Update! –
If you are finding this post
after September 2019,
please click on
Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project
for the latest information on the Project.

The Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project is well underway, collecting new and nearly new bed size quilts for the victims of Hurricane Florence and Michael on the North Carolina coast.  Even if you do not sew or quilt, there is a way for you to contribute, and I’ll get to that in a minute.  Just to define the scope of our efforts, the latest reports are that over 4500 homes have been totally destroyed and more than 700,000 homes have sustained damage mainly by flooding.  So, as you might guess, we need a lot of quilts.  Throughout this post, you’ll see quilts that have been received in Wilmington so far, and thank you to all who have sent in one or more quilts!

To answer a frequently asked question, the project is focusing on larger size quilts because each household can only receive one.  The need is so great that I fear most of the households will not get one at all unless this project really takes off.  So, if you already have a completed throw size you want to donate, please do.  But if you are making one new specifically for this project, please go for a larger size of twin, full or queen.

Please label your quilts any way you wish.  You do not have to put the Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project on your label.

If you are working on a quilt top (or you have one in your stash to donate), I am compiling a list of longarm quilters all over the United States willing to quilt, bind and ship finished quilts to Wilmington.  Quilters willing to provide sewn tops in any design, twin size or larger and a backing 8-inches longer and wider will be matched with a longarm quilter. If you have a top and backing to send, please fill out the Quilter Needs Longarm Services form.  If you are a longarm quilter willing to quilt, bind and ship to Wilmington, (and I desperately need more!!) please fill out the Longarm Volunteer Form.  Filling out these forms makes sure that I have the information needed to match quilters with longarmers that are as close as possible, and that they have the machine size needed.  I will get back to you via email with your match.  I particularly would like to have more longarm quilters in North Carolina who can finish quilts and deliver to the drop off points helping our home state.

If you are not a quilter, but wish to help, monetary donations can help with longarmer batting and shipping costs.  The easiest way to donate for this part of the project is to send a paypal donation using the ‘Send Money to a Friend’ option to my email address frommycarolinahome at gmail dot com.  I can then use that option to send money to the longarm quilters who are quilting for us to help them with their costs.

Whether you are making a quilt specifically for this drive, or you have one finished and sitting on a shelf in your home, all quilts welcome, in any design, preferably twin size or larger up to king.  Partnering with the Catholic Charities organization for distribution ensures our quilts get to the people who need them most.  Thank you to Emilie and Jo-El for all their help.  Shipping Address for Completed Quilts Only- 

Carolina Hurricane Project
c/o Catholic Charities
20 N. 4th Street, Suite 300
Wilmington, NC 28401

I am thrilled to announce we now have five drop off points for fully finished quilts, with volunteers to pick up and deliver to Wilmington!!  Thank you to all the wonderful shop owners and staff and our runner volunteers for their help with this project.  These are drop off points only, not for shipping.  You can take your finished quilts to any of these North Carolina locations from now through August 2019.

Beginnings Quilt Shop – (serving Western NC, Mountain Region)
1038C Greenville Hwy, Hendersonville, NC 28792

Cary Quilting Company – (serving Northern Piedmont and Raleigh)
935 North Harrison Avenue, Cary, NC 27513

Cotton Fields Quilt Shop (Serving northern Coastal and Greenville)
3751 Wharton Station Road, Washington, NC 27889

Loving Stitches Quilt Shop – (Serving Southern Coastal and Fayetteville)
7076 Ramsey St. Fayetteville, NC 28311

Quilt Patch Fabrics – (Serving Southern Piedmont and Charlotte)
1017 Stallings Road, Matthews, NC 28104

If you drop off a completed quilt at one of these shops, please pin a card to it with a SAFETY pin (not a straight pin!) to show it is for the project to reduce confusion and make sure our runners pick up the correct quilts.

Please post your pictures of your quilts to our Flickr Project Sharing Group.  This makes it easier for me to share them on the blog.  And I do want to see all your quilts!!

Recently, Jo-El from the Catholic Charities office wrote me about one of the recipients of a donated quilt.  Get a tissue, this one will touch your heart.
“Last week, we had a young gentleman come in. He had evacuated from his apartment complex during the storm and considered most of his belongings safe since he was on an upper floor. He stayed evacuated for two weeks, thinking that his apartment was safe as his complex had not called to let him know otherwise. Upon his return, he discovered that a tree had fallen through his apartment and all his possessions were now lost to the weather and molding. Among them was a quilt he had been given by his grandmother, who raised him and was his best friend until she passed away. Hearing his story from our caseworker, I went to our quilt selection and based on his age I began searching for a quilt that had a pattern similar to what his grandmother may have favored when he was younger. I was pleased to rediscover the snowball quilt – one of the first we received.

