Quilts for care leavers made with love
Handmade quilts are being made in Shropshire to support care leavers as they begin their independent lives.
The patchwork quilts - 49 finished by local crafters this year so far - are given to the young people at Christmas day lunches across the UK. A special exhibition showcasing the work is currently on display at Whitchurch Heritage Centre.
Among those in the Quilts for Care Leavers scheme are Kate Westgate from Ellesmere who has sewn 15 and Kate Thorpe from Whitchurch who had made 11.
Kate Westgate said: "What drives me is the thought of a young person being alone and vulnerable perhaps through no fault of their own. Christmas can be a particularly cruel time for those without families.
"One factor in what makes them popular is that they are new not second hand and have been made with love and time rather than being mass-produced. "
She said the project was looking at ways of going beyond giving the quilts at the dinners.
The founder of the project is Maggie Lloyd-Jones, who said one young man told her that the quilt he had received was the best thing anyone had ever given him.
She began the group after hearing poet and care leaver Lemn Sissay MBE say that, at 12 years of age on being transferred to long term residential care from foster carers all he wanted was a hug.
Comfort
"We make hug sized quilts, made essentially to be wrapped around the person to give comfort."
They go to young people between the ages of 18 and 25.
Christmas Day dinners, organised by volunteers, are guided, supported and encouraged by the Gold From the Stone Foundation.
Last year more than 800 quilts were given out. Some people make a block or a few blocks that are then sent to another person that makes them into the quilt.
People can also donate money towards creating the quilts via Paypal donations to quiltsforcareleavers@gmail.co.uk or Email q4cleavers@gmail.com.
Border Quilters meets monthly at Castle Court Quilters, Whittington.
Malpas Fabric Art Group, is hoping to shortly resume meeting fortnightly in the High Street Church, Malpas, with a monthly Sit and Sew Day at Bangor on Dee Village Hall.
