and decided I should take the plunge and finally comment) who would love to learn but doesn’t have access to a class who would love this book and you never know maybe we could learn together. Thanks for your blog, a have a never ending list of all the places to visit if I ever get to your part of the world.
I’d love to win this book. I help people in need by donating to known organisastions that I’m sure will help in the right way.
idonate clothes, toys, and money one ever i get the chance.
when i see homeless people it braks my heart and even thogh i dont have a lot of money i give them all my change it can even be 10 shekels, in my contry.
i have been doing this since i was 10 years old- i think about people not having any thing to eat and that is worth me giving them almost every thing that i have in my wallet
and i know that when the kids will get bigger and ill have more time i want to volenteer for those who in need- i cant wait to do that!
What a cool book!
I like to give free knitting lessons to young people.I recently worked with a high school student. We met weekly for her senior project.I reallly enjoy passing on something I love to the next generation.
Oooooooh i would love to peruse this wonderful book and start quilting for peace! Quilting is something i have always wanted to do. I was hoping to learn in the traditional way from my mother & grandmother, but i have just moved to San Francisco from London, UK and they are so very far away.
I’m getting married this Summer and would love to make a celebration quilt, where you ask friends and family to write good luck messages on small pieces of fabric, and then quilt them together to make a beautiful heirloom that can be passed down through the family.
I’ve also been reading about quilting baby blankets for children in need, both in US premature baby units and across the world in developing countries. I love the idea of pouring some of your spare time and creative energy into something and then giving it away so that it can be a practical yet beautiful small pleasure for someone at a difficult time in their lives.
In the past I have participated in walks or fundraisers for various charities, but I’ve been wanting to seek out ways in which I can raise money for the needy through my art. I’ve looked at this book several times in the book store and am very interested in trying the projects in it. I’m no amazing quilter yet, but I’m working towards it!
I volunteer at several senior centers. It is amazing what one can learn from those oldies! I play games with them, have art classes, and mostly just talk.
I enjoy your blog.
I have wanted to learn to quilt forever! What a lovely giveaway. My father is a cancer survivor and when I can I donate time and energy to the efforts to cure it. But I will admit I need to do more. Perhaps with this book I can learn to quilt so that I can donate them to “Quilts for kids.” What an inspiring post! THANKS!
Waht a great concept and book!
Hello! I love your blog. My favorite thing is to take a homemade dinner to a family who just had a baby. I know I GREATLY appreciated it myself and was so touched when friends brought over lovingly made food for us. I would love this book since I am learning how to sew right now and I have always loved quilts! Thanks!
I like to donate clothing and shoes etc to places where they can be given directly to people in need- ‘dress for success’ and other programs that work directly with low income or other people living on the street. I also like to keep some packaged food items, like granola bars, on hand and give them to homeless people (instead of cash). I’m super excited by the idea of crafting AND helping people in need. What a fabulous book!
I’m an elementary school art teacher who’s just started to teach my fifth graders to quilt They’ve created a beautiful class quilt which they collectively decided to sell to raise money for earthquake victims in Haiti. This book would be very helpful to me as I myself am still a novice quilter who would love to learn more. This would also be a wonderful book to share with my students who would love to hear how others have been empowered to raise awareness of social issues through quilting.
Quilting is one of those skills that I’ve always wanted to learn and I’m in awe of the people who have made it an art form.
My philanthropy is a bit random, but I do lean toward animal causes. Last year, I tried to focus on one cause a month, raising awareness and funds from my blogs for various charities and causes. I’m not as organized about it in 2010, but have supported Haiti relief efforts, an MS walk and will run a 5K for cancer research. I find if you want to contribute and help others, the cause will find you. You just have to take action and not put it off for a moment.
Thanks for a meaningful giveaway!
Such a lovely giveaway! I like helping out in little ways, assisting family/friends with day-to-day things. I like helping out in medium ways, with working with queer youth organizations,and local farmers. Hopefully, I’ll be able to help in bigger ways soon, once my nursing degree is in hand, by traveling to help set up community health centers in places of need.
Thanks for, once again, a nifty giveaway!
Hello! So happy to read about this book. My friend Cate and I are working with Kivu Sewing Workshop, a non-profit in eastern Congo that works to train women as seamstresses who have been affected by the conflict in the Congo, started by Amani, a Congolese man who is seeking ways to help empower women and children there. (http://kivusewingworkshop.org/home) Cate and I are working to get fiscal sponsorship for Action Kivu, so we can start raising money and awareness here in the States, and one way we’ve started is through a raffle by the L.A. Modern Quilt Guild! It’s such a great fit for women who are crafty and sew to connect with and support their sisters in eastern Congo. Glad to see your giveaway and learn about this book — we blogged about it here: http://cateandrebeccasavetheworld.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/quilting-for-peace-giveaway/
All my best,
Rebecca
Giving back is the best part! In 2010, I have baked over 200 rum cakes and donated to the March of Dimes. The wish is that for those who purchase the cakes it brings peace to their homes and for those whose benefit the cakes are baked realize that they are not forgotten. Learning how to quilt is metaphoric in many ways. Like minded souls can reach within, create as a group and reach out to others.
what a lovely book and a great opportunity….
i love helping others in small ways that make ALL the difference. whether it’s buying a street newspaper from local (homeless) vendors who sell them for a donation to make a living, giving a homeless person an apple or granola bar stashed in my bag as snack because they are more hungry than i am, giving away clothes and household items to charity, inviting friends and other starving graduate students over for dinner when i know they i need it, helping an elderly woman carry her heavy bags of groceries, or fostering animals from local pet shelters. my mom always taught me that small acts of kindness go a long way and that even when you don’t have much, you always have something to give. it could even be as simple as a smile, a conversation, or a listening ear. i also spent a great amount of time working and volunteering with a community arts group in my hometown, working on art projects and community outreach with youth. nothing like a community coming together through art!
thanks for this. xo
Well, technically it’s Thursday, but I consider it Wednesday night still since I’m in CA and haven’t gone to bed yet! Hopefully you haven’t drawn a winner yet and don’t mind adding my name to the batch. My favorite way to help those in need is to listen. I know that sounds funny, but when we truly listen to others, we learn their hopes, dreams, struggles, etc. and hopefully, learn how we might be able to help them.