Quilt Legacies : by Linda Seward
At the meeting on Monday 17 February 2020, we had a discussion about quilt legacies - what to do with the tools and fabrics of our craft when we die. In an effort to down-size, I am having a huge clear-out and am looking for places to give away my stash/books so they find a good home where they will be used. Sending fabric and books to women's groups in other countries is a great idea, but somehow the cost of shipping needs to be paid for. How? I do feel this would be a fantastic business for a young, energetic, ecology-minded person to take on. It wouldn't be too difficult to set up an organisation that will sift and sort quilting supplies and get them out to people who need them. Someone already involved in a charity might wish to add this to the charity's remit.
The best idea is that you pay to be a member of a quilt community with a central storage area. You would pay a small annual fee to be part of this charity. Goods would be sent there to be sorted and photographed and then sold on Ebay or Gumtree or to other quilters who come in - the money received would pay for the organiser's salary, for the storage facility and for shipping items to women's groups in other countries. A friend even had a name for it: Re-Stash. You would receive credits towards your annual membership if you make donations. But this is actually a business - who's looking for a new job?
Another idea is to pay a reputable organisation to dispose of the items properly—the monetary donations provided would fund sifting, storage and finally transport to people who need it. Or offer the items to a city to provide for a community art installation, such as for Hull's year of culture--but this means finding a new outlet every year. Create a local “quilt bank” similar to a food bank, where people can come and take quilts, fabrics and books for free--but this needs to be funded somehow and monitored.
I have been talking to Chris Gatman at the Quilters Guild to discuss legacies and what we can do with our quilting stuff. The Guild is going to re-visit their legacy policy to make it clearer, but at the moment they cannot accept anything except money as there is no one there to deal with books or a stash and very little storage now that we no longer have the museum/gallery. So if you have left your stash to the Guild in your will, do re-think this as they will not be able to accept it as it is.
At London Quilters, we have inherited a lot of our members’ stashes. As our group ages, this will become all too common and it would be a good idea to think about what we can do to ease the situation for our families and our quilt group.
Here are some things that London Quilters must consider if and when we accept future legacies from our members:
- Ask families for transport costs
- Sifting and sorting: set up a sorting organization which must be funded, ie. we’ll take it if you pay for transport and storage
- Pay for storage and staff with fees
- Work out the logistics, mainly storage, until items are sold
- Time commitment
- Where will the money go?
- Separate into fabric, hardware and books and don’t be afraid to bin stuff
- Give to a charity
- Resell on Ebay
- Beneficiaries - we should consider adding in a line in the LQ constitution that says what is done with donations
- Pay a reputable organisation to dispose of the items properly - the donations provide funding for transport and storage
- City to provide for a community art installation, year of culture: city must give resources to organisers to go back to the community
- Gift a quilt: local “food bank” but a “quilt bank”
- Charities for ex servicemen
- Matching unwanted things with people
- Pay to be a member of a community with a central storage area. Call it Re-Stash - people would receive credits for annual membership.
I asked for ideas on this subject from the CQ group a few years ago, and here are some good ones:
Val Shields
As we get older we come to realise just how much we have accumulated over the years. Some of the stuff I buy, I use regularly but there are so many impulse buys which I have used only once or not at all. I am well aware that The Guild has neither space nor staff to accept anything other than money and that it is up to us to make our own arrangements but it is difficult to know how to do it. This opens up another very useful discussion for us all and I think we might send our thoughts also to the QGBI list.
Anne Turner
When the time comes and after my family have kept what they wanted I want my books to go to the county library where more people would have access to them. My fabric would be given to Fine Cell work and Di Wells Albania charities.
Heather Hasthorpe
We have a local Christian charity that we have supported in the past called Tools with a Mission: http://www.twam.uk/
They take tools and sewing machines (and sometimes like books and fabric) to poor communities in Africa and help people set up small businesses to support their families. I believe they now have collectors in different parts of the country too.
Caroline Hounsell
Your local Project Linus co-ordinator may come and collect fabric to use in PL quilts. I take whatever fabric or scraps I am offered and put them in a bag until I have enough for a quilt, but actually, it is rare for me to be offered any! Contact us http://projectlinusuk.org.uk/contact-us/
Mostly in my immediate area I think people seem to gradually stop buying things and gradually sell off or give away what they have over a period of time. Or do you have a quilty friend who could take and sell things for you/the Guild or whoever you are wanting to benefit, at the AGM weekends? I can’t imagine that quilters wouldn't be interested!
