Creating Comfort. Stitch by Stitch. Right Here at Home.

At MDQ Designs, we believe quilts do more than keep people warm—they bring comfort, hope, and a reminder that someone cares. Our MDQ Community Quilt Charity is focused on meeting local needs first, creating handmade quilts and sewn items for those facing illness, hardship, or tragedy.

MDQ Designs proudly serves as the main hub for this charity—providing space, support, and community to make it all happen.

What We’re Making

Our charity group creates:

Comfort quilts for sick or ill patients, including cancer patients
Quilts for children’s camps and youth facing difficult circumstances
Quilts for families affected by tragedy or crisis
Walker and wheelchair bags distributed to local care facilities
Handmade stuffed animals for snuggling

Every project is thoughtfully made with quality materials to ensure durability, dignity, and love in every stitch.

Monetary Donations Are Always Appreciated

Monetary donations allow us to:

Purchase coordinating, high-quality fabrics
Finish quilts with proper backing, batting, and binding
Provide durable hardware and materials for bags and accessories

Monetary donations have the greatest impact and flexibility.
Donation receipts are available, and all donations support our registered non-profit efforts.

Join Us — Stitch Together

We meet the first Wednesday of every month from 9-4:00 in the MDQ classroom to work on charity projects together.
Whether you sew a little or a lot, you’re welcome here. We need help cutting, writing thank you cards, sorting fabrics, distributing donations and so much more, you don’t have to sew to join our group! All of the details for the current projects we are working on and what to expect for the next gathering are located on our classes and events page. Just look for the “MDQ Cares for You” events.

Classes & Events — Mother Daughter Quilting

This is a relaxed, supportive environment focused on community, compassion, and creativity.

Leadership

This charity group is led by Monica Aranci and Kari Gortemaker.

Their leadership, heart, and dedication help keep projects moving and meaningful. We are so thankful for them!

Nominate a Quilt Recipient

Know someone who could use a quilt during a difficult time?

We welcome nominations for recipients, especially for local needs.
Please email your nomination and a brief explanation to:

mdqcaresforyou@gmail.com

All nominations are reviewed with care and discretion.

The more we know, the better we can care.
When nominating a recipient, please share as many details as possible—age, gender, likes, favorite colors, and anything else that helps us make the quilt just right. A phone number and contact information for the recipient or presenting group is required so we can coordinate delivery.

How MDQ Designs Supports the Cause

MDQ Designs is proud to give back by offering:

10% off all purchases made specifically for charity projects
Free use of our classroom for charity workdays
Storage space for works in progress and completed items

We believe in removing barriers so volunteers can focus on what matters—creating comfort for others.

Follow Along & Stay Connected

We’d love for you to check in, follow along, and see the impact your support makes.
Updates, project photos, and needs lists will be shared regularly on our Facebook page and at the bottom of this page.

Together, we can wrap our community in comfort—one quilt at a time.

What We’re Creating Right Now

Fabric Donations — Please Read Carefully

To ensure consistency and quality across all projects, MDQ Cares for You accepts only specific, requested fabrics.

👉 Please do not donate unrequested or miscellaneous fabrics.
This allows us to use every donation effectively and avoid unnecessary waste.

Current fabric requests will be listed and updated regularly on this page.

Current Requests:

We are in need of 24 inch by WOF (width of fabric) or 2/3 yard pieces of fabric to make our walker and wheelchair bags. It needs to be regular quilting cotton, no specialty fabrics, please. It needs to be a full piece with no prior cuts. We could also use 24 inch width or larger batting scraps, cotton blends works best, not plain polyester batting please.

Themed or printed fabric that would be great for men’s projects.

We are also taking 5 inch squares of regular quilting cotton, coordinating fabrics would be great but not necessary. This is to make quilt blocks for donation quilts. We will start with the “Disappearing 9-patch” quilt blocks. If you have large pieces of coordinating fabrics uncut, we can cut them into 5” squares. Batting Twin size and larger or backing fabrics, 4 yard or bigger cuts welcome to finish our quilts.

Fabric and supplies can be dropped off at the quilt shop during open hours or brought to “MDQ Cares for You” events on the first Wednesday of each month, 9-4:30.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, donations are tax deductible. You will receive an emailed receipt detailing your donation amount along with the applicable tax information needed for accounting purposes. Please retain this receipt for your records.
Your donation goes directly into the MDQ Cares for You project account and is used solely to support our charity work. Funds help cover coordinating fabrics, batting, backing, and other supplies needed to complete quilts and sewn items, as well as postage or delivery costs when projects are distributed.
Your donation is never used for personal compensation or unrelated expenses—it supports only the materials and costs directly tied to our charity quilts and outreach projects.
Absolutely! Volunteers are always welcome. You can help by sewing, cutting, pressing, sorting, organizing, writing thank-you notes, and more. Even if you don’t sew, there is plenty of meaningful work to be done.
Interested in learning to sew? We’re happy to help teach you—no experience required.
Yes, we accept specific in-kind donations that directly support our current projects. To ensure consistency and quality, we are only able to accept items that are specifically requested at the time. Please check our current needs list before donating, as we are unable to accept miscellaneous or unrequested items.
No. There is no ongoing commitment required. You’re welcome to join us whenever your schedule allows—whether that’s occasionally or every month.
If you plan to sew, please bring your sewing machine and basic quilting notions (such as scissors, rotary cutter, ruler, and pins). If you don’t sew, just bring yourself—there will be plenty of ways to help. Fabric and project guidance will be provided based on current needs.