I am going to hand piece a patchwork quilt of ruby red stars to support the Lingen Davis Ruby Appeal. I'll sew the quilt with English paper piecing while I have my chemotherapy treatment. On the back of the quilt I will print the name of everyone who has sponsored me. 

Sponsor me

I would be delighted if you could sponsor me to sew a star in your name.  How you can help:

Donate £10 for 1 star

I'll hand piece the stars and make the quilt as big as I can. The more donations, the more stars! When the quilt is complete, I'll exhibit it and offer it for auction or raffle at a later date with an aim to raise further funds. You can sponsor me for as many stars as you wish!

**Update** 

Your response has been phenomenal! I think it will be sensible to limit the number of stars to sew to 500 or thereabouts. With 500 stars and the black diamond background I think that should make a really beautiful quilt. If you choose to donate after the 500 star point your name will still go on the back of the quilt as a thank you just as before and we'll get to keep raising money for the fund.

Send fabric

I'll need lots of different red fabrics for the stars and also different black fabrics for the background. You can also support me by sending me your red and black fabric scraps. Please send lightweight, quilting weight cotton fabrics. I only need small pieces, anything over 1.5" x 2" is enough for a single diamond. But of course you can send more! Please post fabrics to the address on my blog.

http://laurakemshall.blogspot.com

The fabrics can be commercial cottons, hand dyed fabrics, dressmaking scraps. They can be plain or variegated/patterned, but please make sure they are mostly red or black.

**Update**

Again you have blown me away with your generosity and have already sent me a pile of beautiful fabrics. If you have scraps to send me please do, or alternatively there will be a collection bin at the Husqvarna Viking Stand at Festival of Quilts in August at the NEC.

The back story...

In 2018, aged 39 I was diagnosed with bowel cancer. Since then I've had surgery to remove the visible cancer from my bowel, including a large tumour and the lymph nodes that had also become cancerous. I'm being scanned and monitored closely to keep a check on the cancer, looking for spread. In the meantime I'm undergoing a rigorous chemotherapy regime. Every other week I have a round of chemotherapy over the course of 48 hours. This will continue for 6 months. 

I have already been privileged to take advantage of new equipment in the Lingen Davis Centre funded by the money already raised for the Ruby Appeal. My chemo will be delivered via a PICC line (a permanent line inserted into my arm that travels into my heart to deliver the drugs as effectively as possible. Placement of that line was done using a brand new PICC Line Placement Machine. This equipment scans the arm before and after insertion of the line to help ensure correct positioning. 

Other funds raised by the Ruby Appeal have been used to purchase scoping equipment to aid in the earlier diagnosis of bowel cancers. My cancer took a long time to be diagnosed. Early detection is vital in improving survival so this is something very close to my heart.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. If you are able to sponsor a star, send me fabric, or help share the word of this project I will be forever grateful.

Love and light,

Laura xxx

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.