In this day and age of computers?, the Internet and email, our personal communications have spread to many new people. One such group came into my life through the Internet after reading Ami Sim's online newsletter. They are called the Quilting Angels.

Who are these "Angels?" Why, just quilters with a lot of heart! On the Quilting Angels web site is a list of children who are critically ill or have life long illnesses. The featured children often times need the comfort and encouragement to keep up the battle against their illness that a quilt might bring. There are updates posted on the progress of their illnesses.

With each child's name there is a picture, description of their illness, a little about them, and a chosen block for quilters to sign up to make. Yes, each child on this list gets a quilt personally made by many people who they do not even know. The quilts that are made are chosen with the child's interests in mind. All the blocks are sent to one location, different people assemble the blocks into a quilt, the quilt is sent out to a machine quilter, then it is bound, a label attached, a picture taken and posted on the web site and then the quilt is sent to the child. There is feedback from the child and parents, and sometimes even a picture of the children with their quilts.

The quilters communicate through the web site and an email list (where everyone in a particular group communicates through a discussion group. The emails come to your mailbox - I choose to get mine in Digest form, so I have many emails from one group in just one email or digest.) They talk about the subject of the particular group (In this case Quilting Angels), the quilts they are making, the children, even what is happening in their daily lives, and ask questions on how to something in relation to the quilt blocks they are making. They even have fun playing Bingo for fat quarters online, have planned a retreat, and those that cannot make a block might send in the chosen backing fabric for a child’s quilt. All of this is done by volunteering, even the machine quilters.

If you want to contribute by making blocks or any other methods of helping, visit www.quiltingangels.org.

Some Quilts made by the "Quilting Angels"