Quilts For Orphans

Special deliveries ... bound for China and Ethiopia ...

Just a quick update ... with pictures taken recently at the Barn ... of the goodies that will be bound for China and Ethiopia VERY soon!!

I headed over to the barn a week or so back, camera in hand, to capture for posterity all the stitchings that had been made for the International China Concern (ICC) Home by our willing hands. It looked more than a little impressive when laid out on display, and I look forward to seeing and sharing some pictures when they are all in use in the Childrens Home there.

A selection of knitted goodies which will soon be keeping the babies extra snuggly ....

All stitched with love ....

Some of the wall hangings which will soon brighten the rooms at the Home ...

How good are these rooms going to look?   A little bit of binding to finish them off ....:)

... and on these too ... and ...

....... very soon these too will be delighting the young ones in China ....

We also created cot sheet sets in a variety of pastel shades ... as well as 'Boomerang' pillowslips ..

And of course the beanbags and liners .... which made extremely good use of our furnishing fabrics.

The applique work on these beanbags will certainly keep the attention of the little ones ...

And the cute bear is sitting atop the curtains for the the rooms .... 11 rooms ... 13 windows all up ....!!

Now on to what will shortly be heading to Ethiopia ... to the Lola orphanage ...

A selection of these quilts will soon be comforting the little ones ... aged from infants upwards ...

 
In addition ... each child in the Lola home will recieve a small knitted bear made by one of our quilters Kay ... which will also brighten their day.

So, all in all, we have been extremely busy. And as I mentioned earlier, I look forward to being able to share with you the pictures from both these places when our gifts are distributed among the babies and small children so far away.

So, until my NEXT Blog update, which will take place soon after our next get-together this coming Saturday .. May 12th.

Lunch theme will be .... Italian ... and I can't wait!!!! Bellissimo .... break out the garlic bread!!!

In the interim ... please continue to support us ... as well as those that promote us thru publicity in their own Blogs. 

http://kayleenwest.com.au .... for Art with a positive spirit

http://mellyandme.typepad.com .... creative clothing etc for children

 Our Quilts for Orphans contact details are as follow:

Gaynor Peterson ... phone (03)9756 7950

And Gaynor NOW also has email ... gaynorpeterson@bigpond.com

Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

or email: shamilton@aanet.com.au

Our postal address (for donations) is now P.O Box 398 Monbulk Victoria 3793

And now the Links for the children that we are providing quilts for:

www.chinakidz.org .... for news about the Butterfly Palliative Care hospice in China

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a59784e7a45314d6a673d0d0a&sb=1

www.freetobekids.org/- .... the rescue organisation that frees children from slavery and exploitation in Kolkatta, India.

www.com.org.au/ .... our very own Christian Outreach Ministry in Mount Evelyn which oversees the work being done in the COM Homes in India.

www.hopefosterhome.com ... the babies we are creating crib quilts for in China ...

www.zoehopeproject.blogspot.com .... giving hope to children in Zambia.

http://english.chinaconcern.org/ .... who will be receiving the wall hangings and items pictured above.

... and our newest recipients of quilts .... in Ethiopia .....

http://www.lolachildrensfund.org/

And finally .......

Our Link to Treasure Corner Opshop in Wray Crescent Mount Evelyn .... the brainchild of Helen Greenwood so many years ago, the start of the support for COM Homes in India is listed below. Well worth a visit for the many bargains available, proceeds from the sales go toward the Childrens Homes in India ... 26 so far have been built through funds raised by this shop, an amazing achievement indeed.

http://opshop.org/review/810

Till my next Blogpost ... happy stitching

Blessings...

 

Susan

 

Hup 2, 3, 4 ... it's March time again!!!

Well Hello there my lovelies ... here I am with another Blog post ... so grab that cup of coffee, put your stitching aside for a moment, and prepare to be entertained as I fill you in on all that happened at our March QFO Working Bee, held yesterday at our barn. Plenty of photos and some heartfelt  thanks to some lovely stitchers who have blessed us with their gifts in the last week or so.

But first a Roll Call, and we welcomed another recruit to our ranks ... Gaynors daughter in law Karen inveigled her friend Denise to join us, and we hope that yesterday was the start of a wonderful connection between us all. Welcome Denise!!

We also had a fairly full barn as we also shared our workspace with Lois, Maxine, Carol,Christine, Win, Pauline, Yvonne, Amber, Val, Isobel, Jan, Karen, Alice, Jill, Emily, Margaret, Jenny, Tracy, Gaynor (of course) and yours truly ... aka the Scribe:)

We soon got down to stitching, interspersed with some lovely Show and Tell moments ... but before I get onto that I must thank the folk who blessed us with their handiwork ... so without further ado ... here goes!!

Margaret Watson, a friend of our Julie Robinson sent us a lovely Quilt top and we thanks her very warmly for her kindness ... isn't it just beautiful?

