I love to stitch. I really do, but unfortunately, I'm running out of room. My walls are full,
the top shelf of my closet is full, and I think my friends have received enough cross stitched
gifts to last them a lifetime, but I have found a solution. Charity! (I'll bet you didn't know
you could do cross stitch for charity, now did you?)
There are a few charities online that I stitch for, and I have included information about them
below, as well as links to scans of squares that I have done for a couple of these projects.
(I used to have the scans on this page, but it took forever to load, so I split them up.)
If you're a stitcher with some free time and would like to help out, let me assure you that these
are really great causes! |
Operation Teddy Bear
Operation Teddy Bear is a stitching charity started by a
very nice lady by the name of Hazel. A few years ago, her little boy was diagnosed with leukemia (don't
worry, he is a happy, healthy little boy now.) This is Hazel's way of helping many of the non-profit
organizations that helped her family in their time of need.
Hazel asks for donations of counted cross stitched quilt squares (mostly of teddy bears, though many
other themes are also being accepted) which she and a small army of volunteers sew into quilts.
The quilts are then given to sick children or raffled off in the Ontario area for the benefit of
various cancer related charities. (And these are absolutely gorgeous quilts, let me tell you!) The
last few annual fundraisers have been for the benefit of Camp Trillium, a camp for children with cancer and their families.
If you'd like to see pictures of the squares I've donated to Operation Teddy Bear,
click the banner below. |
Love Quilts to
Make a Child Smile
Love Quilts to Make a Child Smile
is another charity that I stitch for. This charity makes quilts for critically ill children or
children who suffer from serious life-long illnesses. Many of these children have been featured by
the Make a Child Smile Organization.
Children chosen to receive quilts pick a theme (such as angels or cats, for example), and stitchers
sign up to stitch squares of that theme. These squares are then sewn together into a quilt,
which is presented to that child. I must warn you, though, that all of these children are completely
precious, and seeing how sick they are can be rather heart-wrenching.
To see the children who are scheduled to receive quilts this year, visit
Love Quilts 2008.
You can see pictures of some of the squares I have made for this project by clicking on the
banner below.
|
Christmas Ornaments
I bet you never thought about stitching Christmas ornaments for charity, now did you? Well, this past year
I found a wonderful cross stitch shop that uses donated ornaments to raise money for charity every
Christmas. (A wonderful use for those smaller pieces of Aida that I couldn't figure out what
to do with.)
The Busy Needle, located in Rogers, Arkansas accepts
handmade ornaments all year long. These ornaments are sold individually every Christmas, and
the proceeds are donated to a local diabetes charity. For more information you can visit their
Ornament Tree Page. (I encourage you
to e-mail if you decide to help them out. I believe that the mailing address listed on the Ornament
Tree page is no longer accurate.)
|
Other Stitching Charities
|
Below are links to other online stitching (or other needlework) charities. I have
heard wonderful things about all of them, but I do not have any experience stitching
for them myself. |
|
|