Cherry Vernon
I give all my old sewing machines, fabrics, threads, books of basic sewing/patchwork, patterns - quilting and dressmaking, knitting machines, wools, computers, printers etc. to Tools With A Mission www.twam.uk http://www.twam.co/ This is a Christian based organisation which sends tools and equipment of all kinds to Africa. The donated goods all go to the headquarters in Ipswich where they are sorted into kits. Gardening, sewing, woodworking etc. These go into a container and are shipped to Africa where they are delivered to communities. The kits are given to suitable recipients who are given training and then have a means of making a living. There are collectors all over the country. Do have a look on the website. Sewing machines are particularly sought after including treadles. I am gradually sorting my ‘stuff’ and TWAM have accepted everything I have given them. If received items are not suitable to send to Africa, they are sold in the UK and the cash is used to transport everything. I hope this might be a way of other people being able to clear their shelves.
Ann Pullen
Here in Pembrokeshire we have a local 'Stitches' group where we have a ' craft cupboard clear out' sale April and November.
We have done it for the past 4 years. It is staggering how many donations we get and the buyers come from North Wales and the Midlands as well as locally. We sell anything craft, sewing, knitting, embroidery, tapestry, art, cooking, crochet etc. related including books and make cakes and savouries to sell with tea and coffee. Left over cakes etc are packed into assorted choices of 4 or 5 and sold as well. Plus a quality raffle. We regularly raise around £800 in a couple of hours sale time. We work quite hard for it but the benefit to 2 or 3 local charities is well worth the effort. Yes, it takes a few sometimes bossy and willing cooks and grafters to get it done but we have fun doing it and we all benefit from sifting through our own stashes regularly. Hopefully we will not need to also make use of the hospice which is one of our charities but it's satisfying to know that should the need arise, you have already made a contribution to keeping it up and running.
Helen Howes:
At Christmas, my Teapots Quilters Group has a Bash Your Stash table - all manner of odd things are put down, including half-finished projects and unlikely fabrics. pretty much everything vanishes. This is more fun than a barrel of cats.
Mary Chidlow
I am in Region 3. Recently a hospice shop has opened in Stubbington village in Hampshire. They are selling donated craft materials - wool; card making materials; items and fabrics for quilting; artists paints, brushes and paper; fabric paints; small craft tools ; books on craft subjects . etc. The money goes to the Rowans Hospice at Waterlooville. Half of the shop is also given over to smaller items of bric brac, ornaments and china. Perhaps this could be the answer in other areas of the country. If not a separate shop but a section of an existing shop.
Sarah Showers
One way we recycle quilting and embroidery materials and books is by developing a relationship with our local secondary schools who teach GCSE and advanced level textiles or art textiles. Their budget is so tiny that fabrics are always welcome and now that 50s/60s stuff is in vogue some of our oldest books are used in research! We also go in occasionally to tutor small groups in skills the school doesn't have for particular projects. We raise money for annual awards for their A level students who come to our meeting with their work & sketchbooks. It's a very rewarding relationship.
Margaret Cooter
There must be something in the air - so many people are downsizing their supplies, decluttering, "japanese tidying", etc - me too....Those are all great ideas in terms of setting up a charity or business - yes, what's needed is a (young?) enterpreneur. An organisation that might lead to finding one is Enterprise Nation (https://www.enterprisenation.com/about-us) - I went to some of their events after finishing my degree at Camberwell, which shows that they "market" themselves to recent graduates.
Margaret Harris
My stitching group meet once a month and we have acquired a beautiful old fashioned suitcase. Each month we bring our unwanted stitchery stuff: fabric, haberdashery, threads. patterns etc to the suitcase in the form of a donation to the group. Members can put in as much or as little money as they can afford in return for the goods they wish to have. Sometimes the suitcase runs low of goods and we ask members to have a look at their cupboards at home to make some more donations.
One person is in charge of the suitcase.... and we regularly cull any long-standing unwanted goods to one of the 3 charity shops in the town where we meet. We call it our recycling suitcase. One person’s rubbish is another person’s treasure.
