This is the latest completed quilt...for Emily who has sever ME.

These two lap quilts are on their way. 

This pretty one is going to a little 3 year old living in the UK. She has cerebal Palsey
and holoprosencelphaly.

and thsi one is going to Trena who lives in the USA. She is 53 yo and has Chronic illness of
Copd and congested heart failure. She has Neauropathy in the legs and can only
walk a few feet. She has other medical problems which leave her chair bound

These two lap quilts are on their way to the USA, for two sisters who both have have muscular dystrophy, are dependant on a ventilator majority of the time, and are severely disabled

Lilyann is a  little three year old who  has Static Encephalopthy and Hypotonia. She has severe epilepsy. and also wears orthotics on both feet.

I am just waiting for confirmation of her mailing details and it will be on its way to Texas from the UK.

Matthew is 8yo and has Profound and Multiple learning Difficulties Intractable
epilepsy Severe Microcephaly...

We made a quilt for him, with 'super heroes' as the theme. 

Charts  to fit this theme proved to be few and far between, but the SOLAK members rose to the challenge. 

Matthews mum says he loves the quilt.

After quite a while without the blog on the website, the technical hitches have been ironed out (I hope) and we can begin updating again and letting you all know what has been going on.

I will be posting news soon with pictures of some of our gifts made and what people have said about them.

In the meantime, I have added a forum to the site.  We have received several emails saying that people want to be involved but are not ready to join our yahoo members group.  So feel free to visit the new forum, ask questions and chat about all things SOLAK.

When we make a gift for someone, it is made and sent with love.  We do not ask for thanks, but when we do receive news of how our gifts are received and appreciated, it makes us more determined to do our utmost to bring some joy to those who need that little bit of extra care at difficult times.

We would like to share some of the comments made by people who have received a SOLAK gift over the past few weeks.

More photos of our work can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/fts/collections/

A letter from J's dad:

I am just writing to you to thank you for the cushion you sent my son
J, we received it today and its fantastic, he really likes it and he
is a bit more willing to have his physio done now he can lay on his
special gift. Thanks so much.

Dear
Just a brief email to offer our sincerest thanks for the wonderful
cushion that arrived today for our son Z - it was so unexpected!
He is a little under the weather at the moment having just come home from hospital with an 'unspecified' viral infection! Poor little mite - he puts up with
hospital stays as best he can but he REALLY doesn't like them -
especially the confinement to his room!
What a kind and generous thing for you and your members to have done.
Please pass on our kindest regards for everyone involved,
particularly in the making of Z's cushion.
It never ceases to amaze us - the kindness of complete strangers -
and YES - it really does make a difference, even to Z who is too
young to fully grasp the situation.
Thanks once again,
Best regards
Father of Z

 

---

Its been a while since I added an update to our notice board, and although I am sorry to have kept everyone 'in the dark', so to speak,  I do have the excuse that we have been so busy at SOLAK that finding time has been somewhat in short supply.

We have several quilt requests completed this year already and Mary has more in various stages of completion for recipents in the USA. 

Making lapquilts  for children AND adults is and will continue to be our priority, but this last few months has seen a big interest in us making cushions and mini quilts for several projects in the UK.

KIDS PROJECT

Nicki, our wonderful quilter in Switzerland has been making cuddle cushions for individual children for Kids Company as well as cushions for their cosy corners in the unit, using squares donated by SOLAK.  If you would like to know more about Kids Project go to  http://www.kidsco.org.uk/

Nicki also makes mini quilts and cushions for another therapy centre in the UK, again using squares stitched by members of SOLAK.

POSTPALS

In the past we have made lapquilts and cushions which have been requested by Vicki at PostPals.

In December we agreed to make cushions for all the children at Postpals, at that time just over 50 of them. There are more children being added to the PostPals List all the time, so we expect this to be an ongoing project.

Sylvia has made and mailed out over 20 cushions to PostPal children so far and is working on the rest.

To find out more about PostPals visit  ttp://www.postpals.co.uk/find.php

None of the above would be possible without the wonderul members of SOLAK who so generously stitch and sew to provide these gifts.