Christines friend, Cheryl, also sent us a quilt top .. I'll upload the picture first ... apologise for the quality of the photo ... blame the camera (as you do!) and faithfully promise to get a better pic for the next Blog ... in the meantime ... just imagine Pablo Picasso took the next shot .... and I am SO sorry Cheryl. This is one of those moments where I truly wish the dog HAD eaten my homework ..:(

'Do not adjust your set .... the problem is with the photographer' .... :(

Next we have another quilt from one of Christines friends ... this time Lorraine ... :)

... no malfunction this time,so I am gathering the tatters of my credibility and pressing on ...

Our next Thank You is a 'Biggie' ... both to the Guide to The Good Life (and the continuing blessings that flow onto us from the programme they did on us last year) .. and to the wonderful Quilters from Agnes Water in Queensland, who saw the show and were prompted to stitch for us.

This was the letter we received from Karen Thompson :

... and I will now continue with pictures of the articles in the local paper she sent us ... which gave a wonderful overview both of the work of her Group, and a nice 'heads up' for our project too .... many, many thanks Karen ... and to all the wonderful members of your group. As you said, some of the ladies completed quilt tops at home (Gina and Margaret) and Val Marwick saw the show and alerted the quilters to our work ... so many thanks to you all. A wonderful effort which we all appreciate so much!

Also a BIG Thank You also to the Quilters Shack in Bundaberg, which donated a huge amount of fabric to the Agnes Water Quilters so that they could bless us with their work. So much kindness ... we are humbled.

And here is the box containing the 42 quilt tops ... isn't the fabric scrumptious?

Just two of the 42 quilt tops we received ... you will surely see more 'down the track' as our Yvonne custom quilts them before despatch to China and India:)

 Now our next Thank You is to our Jans friend, Julie .... who went through her 'stash' and so very kindly gave us a marvellous donation of books, patterns and fabric (the fabric will be sorted and stitched by Jan ... so pics will follow soon) ... in the interim, here is a small sample of the patterns that Julie gifted us with ... and some works-in-progress to start us off:)

 It seems that more of our quilters  have their very own bunch of generous friends who willingly stitch for us too ... these 'unseen angels' were not overlooked on Saturday either ... first we had Jennys friend Cheryl ... who made these two lovely quilt tops for us below:

 
Pretty stunning colours, don't you think? Many thanks Cheryl for your kindness :)

Noelle had also been busy ... creating this dramatic quilt top with fabric donated by her friend Fran ..:)

Now our ladies had not been letting the grass grow whilst others were doing all this stitching, so I will now showcase the works of Val, Alice and karen .... :)

Here is Val .... with some of her work ... I wasn't quick enough to capture all of this one ...

But I DID get this beauty .... and am loving the 'colourwash' effect Val has done here...

And also the set of 3 quilt tops that she created for China and the New Hope Foundation.

Next we have Alice and the pretty pink and blue  top she made .... such a sweet combination of fabrics.

And finally ... last but not least ... Karen and her 'heartfelt' quilt top and wall hanging ...

Karen had actually made quite a few of these quilt tops in various colour combinations ... just stunning!

Now a few more snaps of our quilters talents ... before a random overview of the days 'works in progress' as our stitchers all sat and chatted.

This is Gaynors own 'project' ... which will eventually grace her home ... beautiful, isn't it?

And here is one of Gaynors lovely bits of handiwork ... a lovely appliqued wall hanging ...

And the next few pieces are from Christine ....but my mind was having a wander as I took the pic, so am not quite sure of the full history of these pieces. Glad I am not being evaluated on the quality of my reporting skills this month... think I'd surely fail ...

 And now the random snaps that I promised, of our ladies all hard at work stitching ... and clearly having a jolly good time doing so ...

Karen and her friend ... and our latest recruit ... Denise. Busily ironing ... well, someone has to do it:)

Alice .... handstitching bindings .... this was a task that most were doing on Saturday ... and what nicer way to spend a pleasant day eh?

Maxine ... putting the finishing touches to a quilt that was featured in our last Blog ... now nearly done!

And Carol ... also new last month ... and looking so very much 'at home' already...:)

Amber .... who has been much missed over the last couple of working bees .... welcome back!

Lois and Yvonne .... and more bindings to stitch ...

Goodness me .... lunchtime already? Here we have Tracy and Christine ... sharing a cuppa and a chat.

I blinked and I almost missed it ... but lunch was salads ... and delicious....
 
And in the meantime Margaret was busy .... 'measuring twice and cutting once' ... as quilters do:)

While Yvonne and Amber collaborated over a quilt ...

Win threatened me with all manner of mischief if I took her picture' ... but I did anyway:)

Much happy chatting in the 'chat room' corner of the barn .... while the needles 'flew' thru the bindings.

Jill, Alice and Noelle .... obviously having an absolute ball ... we truly have the happiest stitchers!

Jenny .. with a panel which had been donated to us ... now discussing with Gaynor whether it needed another border before it could be made into a wall hanging for one of the Childrens Homes in China.
A discussion on the relative merits of 'bindings and backings' for Pauline and Jenny ... 

