Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Dignity Quilt & Jelly Roll Race Variation


This is the Dignity Quilt that my quilt guild - the Crocus Quilters in Dauphin, MB made to donate to our local funeral home.  What is a Dignity Quilt?  The purpose of this quilt is to be used in places like nursing homes, when the deceased makes a public exit leaving the building on the way to the Funeral Home.  The quilt can be used to cover the stretcher, so instead of seeing a body bag being wheeled out, residents and staff can see the stretcher covered in a quilt instead.


We wanted the design to be non-denominational and to reflect our surroundings - fields, lakes and rolling hills.  We found inspiration in the book "Lovely Landscape Quilts" by Cathy Geier.


Guild members were asked to bring in 2" batik fabric strips that we would combine for the project.   Many hand were involved in the donations, cutting, layout, and sewing.  The quilt is about 55"' x 96."



I offered to quilt the final product, and the Zephyr pantograph that to me resembles wind seemed to be the perfect choice.


We didn't want any of the donated strips to go to waste, so  we came up with a creative way to use them up.  A fun variation on a Jelly Roll Race quilt.


Strips of all sizes were sewn together like you would for a jelly roll race quilt.  We don't know exactly how much fabric we started with!  It was ending up to be kind of an odd shape so we got creative.


At this point the top is twice as long as it is wide.  We first cut it in half horizontally.


Then we cut each half on the diagonal.


Rearrange the triangles and Voila!


A border was added to contain all the bias edges before quilting.


I quilted this one with the Plush pantograph.  It will make another great addition to have on hand for our guild's comfort quilt program.  Hopefully there won't be a need for it to be given out too soon.







13 comments:

  1. A wonderful quilt, and the quilting, it reminds me of the lyrics " You are the wind beneath my wings". From the ground to the sky, it is all there in those strips so artfully arranged. Beautiful design. I know sometimes all the doors are shut as the stretcher is taken out, and in hospitals, windows on doors are covered, but a quilt like this gives a lovely meaning to the end of a life.

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    1. How long are wide before you started to cut?I think I would like to make a few of them

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    2. I was wondering the same. Study the pictures. Guessing the floor boards are 6” wide, approximately 3 strips to a board = 2” finished strips (cut 2 1/2’ strips)
      Thinking width is 9 boards at 6” = 56”. Says length is twice the width = 112”. THIS IS A GUESS DO NOT TAKE THIS AS ACTUAL MEASUREMENTS.

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    3. These were 2” strips so they finished at 1.5” and I’m counting 32 in the photo so The piece before cutting was about 48 x 96, but you could do any size. It would be different with Jelly roll strips. You just need to be able to cut two squares.

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  2. Your quilt is so simple but so effective love it 🇦🇺

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  3. On a freezing morning in December 1990, my deceased husband was placed on a stretcher and wheeled from our condo to the ambulance, with nothing on but is undershorts. I was twice mortified, from his death then the way he was wheeled past the neighbors. Maybe emergency services could take a lesson from this.

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    1. I’m so sorry that happened to you and him. :(

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  4. Is this made from 1 jelly roll?

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  5. The dignity quilt is a wonderful idea, and beautiful I have to say. I worked in a nursing home years back in my nursing career and the funeral homes that would come and remove deceased residents always had a cover, usually maroon and made of a thick material that didn’t conform. I had no idea this wasn’t the case everywhere so I truly see the value in making this quilt. Great job!

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  6. I’m interested in the size once you’d finished please! Thanks for your help, Debbie

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  7. Whichever way I laid out the triangles I always had an empty space in the middle whether I started with a square or a rectangle Any tips? Many thanks

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    1. Not sure what to tell you . Maybe match up the middle and trim off the extra on the outside to square it up?

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  8. What a lovely idea on the Dignity Quilt. My question is - do you donate these to the Funeral home who then gives it to the family or do they use it again. Also have you been asked to provide any to the local nursing home that they could use to move the deceased to the vehicle if the funeral home doesn’t have one. Thanks

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