Finally. We would like to thank Arline, a very generous lady who has donated a large amount of fabric and around 50 cushion fillers to the project. 

and to all the other people who have helped us...a big thank you!!

One of our quilters is involved with a UK charity that supports and helps young children who have had bad experiences or traumas in their lives.

She makes cushions which are given to these children.

SOLAK often receives squares that are larger than those we use for our quilts, and as we have a low demand for cushions from SOLAK, we have sent approx two dozen of then to the quilter for these children.

I know that people who have sent these pieces will be only too happy to know that their hard work has been worth while and that they will be giving happiness to a child in need of comfort and love.

Photos of the square we have donated can be seen in our on-line photo albums at http://www.flickr.com/photos/fts/sets/72157606636315502/

When the cushions are completed we will be adding photos.  So watch this space.

Wow..is it really April already?  This year seems to be flying past at a great pace.  We have been busy making quilts and already have lots of pictures in our photo albums to testify to that...so perhaps this is the time to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped SOLAK continue to bring joy to so many people.  

Here is a quick update on some of the quilts made and presented already this year:-

LEIGH'S QUILT:

Leigh is 19 yrs old and lives in the USA. She has a rare metabolic disease called Methylmalic Acidemia, and received a Kidney transplant in 2006. She is very small in size about 4'1 and is mentally about 10 years old with a history of seizures.  She loves cats and Disney princesses, so we made her a quilt with both these in the design.

CALLUM'S QUILT:

Callum is 6 years old and lives in the UK.  He has Prader Willi Syndrome and has to use a wheelchair as he finds walking very difficult    We were told he loved cars and buses and we were lucky to find the ideal fabric to show off the cross-stitched squares made especially for his quilt.

BEA'S QUILT:

Bea is 50 and lives in the USA.  She has squamous cell carcinoma cancer of the lymph nodes..this is her second time dealing with this sickness. 

MERLE'S QUILT:

This was a special quilt for us to make.  One of our member's, Merle, had a sudden illness and we all wanted to show her that we were thinking of her.  Merle has been a friend to SOLAK for many years and we were all happy to get together and make her a quilt.  Keeping it a secret was the hardest part, but after a little detective work to find out what sort of designs she liked...we managed to surprise her.   Merle is now on the mend and we wish her all the best...and our love.

We have quite a few quilts in progress at the moment...we will post pictures when we can.  In the meantime we will be updating the on-line photo albums over the next couple of weeks so if you would like to see some of the quilts already made just visit  http://www.flickr.com/photos/fts/collections/72157600875234939/

If you know someone who would like to receive one of our quilts please visit the request page at the website and complete the form.  When we aren't stitching for a particular quilt, we stitch for quilts which are made up and kept until we have a recipient for them.  Having these 'warehouse' quilts means that we can often have a quilt ready when needed. 

The quilts and cushions made by SOLAK are presented to our recipients for free.  The cost of making and sending them has risen dramatically over the past couple of years and there is yet another increase in postage costs coming this month...so trying to raise funds to offset some of the costs has been one of the tasks we have had to tackle.  To raise funds we have an on-line auction shop at eBid with items donated by members.

Please visit and grab a bargain, and at the same time help support our group.

http://uk.ebid.net/stores/STITCHES-OF-LOVE-AND-KINDNESS

WE  WISH ALL OUR MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A VERY, VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR.

We undertsand that when people have major issues happening in their lives, contacting us about a requested quilt may be the last thing on their minds. 

Perhaps they move house, lose their internet access...or worse.

We currently have a quilt ready to be mailed out to a young boy Lorenzo...also known as Dre.  He lives in the USA and has acute lymphoblastic leukemia.  The request was made by his aunt..but we have been unable to contact her for a mailing address.

If you are Dre's aunt please email Sylvia.

SOLAK make quilts for all ages and for people with a diverse range of illnesses.  To show the different sorts of requests we recieve and accept, here are some of the quilts which have been completed and sent out during the first half of this year...