... and whilst all this was going on .. we had a small cake cutting ceremony for our very own Birthday Girl ... Tracy ... who thought there was obviously no better place to be on her special day ... but with us!

So ... after cake/cups/chats and much stitching and laughter ... we concluded this months Working Bee and looked forward to having equally as much fun NEXT month.

We meet again in April ... on the 14th to be precise. The Lunch 'theme' will be Indian ... so I am looking forward to a fine feast of curries and pappadums ... my favourite. For those attending, a small plate to share ... with the theme of the day ... would be appreciated, as well as a gold coin donation to assist Gaynor with the power bills associated with running the Barn for all our machines and power usage.

We start at 9.30 .... run thru till around 3.30 ... though if someone has a pressing engagement that overlaps we will not refuse to let them leave early :) ... and we look forward to another day of stitching for those precious children in India, China and Zambia.

 Our contact details are as follow:

Gaynor Peterson ... phone (03)9756 7950

And Gaynor NOW also has email ... gaynorpeterson@bigpond.com

Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

or email:  shamilton@aanet.com.au

Our postal address (for donations) is now P.O Box 398 Monbulk Victoria 3793

 And don't forget to support the Blogs and organisations that we both support and publicize for their connection to us ... 

www.chinakidz.org  .... for news about the Butterfly Palliative Care hospice in China

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a59784e7a45314d6a673d0d0a&sb=1

www.freetobekids.org/- .... the rescue organisation that frees children from slavery and exploitation

www.com.org.au/   .... our very own Christian Outreach Ministry in Mount Evelyn

http://kayleenwest.com.au .... for Art with a positive spirit

http://mellyandme.typepad.com .... creative clothing etc for children

 www.hopefosterhome.com ... the latest group of babies we are creating crib quilts for  in China ...

 www.zoehopeproject.blogspot.com  giving hope to children in Zambia.

 and of course ... our latest project

   http://english.chinaconcern.org/

 And finally .......

Our Link to Treasure Corner Opshop in Wray Crescent Mount Evelyn .... the brainchild of Helen Greenwood so many years ago, the start of the support for COM Homes in India is listed below. Well worth a visit for the many bargains available, proceeds from the sales go toward the Childrens Homes in India ... 26 so far have been built through funds raised by this shop, an amazing achievement indeed. 

 http://opshop.org/review/810

 

Till next Blog ... blessings to all,

 

Susan

 

Sew ..... here we are again ... a fresh New Year and heaps more to do!!

Hello again Folks ... here I am again, reporting on our first Quilting Working Bee for 2012 and we had an absolutely full barn ... AWESOME!!!

 We welcome 4 new stitchers to our gathering, and I can report that they all enjoyed spending time with us. Welcome to Jill, Maxine, Maria and Carol .... and we look forward to many more such get togethers and your creative input to our happy little band of Quilters for Orphans!

Here we have Yvonne with three of our new stitchers .. Maxine, Carol and Maria .. and our own Alice.

Maxine and Carol  hard at work .... and loving it by the look of things:)

We also had in attendance our 'regulars' .. Lois, Christine, Pauline, Win, Jenny, Joy, Isobel, Jan, Karen, Val, Gaynor, Annette, Emily ... and yours truly. Almost standing room only!!

Now I proceed any further with pics of our gathering ...I must thank Sarah J Home Decor in far off Queensland. Sarah kindly donated a box of scrumptious fabric just before Christmas .. which I resisted opening until Saturday. Well worth the wait ... there were many ladies just itching to create with the gorgeous novelty prints ... I have a few pictures below, but they barely do justice to the delights that were in the package. Just lovely ... thanks again Sarah!!

"Oooohhhh .... shiny " .... or the haberdashery equivalent of ....:)

Truly blessed with this beautiful fabric ......

Sooooo many ideas for quilts ... with fabric this wonderful!

Now the next 'Thank You', hot off the press ... is to Helen Van Dijk and her 90 year old mother Eunice. Helen created 3 lovely quilts for the New Hope Foundation in China ... and Eunice stitched the bindings on them. Brilliant!

Next 'Thank You' is to a quartet of stitchers from far and wide ... who sent us 'blocks' which were then assembled and quilted by our own Yvonne. The finished quilt is below ... together with the names of the talented stitchers...

 

 This quilt was 'blocked' by R.Phillips (Springwood N.S.W), Denise Taunton (Canberra), Nerida Small (Tanunda South Australia) & Lorraine Bradley who made her comtribution all the way from Louisiana U.S.A. Awesome effort, and doesn't it look grand with Yvonnes custom quilting to set it off. A stunner!

 Next Thank You is a double-header ... to Yvonne our custom quilter .. .and to Sue Abernethy from New Zealand ...who sent us a quilt top quite some time ago ... which has finally worked its way to the top of Yvonnes 'quilting In-Tray' and is now almost ready to wing its way across to a child in India.

Hearts, Flowers and fairies .. a winning combination ....

