community projects
| Baby Quilts | donated to the Civic Hospital for premature babies |
| Place Mats | donated to Meals on Wheels |
| Comfort Quilts | donated to shelters and Hospice Care Ottawa |
| Touch Quilts | donated to Alzheimers patients |
In addition, members or other organizations occasionally sponsor short-term projects and ask for help from the membership.
Baby Quilts
Many OVQG members participate in our ongoing program of providing baby quilts for the premature babies in the Rich Little Special Care Nursery at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. These quilts are used for protecting the tiny babies from the lights and noise of the nursery. The babies take the quilts with them when they finally go home. The Guild collects over 400 quilts each year.
There are often fabric pieces and scraps available at monthly Guild meetings to use in making little quilts. OVQG labels, pieces of flannelette, backing and batting are also available.
Click here to view some previous creations by Guild members that may inspire you if you would like a pattern idea. The photos are in folders named for the type of quilt.
If you have any questions, ask at the table, or email the Baby Quilts Coordinator.
Requirements
Size: 24” x 24” (give or take an inch)
Top Fabric: 100% cotton in colours or prints suitable for babies
Back Fabric: 100% cotton flannelette
NOTE: no polyester on the exterior as it can cause a static reaction. For the same reason, no fabrics with metallic accents and no metallic thread.
Batting: any batting is acceptable
Quilting: by hand or machine, but do not quilt too densely to keep the project light and flexible. Do NOT use invisible thread; it can loop and catch tiny fingers or toes
Binding: Can be standard binding or envelope/pillowcase style
Label: Attach a label displaying OVQG, or write OVQG directly on the backing fabric with a permanent fabric pen.
Baby and Comfort Quilt Sew Days
These afternoon sessions are for any quilts you plan on donating to good causes: cuddle and comfort quilts, and placemats. Bring your sewing machine, basic tools, something to work on, and your ideas and expertise to share. We are in the nursery at the Riverside United Church, the same location as Guild meetings, on the second and last Tuesdays of the month, from 1 to 4 pm. This is free and open to all.
Drop Off
Please bring your baby quilts to the monthly meetings or a Tuesday sew day for collection. If you cannot attend in person, perhaps a member who lives near you can deliver quilts for you.
Place Mats
The OVQG is continuing its longstanding support to Ottawa’s Meals on Wheels program. The beautiful quilted place mats made by our members are delivered by volunteers to approximately 100 very frail and isolated seniors on December 25th, along with a special free meal and goodies provided by Meals on Wheels and other generous donors. Our feedback from the Meals on Wheels organization is that the recipients are thrilled with the special December 25th visit - so meaningful to our local shut-ins. Please continue to create and donate quilted place mats for the Meals on Wheels program. The place mats will be delivered in early December to the Meals on Wheels sites to be distributed on Dec. 25th.
Requirements
Size: 13" x 18" in seasonal or other suitable fabric choices.
Drop Off
Please drop off place mats at the Comfort Quilts table at the monthly Guild meetings or at the Riverside United Church on the Tuesday sew days.
Comfort Quilts
Guild members have made, over the years, quilts to be gifted to organizations whose objective is to support communities experiencing difficulties. These organisations are identified by our members, or they may have reached out to us for donations.
In recent years, quilts went to shelters for women in difficulties, to Hospice Care Ottawa, which provides compassionate, high quality care to people and their caregivers from the time of diagnosis with a progressive life-limiting illness through their palliative and end-of-life journey, and to the Ronald McDonald house, which offers an environment for children and their families who live far away to be together while the children follow treatment at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
Click here to see your committee collecting and delivering your donations.
Size:
comfort quilts: adult: 50" x 70", children 40" x 50"
door markers: from 16" x 16" up to 20" x 20"
Fabric, flannel backing, regular backing and batting are available from the Comfort Quilt team. You can select fabric among the many pieces that are brought at every meeting by the Charity Quilt coordinator. For backing and batting, it is best that you drop us a note before the meeting dates so that we can have your pieces ready to pick up at the meeting time.
Hospice Care Ottawa prefers flannel backing for the quilts to keep residents warm and cozy.
Drop Off
Completed quilts can be dropped at the Community Projects table during every meeting. Please remember that quilts must have the Guild labels sewed to their back.
New Project with Hospice Care Ottawa
This year, we would like to try to start a new project for the Hospice Care Ottawa (HCO). It has been asked whether it would be possible to make blocks that would be given to the family of the resident once they pass away. HCO does not give the quilts we gift them to the family but thought it would be a nice gesture to offer them the block that would be pinned to their door while in residence. Dimensions have not been established; it can be 16 x 16 inches, up to 20 x 20 inches. Let’s see what we can come up with this coming Quilt year (2023-24).