We do not accept books or magazines to the suitcase... too heavy. Members can bring these to the meeting and the proceeds goes to the members with 10% to the group. At the end of the session the books etc have to be taken home again or can be taken to one of the charity shops by the member who brings them. It has proved a very popular process.... and has made reasonable funds towards the group expenses too. Members like the idea they have first pickings of the goods before they go to the charity shop. Hope this gives some inspiration to others.
The best idea is that you pay to be a member of a quilt community with a central storage area. You would pay a small annual fee to be part of this charity. Goods would be sent there to be sorted and photographed and then sold on Ebay or Gumtree or to other quilters who come in - the money received would pay for the organiser's salary, for the storage facility and for shipping items to women's groups in other countries. A friend even had a name for it: Re-Stash. You would receive credits towards your annual membership if you make donations. But this is actually a business - who's looking for a new job?
Another idea is to pay a reputable organisation to dispose of the items properly—the monetary donations provided would fund sifting, storage and finally transport to people who need it. Or offer the items to a city to provide for a community art installation, such as for Hull's year of culture--but this means finding a new outlet every year. Create a local “quilt bank” similar to a food bank, where people can come and take quilts, fabrics and books for free--but this needs to be funded somehow and monitored.
I have been talking to Chris Gatman at the Quilters Guild to discuss legacies and what we can do with our quilting stuff. The Guild is going to re-visit their legacy policy to make it clearer, but at the moment they cannot accept anything except money as there is no one there to deal with books or a stash and very little storage now that we no longer have the museum/gallery. So if you have left your stash to the Guild in your will, do re-think this as they will not be able to accept it as it is.
At London Quilters, we have inherited a lot of our members’ stashes. As our group ages, this will become all too common and it would be a good idea to think about what we can do to ease the situation for our families and our quilt group.
Here are some things that London Quilters must consider if and when we accept future legacies from our members:
- Ask families for transport costs
- Sifting and sorting: set up a sorting organization which must be funded, ie. we’ll take it if you pay for transport and storage
- Pay for storage and staff with fees
- Work out the logistics, mainly storage, until items are sold
- Time commitment
- Where will the money go?
- Separate into fabric, hardware and books and don’t be afraid to bin stuff
- Give to a charity
- Resell on Ebay
- Beneficiaries - we should consider adding in a line in the LQ constitution that says what is done with donations
- Pay a reputable organisation to dispose of the items properly - the donations provide funding for transport and storage
- City to provide for a community art installation, year of culture: city must give resources to organisers to go back to the community
- Gift a quilt: local “food bank” but a “quilt bank”
- Charities for ex servicemen
- Matching unwanted things with people
- Pay to be a member of a community with a central storage area. Call it Re-Stash - people would receive credits for annual membership.
I asked for ideas on this subject from the CQ group a few years ago, and here are some good ones:
Val Shields
As we get older we come to realise just how much we have accumulated over the years. Some of the stuff I buy, I use regularly but there are so many impulse buys which I have used only once or not at all. I am well aware that The Guild has neither space nor staff to accept anything other than money and that it is up to us to make our own arrangements but it is difficult to know how to do it. This opens up another very useful discussion for us all and I think we might send our thoughts also to the QGBI list.
Anne Turner
When the time comes and after my family have kept what they wanted I want my books to go to the county library where more people would have access to them. My fabric would be given to Fine Cell work and Di Wells Albania charities.
Heather Hasthorpe
We have a local Christian charity that we have supported in the past called Tools with a Mission: http://www.twam.uk/
They take tools and sewing machines (and sometimes like books and fabric) to poor communities in Africa and help people set up small businesses to support their families. I believe they now have collectors in different parts of the country too.
Caroline Hounsell
Your local Project Linus co-ordinator may come and collect fabric to use in PL quilts. I take whatever fabric or scraps I am offered and put them in a bag until I have enough for a quilt, but actually, it is rare for me to be offered any! Contact us http://projectlinusuk.org.uk/contact-us/
Mostly in my immediate area I think people seem to gradually stop buying things and gradually sell off or give away what they have over a period of time. Or do you have a quilty friend who could take and sell things for you/the Guild or whoever you are wanting to benefit, at the AGM weekends? I can’t imagine that quilters wouldn't be interested!