And Yvonnes floral custom quilting matches it nicely ...

Next ..another trio of quilts, headed to the New Hope Foundation, from Sue Nagle in Happy Valley S.A.

How cute is this fabric eh?

And backed with Aussie fabric .... to show it was indeed 'Made in Australia' :)

Still more ThankYou messages to give out .... honestly we were blessed beyond measure in the time between the last Working Bee and this one!!

Now to thank two of our Vals friends. Firstly to Louise who kindly donated two large bags of wadding ... the most hard to 'source for free' component of our quilts. And also to Veronica who donated tubs and tubs of fabric for our cause. Thank you SO much ladies!

Isn't that just the nicest sight a quilter can feast her eyes upon?

Now a little bit of our regular 'Show and Tell' segment of the Blog. And lots of stitching had been done over the Christmas break .... as the next batch of pictures will show ....

This quilt top ... and the next one ... are the handiwork of our talented stitcher Win ...

A pretty use of fabric which will surely delight a young girl in India ...

Next we have two 'tops' stitched by Jennys friend Cheryl ... many thanks ... and your work is lovely!!

What a stunner!

And another dramatic piece .... reminiscent of a stained glass window ...

Not to be outdone ... Jenny produced her own quilt efforts ... and some wall hangings which will grace the walls of the newest China group that we will be stitching for ... The I.C.C (International China Concern), which is being set up on the same premises as Chinakidz.

Aren't these lovely? Now for the wall hangings...

Created using 'blocks' which found their way to us  a little while back ...

The kiddies will surely get a 'buzz' out of this honey of a wall hanging. Yep ... bad puns abound here:)

Very clever use of 'orphaned' blocks that find their way to us ..... the children in China will LOVE these!

And another stunner from one of Jennys friends ... so much work in this beauty!

My mind went blank here ... it may be one from our Christine ... or another from Jenny ...

But I do know that THIS one IS Christines .... isn't it destined to be popular with a budding archaelogist?

And a colourful crazy patch from Jan .... so many different fabrics for a child to study in these 'blocks'.

And finally ... our Joy ... with a combination of flora AND fauna!!!

While all this was going on Win was busily stitching away ....

As was Val .....

Jan and Karen selected fabrics for their next quilts....

Pauline and Christine were cutting and matching binding fabric to 'almost finished' quilts ...

Pauline .... hard at work ... and always smiling....

.... and ditto for Christine :)

 

A hive of activity ....

 

Jill and Lois busily plying their needles in one corner of our 'conversation stitching pit'....

While Yvonne, Maxine, Carol, Maria and Alice are well occupied across the way....

Isobel and Joy discussing our next project .... details will be at the end of this Blog Post ...

Well after all that effort ... we'd earnt lunch ... and it was Quiche and Salad ... yummy!!

Delish!! But wait ... there was more! We also celebrated not one, but TWO, birthdays .. so we ate cake!

 

 And the strawberries very nearly make it a health food .... well that's MY logic anyway!

And here are the Birthday Girls ..... Isobel and Pauline .....

Making sure they eat their dinner so they can qualify for cake!

Karen tries to pull a 'swifty' ... but I can see the piece of quiche she has in her other hand. No dessert till its all gone my girl!

Almost packing up time I guess ... and Isobel farewells Carol, one of our new stitchers ...

But Emily isn't ready to leave just yet ...

And that's where the photos finish for THIS Blog entry, as I was soon caught up in stitching bindings and had to quit my job as a moonlighting paparazzi ... for the time being anyway!

 But I still have a few things to share with you ... firstly.... we are now going to be stitching for the I.C.C (International China Concern) Home for disabled babies and children ... situated in the same building as the Butterfly Hospice. Their immediate need is for cot bumpers ...  like the one pictured below: This project is the brainchild of our own Isobel, who has such a heart for the babies in China.

The dimensions are as follow: 63cm wide (the width of the cot). With sides 60cm each side ... to keep out draughts. The depth of the 'bumpers' is 20cm.

The cots are grouped in bedrooms of 6 children, with a 'colourway' of Red/Pink ... and Blue/Green.

They also require cot sheet sets in these colours. The mattresses that these sheets are to fit are sized 63cm wide x 110cm long ... with a depth (for tucking the sheeets in) of 5cm. So the sheet size will have to be 115cm wide x 150cm long. They will also require a matching pillowcase that is 25cm x 40cm.

Finally, there is also a need for floor cushions. Any size cover will do, this is to make it comfortable for the children to lay on the floor at playtime, I'm guessing. There is no need for the floor cushions to be filled, as they will be sourcing their own inserts over there.

So.... there you go stitchers .. a nice, fairly easy task for those that have a mind to help make the lives of the disabled babies in the I.C.C Home just that little bit prettier.

 Now, before I sign off... I want to share with you an inspirational filmclip, shared with me by COMs Jill Malcolm. She thought it was just wonderful, and I think you will too. I'll not spoil the surprise, just click on the Link below:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lfaSmDxVZQ

 Pretty wonderful huh?

