AUSTIN, Texas – Once a year, an Austin quilting group gathers its members together to spend an evening making as many infant quilts as possible.
- Quilters make blanket tops at home, finish them at annual sew-in
- Blankets donated to three Austin-area organizations
- Event hosted every November
The “Baby Bundles” sew-in is held by the Austin Area Quilt Guild every November. Throughout the year, members gather fabric and supplies and on one night, they bring their sewing machines and scissors to see how many quilts they can finish.
“We end up with a nice, very durable, baby- or child-sized quilt that can be washed and used as bedding, or a quilt that a baby can play on, or play with. Or you know, drag around when they are three or four depending on how long they keep the quilt,” explained the 2019 “Baby Bundles” organizer Karen Alexander.
Once finished, the quilts are donated to the Travis County Health and Human Services WIC program, Travis County Health and Families, and the Bastrop County Children’s Advocacy Center.
Alexander says each organization uses or gives away the quilts in several different ways. For example, when Travis County Health and Families get the blankets, they are often used as a reward for new parents participating in programs.
The sew-in isn’t the only time the quilters are making blankets for these programs. Members are asked to make a baby quilt every year on their birthday that will be donated as well.
At this year’s sew-in, about 80 quilts were finished and more were taken home by members to be completed.
In a year, the Quilt Guild makes and donates over 350 quilts which end up in the hands of families in need.
You can learn more about the Austin Area Quilt Guild and the charity work they do by clicking here.