Love is in the Quilts…”
– Angie Reed, Helping Hands committee chair
The Omaha Quilters’ Guild Helping Hands committee makes quilts for warmth, comfort, healing, to honor and to raise funds. Helping Hands offers guild members the opportunity to volunteer their time to cut, piece, machine quilt (or tie), and bind quilts. The guild provides the fabric and batting. The members provide the time and love to this worthy project. Of course, members are welcome to use this meaningful endeavor to put a dent in their own stash! Just sew something up and turn in your blocks, top, or finished quilt to the Helping Hands chair.
Requests
Helping Hands receives requests for patients in hospice (Josie Harper Residence, CHI Hospice), babies in NICUs (Children’s Hospital), young people in at-risk youth programs (Boys Town, Omaha Home for Boys), homeless shelters, and families who have lost everything (United Way of the Midlands) or are rebuilding (Habitat for Humanity), as well as requests for a quilt as part of a fundraiser (e.g., Omaha Police Department for their Special Olympic fundraisers). A request may come in via email from an individual who contacted the guild through our website or from a guild member.
Quilts for fundraisers and charitable auctions are handled by this committee. Do you know of a group that would benefit from the donation of a quilt for their auction? We try to help non-profit groups if we possibly can. Reaching beyond ourselves enriches our lives. Please join us in serving our wonderful Omaha community.
Sew Many Opportunities to Help!
Sometimes the quilter knows where the quilt will go before the stitching even starts, e.g., NICU babies, hospice, or a fundraiser. Helping Hands also supports our other committees, making pillowcases and stockings for CEF or quilts for Quilts for Veterans to present. More often our wonderful quilters just stitch their hearts out knowing the quilt they make will find its way to someone who needs a quilt hug.
September:
The Omaha Quilters’ Guild dedicates its September meeting to support Helping Hands activities. Guild members gather at the regular OQG guild meeting location to sew quilt tops, pillowcases, and/or stockings, machine (or tie) quilts and bind them. Bring your sewing machine and basic sewing tools, neutral thread, bobbin, pins/clips, snips, scissors, favorite seam ripper, etc., and needles and thimble if you plan to hand sew binding. However, machine sewn binding is also acceptable. Ironing boards, irons, mats and rotary cutters are provided by the guild/Helping Hands committee as well as a few spools of thread and hand sewing needles. Helping Hands will have projects available to work on; there is always a need for baby quilts, throw size quilts, and pillowcases. We generally start earlier than the usual guild meeting. The time the doors open will be announced through the OQG newsletter or contact helpinghands@omahaquiltersguild.org.
Every Month:
Helping Hands also meets multiple times a month to assemble quilts. Meeting info is below. Contact Angie at helpinghands@omahaquiltersguild.org to reserve a seat or to let her know you will be dropping off or picking up fabric, quilt blocks, or a top that needs quilting or binding. Help make a quilt for someone who needs one, your help will be welcomed!
Come Sew With Us
Helping Hands meets on a regular basis each month to work on quilts for charity and other donations. You can bring your own fabrics to dent your stash or we have kits/fabrics that have been donated for use. We do not meet on the day of any OQG general meeting (2nd Tuesday). In the summer (June/July) we meet every Tuesday. If you don’t have a sewing machine to bring on Tuesdays or you have questions, text or call Angie Reed at 402-651-6593.
- Meeting place: Sew Creative, 2809 S 125th Ave (Next to Office Depot), Omaha, NE 68144
- Time: 10:30am to 3:30pm
- Through June 30, 2023 Meeting place: Sew Creative, 2809 S 125th Ave (next to Office Depot) Omaha, NE
- Beginning July 1, 202, Meeting place: Mangelsen’s 3457 S. 84th Street, Omaha, NE Time: 10:30 to 3:00pm
- August through May, the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Tuesday of each month
- June, July and January, every Tuesday of the month
Hospice Project
Helping Hands includes this project which was born from the outpouring of generosity of guild members to Pat Varner’s request to make quilts for the patients at the Denver Area Hospice in memory of her sister, Beverly, who lost her battle with liver disease in January 2005. Beverly was an avid quilter and worked on her designs and quilts up to the day she entered hospice. She was a friend to many in the guild and was also a member of the Nebraska State Quilt Guild (NSQG). This project touched off many memories for members who had similar experiences with hospice. Guild members approached Pat about contacting Omaha’s Hospice House, The Josie Harper Residence, to see if they would accept quilts for their patients. Hospice House was thrilled to be able to provide quilts to their patients. We also now donate quilts for hospice patients at CHI Health at Home – CHI Hospice.
There are not enough words to explain the power of a quilt in a situation such as this. It can be a life-altering moment as many of you have experienced. If you have any questions or if you are interested in finding out more about this project, contact Angie Reed at helpinghands@omahaquiltersguild.org.
The minimum size requested for hospice quilts for Josie Harper Residence is 54” by 76”.
CHI Hospice requested lap size quilts, 40” by 40” or larger, recipient of the quilt generally uses it when they are sitting.
Fidget Quilts
A fidget quilt or activity blanket is a placemat (or larger) sized quilt that provides sensory and tactile stimulation for the restless hands of someone with Alzheimer’s and/or other forms of dementia, attention deficit disorder, or an autism spectrum disability. Fidget Quilts are usually 18”x18” to 20”x20” or 18”x20”. More details on what to include and what to avoid for fidget quilts is available in this PDF: Fidget Quilt details
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Questions? Call or text Angie Reed at 402-651-6593 or email her at HelpingHands@omahaquiltersguild.org.