“Hug 4650 for a Care Leaver” Great Northern Quilt Show Champion
Our block drive group has become a hugely successful part of our project here at Quilts for Care Leavers. Anyone can join in the monthly theme, making a block or a hundred blocks and sending them off to the monthly co-ordinator, and it was the success of this concept that kicked off the idea of entering a group quilt in the Festival of Quilts competition in 2022. Contributors were so enthusiastic about the project that when 2023 entries came around superstar co-ordinator Marian agreed to take on the project again, with the help of the ever productive Jeannie and star long armer Linda they put together this stunning quilt, with the contributions of over 80 members of our Quilts for Care Leavers community. The quilt raised a huge amount of attention for our cause at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in August 2023, and then next stop was Harrogate for the Grosvenor Shows Great Northern Quilt Show, where the quilt won not just the group quilts category, but also a judge’s choice award and Champion quilt. Thank you so much to everyone who was involved in this project.
Photo Credits to Catherine Graham
This project is a great illustration of both the teamwork that’s involved in getting these quilts all the way from concepts and fabric and into young peoples’ hands at various events and meetings, and also the astonishing standard of quilts that the group are producing on a daily basis. We make quilts that we would be thrilled to gift to our closest friends and family, to honour young people who have had very different lives to the ones most of us have lived ourselves. The way that our makers embrace this idea, and work tirelessly to make things for young people that they don’t know is really very moving.
No, not every quilt has to be show quality, of course not, indeed often the the simplest ideas, neatly executed, turn out to be just what the care leavers are looking for, but the time and love put into the project shines through in each and every quilt. Thank you to our makers. If you take a look through our gallery you can see a selection of the wide variety of quilts that we gift each year.
1st Group Quilt and Show Champion
Judge’s Choice Award
“Congratulations on you beautiful quilt”