Monday, February 25, 2013

Stars and cross stitch.

 Am I the only one who turns on the television and is angered by the number of crazy reality shows? I really don’t care how many kids you have, how obnoxious your six year old is or how big you gypsy wedding is. (I refuse to watch these shows but the trailers are always on TV.) These crazy people, who have absolutely no idea of reality,  are being paid a fortune to act as outlandish as possible.…and what’s worse, these people are treated like stars! It makes my blood boil. Just recently though, I had the good fortune to work with a true star, someone who works away tirelessly without fuss or fanfare, helping sick children and their families….now that’s a star in my book. And the name of this star? Simply Aunty Jane.

Aunty Jane runs a charity that makes quilts for sick and terminally ill children. Stitchers from around the world volunteer to stitch a square (or several squares) on a theme that the sick child asks for. Once Aunty Jane has all the squares she then makes them into the most wonderful quilts for these children. The quilts go everywhere with the children and are a great source of comfort while they endure some painful procedures in hospital. So, of course when Aunty Jane asked me if I could  design some motifs for these quilts, I was delighted to be able to help. Aunty Jane suggested that we do some Lego designs as they would probably be very popular with some of the little boys….and we all know how difficult it is to find suitable male designs! After contacting  the Lego company to make sure we weren’t breaking any copyright rules, I got to work. I decided to do an alphabet with each letter having a different Lego figure.

Sadly I don't have any pictures as I didn't stitch any of the designs, but If you click here  you’ll see the charts and some of the finished stitching.

Please check out the rest of Aunty Jane’s albums to see more wonderful stitching done by some true stars. The quilts are truly amazing. 

Please click here to find out more about the SfpSfc charity. 

I guess there must be hundreds of Aunty Jane’s around the world working away quietly, giving of their time and skill and making a real difference to the world albeit in a small way. Wouldn’t a program about these type of people (true stars) make a much better reality show – I know I’d watch!

Until next time…happy stitching!
Rhona

12 comments:

Mouse said...

am with you on this all the way .... don't watch telly but hear it from the other room and can't stand the whingeing and the whining etc etc etc... thank goodness for proper stars :) love mouse xxxxxx

Cleejoow said...

blessings for Aunty Jane!

Miamina said...

I totally agree about these talentless people being hailed as "stars", they are not good role models for young people and it's not entertainment. It's a cheap option for the TV stations rather than making quality TV shows and displays a total lack of creativity!

Thank you for publicising this charity stitching as I didn't know about it and it's something that I think is very worthwhile and I would like to get involved with!

Rebekah said...

Those Lego designs are adorable! I keep telling myself that I need to stitch a square for a charity quilt some day.

Rita said...

Wouldn't a better reality show be about your Aunty's quilt projects for these children? :-)

(I feel the same as you about the "reality" shows on TV now.)

Rita/TX

Emma/Itzy said...

I have stitched a few squares for Aunty Jane! She is so lovely and what a great cause :)

Valma said...

wow, Aunty Jane is a real angel, and we can see on the pictures that the children enjoy their made with love quilts
so kind, so free kindness, so great
sure your lego designs will bring smile with them
I need to have a closer look at this FB page...
big hugs
xxx

StitchyDragon Creates said...

Couldn't agree with you more! I would certainly prefer to watch TV programs about true heroes like Aunty Jane and her stitchers. Those lego designs are very cute, would it be possible to get a copy of them for personal use? Have a lovely stitchy week, Helen

curlyred said...

What a great idea and thank god for lovely people like Aunty Jane and yourself.

I just stumbled upon your little chef alphabet and i would love to stitch it as a gift but i can't find it anywhere, the link to your website has expired, how can i purchase it??

Have a nice day!
Kathy

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

My hubby was actually in a reality show!! It was about kids from a grotty comprehensive school forming a band. He provided the sound equipment for the band and the sound engineering. He was almost completely edited out of the final mix so it looked like the kids did everything.
He also said alot of the stuff was staged or misinterpreted to make it more dramatic!
Great Lego quilt project.

Unknown said...

I could not agree with you more - tv has really gotten terrible. Someone told me that it is because of a writer's strike several years ago, and there really are very few writers working for tv. All I know is that it is a complete waste of time. Thank you for giving your time and talents to the Aunty Jane project. When I retire, I am hoping to be able to have the time and energy to stitch for organizations like hers.

Caitlin @ Naughts Cross Stitches said...

I don't get angry because that means wasting emotion on them. I can't stand those shows. I would love to see more real work! I love the look of what Aunty Jane does.