Connor  - 16yo - severely disabled and blind.

Alan - 23yo - heart transplant

Johny Rae  - awaiting multi-organ transplants

Kate - 33yo - chronic fatigue syndrome

Lynne G -  - ME and confined to bed.

Isaiah - 16months old - childhood cancer called Hepatoblastoma stage IV

Uriel - 40yo - diagnosed with Lupus at 17yo.

Geraint - 19yo  - infection, undergoing chemotherapy

Roberta -  serious heart problems

Lois - 66yo  - cancer

Liam - baby  - born premature with problems needing surgery.

Vivica - 6yo - heart and kidney disease

Pam - 59yo - Parkinsons

Catherine - 31yo - breast cancer

Jenna delivered a quilt to Mary, and posted this message to the group....

She LOVES HER QUILT! I mean, absolutely LOVES it, ladies! And she
wanted to sincerely thank each and every one of you who put your
time, efforts and money into making it for her. She was in tears
(happy tears, of course) knowing that people from all over the world,
who don't even know her, cared enough to do this for her.

Here is a message straight from her, just for you:

"My dearest ladies,

My heart is exploding with joy over the beautiful comforter that you
made with your precious hands just for me! I can see the love and
care that was put into each stitch. I know you were thinking of me
when you made the comforter.

Jenna brought it to my home and I just couldn't believe what I was
seeing. My mind couldn't fathom that ladies I've never met took the
time to hand make something so wonderful. I cried tears of joy.

I cherish the comforter and sleep with it every night. Thankfully, I
am usually cold at night even in the summertime. The comforter stays
on my bed and I love it. I look at it often, and touch each square
thinking of you.

My gratitude is immense and my heart explodes with joy. Thank you
with all that I have and may God richly bless you and what you are
doing for others.

With loving thoughts,

Mary"

And that's what makes all of your efforts worthwhile. Thank you so
much, from myself as well, for your love and devotion to this work.
It really does make a difference. I didn't understand until I saw
the impact for myself.

This little five year old girl has had a tough start in life spending the 1st 12months in plaster due to dislocated hips, her skin during this time was so poorly it bled constantly and the plaster aggrivated this. Her skin problems still cause her much discomfort and her asthma requires constant monitoring and treatments. She is allergic to many things,most of which she remembers herself! she is poorly often and she tires easily.

Her quilt is in the process of being made. We will post a photo when it is completed.

Liam was born prematurely with his intestines outside his body. He has had eight surgeries in the first two months of his life, and will face more.

We wanted to show his parents that we cared, and although L is too small at the moment we hope that when he is a little bigger he will enjoy using it.

Nicki has made her first quilt for SOLAK.  The floral designs were a SAL by the group members and were stitched on pale peach and darker peach aida.

Nicki, who lives in Switzerland, did a great job on the quilt which was sent to Lois who is 66yo,  lives in the USA, and is undergoing cancer teatment.

Well done Nicki and welcome to our great team of quilters who do such a wonderful job.

I received a letter from Pam today, thanking us all for her quilt. It  said:

'God bless you and all the others who worked on that quilt. It is the
 most beautiful one I have ever seen. I love flowers, little cottages,
and my favourite holiday is Christmas. How in the world did you know?
How did you know about me?'
 
'In this whole big world, you very nice people whom I don't even know,
make me a beautiful quilt.'

'Thank you, thank you so much.'
 
'I have Parkinson's, and a very bad back. The doctor says I would die
 if he operates on me, so I use a wheelcahir and take very strong meds.
... ... I pray for you and your wonderful group of
 quilters. May God bless you in all that you do and bless you in a
 special way for the kindness you show.'


 I'm sure you'll agree that it's messages like these that make us all
 want to continue x-stitching and quilting so that we can touch more
lives in this way. Keep up the good work everyone!

 Happy stitching!
 Karen B

WELCOME TO SOLAK

We cross-stitch quilt squares which are then made into lap quilts for children and adults with long term or life-threatening illnesses.