Thimble Farms: Guest Blog By Lindsay Sews

My name is Lindsay, and I blog at Lindsay Sews and Craft Buds. This January at QuiltCon, I had the chance to connect with the folks at Andover Fabrics! I’ve since had the pleasure of interviewing several Andover designers and sewing with Andover prints.

Most recently, Andover was so generous to support a charity that I work with called Thistle Farms. When I moved to Nashville, Tennessee in February of this year, I was looking for a way to get involved in the community and volunteer. I first learned about Thistle Farms when a friend told me about their handmade soaps, lotions and other bath products. The micro-business employs local women who have survived lives of prostitution, trafficking, addiction and life on the streets.

As part of the residential program helping these women turn their lives around, they join the job-training program at Thistle Farms—the newest branch of which is the sewing studio! Can you imagine how my ears perked up when I realized I could volunteer my sewing skills to help a great organization?

My very first day at Thistle Farms, I was able to connect with some of the other regular volunteers, who told me about their need for batik fabrics to make their newest product: fabric coasters. They’ve also started to make fabric-embellished gift tags, a community quilt, tote bags and T-shirts to sell at local coffee shops and boutiques.

When I reached out to Andover Fabrics about helping out, they said they’d love to support this charity project! In no time at all, my mailbox was filled with this stack of 8 yards of assorted Dimples prints to use in the Thistle Farms sewing studio. When I delivered the gorgeous fabric stack, the ladies could not wait to cut into them!

If you are reading this and you have a passion for sewing, I would encourage you to use your talents to help someone. Maybe it means making a quilt for someone undergoing medical treatments or donating your scrap fabrics to help kids learn how to sew. Perhaps there’s an organization in your city that could use your creativity. You never know until you ask! The 100 Quilts for Kids charity drive is another great place to use your quilting for good.