We next meet on March 10th ... our scrumptious lunch theme will be cold meats/Seafood and salads. For those joining us on the day, a small plate to share will be appreciated ...

Our contact details are as follow:

Gaynor Peterson ... phone (03)9756 7950

And Gaynor NOW also has email ... gaynorpeterson@bigpond.com

Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

or email:  shamilton@aanet.com.au

Our postal address (for donations) is now P.O Box 398 Monbulk Victoria 3793

 And don't forget to support the Blogs and organisations that we both support and publicize for their connection to us ... 

www.chinakidz.org  .... for news about the Butterfly Palliative Care hospice in China

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a59784e7a45314d6a673d0d0a&sb=1

www.freetobekids.org/- .... the rescue organisation that frees children from slavery and exploitation

www.com.org.au/   .... our very own Christian Outreach Ministry in Mount Evelyn

http://kayleenwest.com.au .... for Art with a positive spirit

http://mellyandme.typepad.com .... creative clothing etc for children

 www.hopefosterhome.com ... the latest group of babies we are creating crib quilts for  in China ...

 www.zoehopeproject.blogspot.com  giving hope to children in Zambia.

 and of course ... our latest project

   http://english.chinaconcern.org/

 And finally .......

Our Link to Treasure Corner Opshop in Wray Crescent Mount Evelyn .... the brainchild of Helen Greenwood so many years ago, the start of the support for COM Homes in India is listed below. Well worth a visit for the many bargains available, proceeds from the sales go toward the Childrens Homes in India ... 26 so far have been built through funds raised by this shop, an amazing achievement indeed. 

 http://opshop.org/review/810

Till my next Blogpost ... happy stitching Folks and I'll be reporting back to you after our next Working Bee, we meet at 9.30 am at Gaynors .. look forward to seeing you there!

 

Blessings to all,

 

Susan  

Ta-Daaaaa .... it's the 2102 Calendar and lunch menu list :)

Okeydokey Folks .... get out your pens/crayons/filofaxes(!!) and start writing ... here are the dates of our Quilters Working Bees for 2012 ... as well as the suggestions for tasty comestibles with which to fuel our busy bodies on the day ... ready??

All mornings start at 9.30ish, we play sewing ladies till around 3.30 .... though there is no compulsion to stay the entire day if you have other things planned ... and it is suggested that you bring a plate to share on the themes suggested for the appropriate days. How simple is that?

February 11th ............. Quiche and salad ..... (sweet or savoury)

March 10th     ............. Cold meats/seafood and salads.

April 14th       ............. Indian  theme ... curries and pappadums ... yum!!!

May 12th        ............. Italian  .... because a little garlic keeps the colds at bay!

June 9th         ............. Chinese .... to remember the children in China we stitch for.

July 14th        .............  Christmas in July .... of course!!

August 11th    ............. Soups and rolls ... very warming in winter.

September 8th ............ Casseroles ..... always a winner!

October 13th   ............. Take Out ..... cost around $6 per head

November 10th ............ BBQ and salad ..... always a hit!

December 8th ............. Our Breakup .... yet to be decided ....

 

 So there you go ... dig out the recipe books, oil your sewing machines, strap on the stitching pinny of enthusiasm ... and I look forward to another awesome year of creating fabric hugs for children on the other side of the world. And we have some new projects in the pipeline too, which will be revealed in February. See you then!!

 Remember our contact details:

 Gaynor Peterson ... phone (03)9756 7950

And Gaynor NOW also has email ... gaynorpeterson@bigpond.com

Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

or email:  shamilton@aanet.com.au

Our postal address (for donations) is now P.O Box 398 Monbulk Victoria 3793

 And don't forget to support the Blogs and organisations that we both support and publicize for their connection to us ... 

www.chinakidz.org  .... for news about the Butterfly Palliative Care hospice in China

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a59784e7a45314d6a673d0d0a&sb=1

www.freetobekids.org/- .... the rescue organisation that frees children from slavery and exploitation

www.com.org.au/   .... our very own Christian Outreach Ministry in Mount Evelyn

http://kayleenwest.com.au .... for Art with a positive spirit

http://mellyandme.typepad.com .... creative clothing etc for children

 www.hopefosterhome.com ... the latest group of babies we are creating crib quilts for  in China ...

and also now .... www.zoehopeproject.blogspot.com  giving hope to children in Zambia.

 And finally .......

Our Link to Treasure Corner Opshop in Wray Crescent Mount Evelyn .... the brainchild of Helen Greenwood so many years ago, the start of the support for COM Homes in India is listed below. Well worth a visit for the many bargains available, proceeds from the sales go toward the Childrens Homes in India ... 26 so far have been built through funds raised by this shop, an amazing achievement indeed. 

 http://opshop.org/review/810

 

Our last Working Bee for the year .... but it doesn't mean we are not going to be stitching still :)

Well here we are again ... it's November and yesterday was our last 'Official' Working Bee at the Barn ... and we were certainly kept busy.

