Quilt-a-thon

This is our day-long annual event that is devoted to finishing quilts as a group. Guild members are asked to donate an assembled but unfinished quilt top with a paired backing at least once a year. As a group, members work together to measure and cut batting (provided by the guild), sandwich the quilt layers together, and pin them for final stitching. It is quite a production line when you see it!

Once finished, these quilts will be donated to provide comfort to unhoused individuals through local shelters, cancer patients, victims of fire and domestic crises, and others who are in need of love and community support.

For detailed information about Quilt-a-thon, go here.

For more information, please contact Marla Richmond or Joy Sussman.

Comfort Quilts

Throughout the year, guild members work on comfort quilts individually at home and in groups. Fabric is donated by members and by generous individuals who are retiring from quilting. Kits for quilt tops that are fast and easy to sew are also provided by the guild and available at our monthly meetings. 

A group also meets periodically to tie quilts that have been sandwiched at the Quiltathon. Other quilts are taken home to be machine stitched and then once completed they are returned for donation. On average, between 120-150 quilts are donated to charity each year.

For information about how our Quiltathon quilts are assembled, go here.

Note that specific sizes have been specifically requested by our recipient organizations as described below.

Requested Comfort Quilt Sizes

Kid-themed Fabrics (Quilts for children or with kid-themed fabrics must be machine quilted and should not be tied due to safety concerns)

• Lap, 40” x 45” to 48” x 60” (larger is most popular)
• Twin bed size, 57” x 82” preferred, minimum of 55×70” (based on an 8” drape over the mattress, like a coverlet)
• Wheelchair, 36” x 45” (least popular)

Any Fabrics

• 32″x40″ to 40″x50″ for hospital programs
• Twin bed size 55″x70″ minimum for Household Goods and shelters

We rarely need quilts bigger than this, although welcome them if you are so inclined. Full/Queen size quilts are lovely for donating as a raffle prize. Please, nothing smaller than wheelchair size, as we are unable to use them at this time.

For more information, please contact Leslie Garrison at comfortquilts@concordpiecemakers.org.

Playmats for Babies in NICU

Throughout the year, guild members make textured playmats to donate to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Emerson Hospital.

New and especially early babies cannot see well. Generally, high contrast black and white shapes is the limitation of their vision until their eyes have developed enough to see more clearly. The playmats are black and white with different fabric textures mixed in with quilting cottons to provide both tactile (touch) and visual stimuli to help the baby’s development.

The quilter stitching these mats may choose a simple 5×5″ block pattern or a more complex pattern for the playmat, as long as it remains high contrast. Playmats for the NICU must be machine quilted (not tied) for safety reasons.

Kits for these playmats are available at our monthly meetings and provided by the guild. Members can pick up a kit or two at a time and return them when completed. They are then distributed to the NICU for gifting to the newborns during their hospital stay.

For more information, please contact Eileen Ryan.