Cherry Vernon
I give all my old sewing machines, fabrics, threads, books of basic sewing/patchwork, patterns - quilting and dressmaking, knitting machines, wools, computers, printers etc. to Tools With A Mission www.twam.uk http://www.twam.co/ This is a Christian based organisation which sends tools and equipment of all kinds to Africa. The donated goods all go to the headquarters in Ipswich where they are sorted into kits. Gardening, sewing, woodworking etc. These go into a container and are shipped to Africa where they are delivered to communities. The kits are given to suitable recipients who are given training and then have a means of making a living. There are collectors all over the country. Do have a look on the website. Sewing machines are particularly sought after including treadles. I am gradually sorting my ‘stuff’ and TWAM have accepted everything I have given them. If received items are not suitable to send to Africa, they are sold in the UK and the cash is used to transport everything. I hope this might be a way of other people being able to clear their shelves.
Ann Pullen
Here in Pembrokeshire we have a local 'Stitches' group where we have a ' craft cupboard clear out' sale April and November.
We have done it for the past 4 years. It is staggering how many donations we get and the buyers come from North Wales and the Midlands as well as locally. We sell anything craft, sewing, knitting, embroidery, tapestry, art, cooking, crochet etc. related including books and make cakes and savouries to sell with tea and coffee. Left over cakes etc are packed into assorted choices of 4 or 5 and sold as well. Plus a quality raffle. We regularly raise around £800 in a couple of hours sale time. We work quite hard for it but the benefit to 2 or 3 local charities is well worth the effort. Yes, it takes a few sometimes bossy and willing cooks and grafters to get it done but we have fun doing it and we all benefit from sifting through our own stashes regularly. Hopefully we will not need to also make use of the hospice which is one of our charities but it's satisfying to know that should the need arise, you have already made a contribution to keeping it up and running.
Helen Howes:
At Christmas, my Teapots Quilters Group has a Bash Your Stash table - all manner of odd things are put down, including half-finished projects and unlikely fabrics. pretty much everything vanishes. This is more fun than a barrel of cats.
Mary Chidlow
I am in Region 3. Recently a hospice shop has opened in Stubbington village in Hampshire. They are selling donated craft materials - wool; card making materials; items and fabrics for quilting; artists paints, brushes and paper; fabric paints; small craft tools ; books on craft subjects . etc. The money goes to the Rowans Hospice at Waterlooville. Half of the shop is also given over to smaller items of bric brac, ornaments and china. Perhaps this could be the answer in other areas of the country. If not a separate shop but a section of an existing shop.
Sarah Showers
One way we recycle quilting and embroidery materials and books is by developing a relationship with our local secondary schools who teach GCSE and advanced level textiles or art textiles. Their budget is so tiny that fabrics are always welcome and now that 50s/60s stuff is in vogue some of our oldest books are used in research! We also go in occasionally to tutor small groups in skills the school doesn't have for particular projects. We raise money for annual awards for their A level students who come to our meeting with their work & sketchbooks. It's a very rewarding relationship.
Margaret Cooter
There must be something in the air - so many people are downsizing their supplies, decluttering, "japanese tidying", etc - me too....Those are all great ideas in terms of setting up a charity or business - yes, what's needed is a (young?) enterpreneur. An organisation that might lead to finding one is Enterprise Nation (https://www.enterprisenation.com/about-us) - I went to some of their events after finishing my degree at Camberwell, which shows that they "market" themselves to recent graduates.
Margaret Harris
My stitching group meet once a month and we have acquired a beautiful old fashioned suitcase. Each month we bring our unwanted stitchery stuff: fabric, haberdashery, threads. patterns etc to the suitcase in the form of a donation to the group. Members can put in as much or as little money as they can afford in return for the goods they wish to have. Sometimes the suitcase runs low of goods and we ask members to have a look at their cupboards at home to make some more donations.
One person is in charge of the suitcase.... and we regularly cull any long-standing unwanted goods to one of the 3 charity shops in the town where we meet. We call it our recycling suitcase. One person’s rubbish is another person’s treasure.
We do not accept books or magazines to the suitcase... too heavy. Members can bring these to the meeting and the proceeds goes to the members with 10% to the group. At the end of the session the books etc have to be taken home again or can be taken to one of the charity shops by the member who brings them. It has proved a very popular process.... and has made reasonable funds towards the group expenses too. Members like the idea they have first pickings of the goods before they go to the charity shop. Hope this gives some inspiration to others.