We had a slightly smaller gathering than usual ... which obviously meant MORE cream apple slice for everyone ... have to say Reg was pretty chuffed at THAT!! Present were Jenny, Jan, Val, Joy, Isobel, Amber, Yvonne, Pauline, Christine, Karen, Rachel, Emily  ... and Lois, Alice and tracy ... who all dropped in but were unable to stay for very long.

We received via Jenny a wonderful donation of 5 bags of fabric and 4 bolts of plain fabric from Eva ... so many thanks to her for her kindness. I have taken pictures of this 'windfall' and am trying a new way of presenting the photoshoot from our Working Bee. Hopefully a 'slide show' which will make this Blog a trifle shorter in total length and therefore easier to view ... IF it works:)  To 'freeze' each picture, simply hold your mouse over the photo and the slide show will pause for you.

http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-0355-4cbe-8a2e?se=6

Quilts For Orphans November 2011 Slideshow: Susan’s trip from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia to Monbulk was created by TripAdvisor. See another Monbulk slideshow. Take your travel photos and make a slideshow for free.

 OK .... looks like I was kind of successful in pasting the slideshow Link ... so make sure your speakers are on too, as it even comes with music (I hope!!). You will have to 'click' on the 'Quilts for Orphans November 2011 Slideshow' title, just under the screen when it comes up on your computer. It was trial and error till I figured this out ... but it DOES work, I assure you:)

And a further bit of news is that our last Quilters get together for the year will be held at The Barn on Saturday December 10th ... from 11am to 3pm. This will be our Christmas Breakup lunch and husbands are invited too. Cost will be $12.50 per head, and Gaynor has asked if we could each bring a folding chair. Phone Gaynor on 9756 7950 to book, so that the numbers for catering purposes can be arranged. 

I have tentatively worked out the dates for NEXT years Working Bees ... and will be posting them here after consultation with Gaynor. Looks to be that the first one will be on February 11th ... so pencil THAT into your diaries now. An update of ALL the dates for 2012 will follow ... as well as the food themes for the Working Bee lunches.

Our contact details are as follow:

Gaynor Peterson ... phone (03)9756 7950

And Gaynor NOW also has email ... gaynorpeterson@bigpond.com

Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

or email:  shamilton@aanet.com.au

Our postal address (for donations) is now P.O Box 398 Monbulk Victoria 3793

 And don't forget to support the Blogs and organisations that we both support and publicize for their connection to us ... 

www.chinakidz.org  .... for news about the Butterfly Palliative Care hospice in China

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a59784e7a45314d6a673d0d0a&sb=1

www.freetobekids.org/- .... the rescue organisation that frees children from slavery and exploitation

www.com.org.au/   .... our very own Christian Outreach Ministry in Mount Evelyn

http://kayleenwest.com.au .... for Art with a positive spirit

http://mellyandme.typepad.com .... creative clothing etc for children

 www.hopefosterhome.com ... the latest group of babies we are creating crib quilts for  in China ...

and also now .... www.zoehopeproject.blogspot.com  giving hope to children in Zambia.

 And finally .......

Our Link to Treasure Corner Opshop in Wray Crescent Mount Evelyn .... the brainchild of Helen Greenwood so many years ago, the start of the support for COM Homes in India is listed below. Well worth a visit for the many bargains available, proceeds from the sales go toward the Childrens Homes in India ... 26 so far have been built through funds raised by this shop, an amazing achievement indeed. 

 http://opshop.org/review/810

So .... till next I put fingers to keyboard and dazzle you with my 'puter skills, happy reading, happy stitching ... and keep that support and encouragement coming in!! Please don't also forget that you can arrange child sponsorship for the kiddies in the COM Homes by contacting Jill Malcom at Christian Outreach Ministry (COM) on 9760 8040 and it's not too late to think about perhaps even doing a Christmas 'gifting' thru COM this year, instead of buying the family the usual socks/ties/teatowels. Think about making a donation on a family members behalf and give a child in a COM a gift instead!!!

Blessings to all till next Blog,

 

Susan

Ooops!!! Sorry I'm a tad late....Santas' Reindeer ate my Blog Homework .......

Sorry about the delay in Posting a Blog update dear Reader ... but this year Christmas (and all that is entailed in the preparation) just got the better of me ... but here I am, bright eyed and bushy tailed ... with all the pics from our Christmas Breakup held on December 10th 2011. Also have news of our support for our latest group of quilt recipients ... in Zambia, at the Zoe Hope Home. So, without further ado ... grab a coffee ... settle back and be prepared for all our news:)

 I have created a Slideshow of the Christmas Breakup .... this will take up less room here than if I had uploaded the pictures  of us all individually ... but do not panic!!! I will add separately the quilts that I took snaps of at the breakup ... so that you can see them in detail without getting the 'giddies' as might have happened in the Slideshow. Don't I think of everything? So ... click the Link below to see us all having the loveliest of times at our Christmas lunch earlier this month ... and whilst you are doing that ... I will be beavering away, adding all the quilt pics. Enjoy!!!