Its pastel fabric seemed like it would be a comfort to him. I brought it out to him and told him ‘While it may not be the one your grandma made for you, someone’s grandma did make this with love and would want you to have it.’ He immediately burst into tears cuddling his new quilt, his own lost quilt was also a snowball. While we didn’t get a picture of him with his new quilt and we can’t provide his name – he wanted to let you and the Eager BEEvers Members of the Shenandoah Valley Quilters Guild (Bridgewater, VA) know he’s thankful to have a small piece of his life back.”

Once again, I would like to challenge every quilt guild and club in the Carolinas that were not affected by the floods to commit to making and shipping at least 5 quilts per club.  If my friends and I can do five, surely an entire club can do more.  This disaster affected our home state, so let’s come together to help our neighbors. But not just NC, quilting groups all over the US can help.  I know that even a small group quilters can make a huge difference.  Thank you to the NC guilds who have already let me know that they are taking up the challenge – Western NC Quilters, Ashe County Quilters, Shenandoah Valley Quilters Guild, and the Greenville Quilters Guild.  Thank you to the County Register for helping to publicize this project, the article is on page 9.  Is your guild taking up the project?  Please let me know in the comments below.

Sandhill Quilters in Pinehurst, NC not only took up the challenge, but they have already completed their drive, bringing 18 quilts to their Christmas luncheon for the project!  They were delivered to the drop off in Fayetteville and our runner has already picked them up and delivered them to Wilmington.  Thank you so much ladies!!

Shirley in Chicago drove to Wilmington to visit her daughter for Christmas, taking 3 quilts from her stash with her to leave at the Catholic Charities distribution center. Before she left, her friends gave her 5 more to take too!  I was on pins and needles for a while, as the Catholic Charities center was closed for the holidays, but Jo-El ran over from an event just before Christmas to meet Shirley and get the quilts.  Thank you, Shirley!!

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More quilts arrived from Kevin J in Wayne, NJ!  Thank you!

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Please add this button to your sidebar with the URL of the FAQ post shown below, share it on social media, tell your local guild members, put it in your guild newsletters, post about this project on your blog, and let’s get as many as we can out of closets and off the UFO piles.  The director of the Catholic Charities organization (coordinating all the efforts with the Red Cross and other organizations) says the need will extend well into the year so you have plenty of time.  Together we can help cover the Carolina coast with quilted hugs. Do you have a quilt just sitting on a shelf that you could part with for someone who lost everything?

https://frommycarolinahome.com/carolina-hurricane-quilts/

If you are shipping, here’s a tip from a reader on how to save money. Use your pet food or bird seed bags as shipping envelopes. Just wash the bag to get rid of any residue, turn inside out and put your quilt inside. The inside out bag can be written on directly with a sharpie pen, taped up, and mailed. The bags are very light, so it reduces the total package weight, saving you money.  Even if you use a box, it is under $15 to ship a full size quilt.

Update – Two issues have arisen that I want to address.  Please be sure that your quilts are clean and free of cat and dog hair.  I received one that I had to vacuum and then wash because it was dirty and covered in pet hair.  Ultimately, I couldn’t send it to Wilmington, instead donating it to the homeless shelter here.  Second, please do not send commemorative or holiday quilts.  It just isn’t an appropriate use of a breast cancer survivor quilt, or a t-shirt quilt of the places you’ve been, or a Christmas quilt.  For those who have lost everything they owned, let’s give them a quilt they can use everyday.

Whether you are making a quilt specifically for this drive, or you have one finished and sitting on a shelf in your home, all quilts welcome.  Do you have a nice size quilt just sitting that you could part with for someone who lost everything?  Can you help with the Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project?

See the February update with more quilts and another great story – HERE.

PDF Download of the Perkiomen Block and setting designs – Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project if you’d like to use this pattern for your own top.  FAQ Answer – No, I am no longer taking blocks myself, nor quilt tops.  My friends and I have made 5 queen size and 4 full size and 2 twin size quilts, and I am now concentrating on coordinating finished quilts, and matching top makers with longarmers.

Thank you to my favorite vendor partners for helping to spread the word on this project.  Get Hobbs Batting at Fat Quarter Shop, including all the Tuscany line with my affiliate links.  Quilter’s Dream Batting at FQS.  Superior Thread at FQS.  Find more patterns for quilts at Fave Quilts.