charity auction for blocks, botanics, and other good stuff.

A couple of weeks ago, I was digging around for some stuff in this huge pile of quilts. It’s sometimes a surprise to see what’s in there. One of the things was this stack of blocks from my Local quilt in various stages of completion. These blocks date back to the very early planning stages of the project. I was still working out the construction details and which fabrics I wanted to use where. All of which is quite evident if you flip any of them over.

 

 

I posted a pic of my findings on Instagram and received a suggestion to auction the blocks for charity. I LOVED this idea. It’s not that I wouldn’t love to sew them together into a quilt top myself, but the truth is that I don’t know when I’ll be able to get around to it, and I love the idea of putting them to use now, especially if it’s for a good cause.

 

There are so many deserving charities out there to support, but one in particular came to mind right away. Several, several years ago back when I used to sit behind a desk more than I do now, I was a pretty devoted runner. I still love to run, but I keep it really casual these days. Back then, I was rather goal-oriented with my running and ended up running a few marathons. One of them, I ran with the organization Team in Training. It’s a group that raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. They do wonderful work, and I had a fantastic experience.

 

Now, a really good friend of mine, Lindsay, is training to run the Chicago marathon (her first marathon, by the way!) with Team in Training. I’m so proud and excited for her for committing to such a huge undertaking. I know that it’s not easy. Training for and running a marathon is no small task, and then adding in some serious fund-raising in support of a great cause makes it a pretty big endeavor. There’s nothing easy about any of it. Back when I was training and fundraising, Lindsay was a huge support for me. We were both living in St Louis at the time, and one of the ways they suggest that you fundraise is to stand outside the stadium of whatever game season it is (Busch Stadium and baseball in my case) with beads to support the team and jars to collect donations. Let me say that that is a tough thing to do–especially for someone like me who is generally somewhat shy. But Lindsay volunteered to work the stadium streets of St. Louis with me to raise money for cancer research, and I really appreciated every minute of it.

 

Unfortunately these days we don’t live in the same place, so I can’t return the favor and go work the jar-holding with her, but I realized that I can see if I can use what I have to help support her cause. I loved the idea of donating my blocks as a way to raise funds for charity, and I’m very happy to let her and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society be the recipients.

 

 

Here’s what I’ve got–and I’m sure I’ll throw in some other goodies when the time comes to mail it off.

+ Local grab bag of blocks (4 houses, 1 partial house and a tree)

+ a full Local pattern (so you can either finish what I started or start your own)

+ some other patterns (Social, Backbone, Stripes)

+ a charm pack from my upcoming fabric line, Botanics (this is totally not out yet, hitting stores late November!)

+ a mini-charm pack from Architextures

+ pick a pattern, and I’ll be happy to throw it in there too

 

 

If anyone is interested, I’m hoping this could work silent auction-style. Just leave a comment for how much you’d like to donate, and the highest donation will win the goods. To read more about the organization or about my friend Lindsay, you can visit (or donate to) her page directly here. The auction ends noon (EST) this Friday, October 4.

 

Sincere thanks for your support in any way.