  Quilts For Orphans Christmas Breakup 2011 Slideshow Slideshow.

TripAdvisor™ TripWow ★ Quilts For Orphans Christmas Breakup 2011 Slideshow Slideshow ★ to Monbulk. Stunning free travel slideshows on TripAdvisor

We also had a 'Show and Tell' at the Breakup .... and I'm sure I will be sent to the Naughty Step for admitting this, but if I said that the 'dog ate my notes' ... do you think I will be believed? I cannot for the life of me locate notes (assuming I actually remembered to take any on the day)  ....and so the beautiful quilt tops below will have to be un-documented as to the creators of their beauty, at least until someone gets back to me with a reminder upslap.

I DO recall however, Jenny telling me that several of the quilt tops were created with fabric recently donated by Eva ... who was EXTREMELY generous and I believe was mentioned in my previous Blog entry. As I said, I WILL endeavour to properly match the quilt tops pictured here and give thanks to the folk who created them, as I always try my best to give credit where it is so richly due.

So .... until I get an update on just who created these beautiful quilts and quilt tops ... i will just have to leave them here for your appreciation and enjoyment.

And .... now onto our latest project ... the Zoe Hope Zambian Orphanage. And for details on this I will do a 'cut and paste' from a recent email that I received from our own Pauline, who met with Donna at Gaynors a week or so back and was able to obtain details of how we can get involved in this wonderful ministry.

Pictured below is the project Founder, Donna .... and I have transcribed the content of the email I received from Pauline ... in Donnas words ....

 Donna says that

"Zoe hope is 36 hours old in the photo with me and 9 months old in the
Christmas photo. We estimate that Zoe was born on August 20th 2009 so she
turned two years old when I was there in August.

.... and after meeting with Gaynor and Pauline .....

"I am blown away by the quilts. They are just so good and I know that the
girls in Africa will love them. Thank you so much for considering these
girls and for all the hard work that you do

Your friend in  Christ

Donna."

People can follow Zoe Hope story on the website:
www.zoehopeproject.blogspot.com  which shares to story of giving hope to
children in Zambia.

She then was in contact with Pauline again ... and here is the content of that email....

" Hello Pauline,

I am still in awe of the beautiful quilts and so grateful to the ladies who
prepared them. I cannot wait to have pictures of the quilts on the girls
beds.

I received

          6 quilts for the girls

          7 quilts for the babies

          1 quilt for Zoe Hope

          1 queen size quilt to raffle &

          2 square quilts between the girls size and the baby size.


I know that every quilt will go to a girl who will really appreciate it.
Thank you Pauline for considering me and for allowing this to happen.

This has really blessed me."

Donna

So there you have it  Folks ... the update on our very latest 'project'. How wonderful to be able to send our fabric 'hugs' even further afield ... to bless and comfort more orphans, this truly is THE best thing that I have ever been a part of ... and to get feedback such as Donnas' makes it all so rewarding for us. I cannot wait to be able to put pictures in this Blog of the children in Zambia, snuggled under our quilts!

Now ... we meet up again in 2012 ... the first Working Bee will be held on Saturday  February 12th ... starting at 9.30am, as usual ... and stitching away till around 3.30. though we will not hold our stitchers to that deadline if they cannot stay the entire day. We consider ourselves blessed by every moment that they can spare for us ... and we always welcome newcomers to join us. We meet on the second Saturday of each month at our purpose built Barn ... with a 'bring a themed plate' lunch. I will have to sit down and figure out what our Themes for each lunch will be ... and this will appear in my very next Blog update, which will be entirely devoted to our 2012 Calendar.

 I will now put this Blog 'to bed' so to speak ... hit the 'publish' button and get it out into cyberspace. I will, however, be back well before our first meetup in 2012, to not only give you the calendar dates ... but also to let our ladies know what the first lunch menu will be for that date. I'm thinking .... Hmmmnnnn .... Quiche and Salad ... but I'll confirm that for sure before February.

Till then, almost Happy New Year ... and onward to even MORE quilting in 2012!!

Blessings to all,

Susan

 

Our contact details are as follow:

Gaynor Peterson ... phone (03)9756 7950

And Gaynor NOW also has email ... gaynorpeterson@bigpond.com

Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

or email:  shamilton@aanet.com.au

 

And in the meantime .. please view the Blogs and associated sites that support us and that we have links to.

Till next Blog ... blessings to all,

 

Susan

www.chinakidz.org  .... for news about the Butterfly Palliative Care hospice in China

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a59784e7a45314d6a673d0d0a&sb=1

www.freetobekids.org/- .... the rescue organisation that frees children from slavery and exploitation

www.com.org.au/   .... our very own Christian Outreach Ministry in Mount Evelyn

http://kayleenwest.com.au .... for Art with a positive spirit

http://mellyandme.typepad.com .... creative clothing etc for children

 www.hopefosterhome.com ... the latest group of babies we are creating crib quilts for  in China ...

and also now .... www.zoehopeproject.blogspot.com  giving hope to children in Zambia.

