Charity Quilts
Purchase with a Purpose
When you buy one of these limited edition quilts, 50% of your purchase price will be donated to the ministries at Fuquay Varina United Methodist Church. Just look for "FVUMC" on the listing.
About Me
Heirloom in the Making is a woman-owned small business for the passionate creation of fabric arts by Sarah R. Yoffa.
I've been sewing since I was 9 and learned on an old Singer Treadle my mother had. I loved pumping the peddle but 50 years later, I am delighted to use a highly-computerized Janome MemoryCraft Horizon with a large throat (open space) for quilting small- to medium-sized projects (up to a large lap quilt).
I wish I had one of those big room-sized, high-speed quilting machines on a frame called a long arm system but I don't have the room in which to put it let alone the money to buy one (it's like buying another car). What I do have is a list of quilters who have both the room and money to buy one of these massive machines and who quilt for a living to pay for it. Some of them even have a computer controlled system for perfectly symmetrical automated work! I can subcontract all bed size or larger jobs out to one of them.
My personal style of quilt piecing (assembly of the quilt top) is usually to make applique (cutting out shapes and applying them to a ground fabric) or non-traditional designs. For me, applique is like I'm "painting with fabric" but I have a huge library of classic and traditional quilt blocks and designs so if there's something you saw or want, just ask! Chances are I can make it. If you have a picture, 99% guaranteed I can figure out a pattern myself to make it (or find a pattern online to buy).
I have a special method called "Shadow Applique" that I enjoy making for baby quilts. It's a method where a sheer overlay is placed over the applique shapes before they are hand-stitched down and then I machine quilt around the shapes. The image on this front page of my web site with all the flowers, ladybugs and snails is an example of Shadow Applique. I made that quilt for a charity in Florida back in 2015.
The pattern on the web site background is called Secret Garden and I would be happy to make one for you, too. I like to use Shadow Applique for baby quilts because it makes it feel fancy and and gives a baby a tactile experience--different fabric textures to touch and explore. I have even added Shadow Applique to a memory quilt (from grandparents' clothes) I made in 2020. Check out the "bears" on my Facebook business page and don't forget to check the comments for a picture of a matching pillow I made from leftover scraps of the memory clothing that had already been processed anyway (waste not, want not!!)
Although I like to make creative picture quilts, I can and have designed traditional quilts and I have a vast library traditional designs from which to choose. Browse through the shop to see some completed works I made as Charity Quilts or email me to discuss your ideas.
Lastly, speaking of memory quilts, I absolutely love doing tee shirt quilts and memory quilts. I find these projects really fun to make and such an honor when they are memory quilts from clothes of loved ones who have passed--a true heirloom in the making! If you want to know more about my process and how much it costs or how many shirts you'll need, please read through the FAQs here or use this worksheet . It also directs you on how to calculate a cost estimate yourself so you can play with the numbers before talking to me at all. If you would like my help figuring it all out, please email me today!