  And finally .......

Our Link to Treasure Corner Opshop in Wray Crescent Mount Evelyn .... the brainchild of Helen Greenwood so many years ago, the start of the support for COM Homes in India is listed below. Well worth a visit for the many bargains available, proceeds from the sales go toward the Childrens Homes in India ... 26 so far have been built through funds raised by this shop, an amazing achievement indeed. 

 http://opshop.org/review/810

Nearly Christmas ..... and our penultimate Blog update :)

 Well Hello there!! Here I am again with a quick QFO update ... have had a few things happening since I last appeared here ..., a trip last week to the beautiful Mont De Lancey in Wandin North, where we had a fundraising stall and were able to share with people about Quilts for Orphans. Always good to let people know what we can do for children on the other side of the world .... and how they can help, with their support of our fundraising ventures. Each 'for sale' quilt/tote bag/custom quilted table runner sold generates funding for more wadding for the quilts we send around the globe.

Our friend Leanne Ingamells made a recent trip to China with ICC (International China Concern) and was also able to visit the Chinakidz Butterfly Hospice where she took some pictures of the little ones for me ... including one of a babe sleeping under a quilt made by us!! These I will share with you in a moment .. and I am also able to tell you that Fiona from Chinakidz has given me a Link to the Blog which is now put out by them. Please check it out ... am sure you will find it a fascinating read:)

 <http://butterflyhospice.blogspot.com/> butterflyhospice.blogspot.com

So what will I share first? Perhaps the pictures taken by Leanne .... it is always wonderful to see where our quilts end up ... proof positive of the journey of our fabric 'hugs' ... and the little lives that they are making just that wee bit more comfortable.

How sweet is this? One of the quilts made by us ... and now keeping this little one 'in the pink':)

 

 These little ones are SO precious .... and Chinakidz does an awesome job indeed!

Plenty of love to share at the Butterfly Hospice .....

How cute is this little Munchkin:)

Just cute as can be .....:)

Now onto the weekend we spent at Mont de Lancey ..... surely one of the prettiest  homesteads in the area, and also the site of a marvellous gallery ... full of local history and memorabilia. One of THE nicest places to be able to have a QFO a stall ... and we thank the Mont De Lancey folk for allowing us space to set up. Hopefully this will not be the last time we are able to be their 'guests':)

Mont De Lancey Homestead ....

... and our display, in the nearby Gallery ...showcasing the talents of our quilters ...

Gaynor in the Gallery .... a lovely spot ...

Custom quilted runners .... Mont De Lancey was holding a weekend for draught horses & Clydesdales. This particular runner was hand painted and then quilted ....

 
Farm themed fabric tote bags .... these were VERY popular!!

'Horses for courses' .... and quilts for horse lovers .....

 
We had a group of spinners nearby ..... fascinating to watch in action ....

Cannot remember what this particular device was called... but it was being used with silk thread ...

A Christmas custom quilted runner ...... with hand beading ....

 
More of our Christmas themed crafts for sale ..... placemats were popular ... and our Santa Sacks:)

Now I have created a Slideshow of Mont de Lancey for those who are interested in the venue ... have amalgamated it with a previous trip of my own ... in order to give a few more views of the homestead itself. Enjoy!!! Just click on the Link below....

 

 http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-03a6-751c-b37f?share=1&cs=a&lb=1

 

8 December 2011 Slideshow: Susan’s trip from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia to Wandin North (near Seville) was created by TripAdvisor. See another Seville slideshow. Create a free slideshow with music from your travel photos.

 

8 December 2011 Slideshow: Susan’s trip from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia to Wandin North (near Seville) was created by TripAdvisor. See another Seville slideshow. Create your own stunning slideshow with our free photo slideshow maker.

Now I will put this Blog to bed ... as it were ... and leave you with the anticipation of a further update following our Christmas get together this coming Saturday ... December 10th at the Barn.

Our contact details are as follow:

Gaynor Peterson ... phone (03)9756 7950

And Gaynor NOW also has email ... gaynorpeterson@bigpond.com

Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

or email:  shamilton@aanet.com.au

 

And in the meantime .. please view the Blogs and associated sites that support us and that we have links to.

Till next week ... blessings to all,

 

Susan

www.chinakidz.org  .... for news about the Butterfly Palliative Care hospice in China

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a59784e7a45314d6a673d0d0a&sb=1

www.freetobekids.org/- .... the rescue organisation that frees children from slavery and exploitation

www.com.org.au/   .... our very own Christian Outreach Ministry in Mount Evelyn

http://kayleenwest.com.au .... for Art with a positive spirit

http://mellyandme.typepad.com .... creative clothing etc for children

 www.hopefosterhome.com ... the latest group of babies we are creating crib quilts for  in China ...

and also now .... www.zoehopeproject.blogspot.com  giving hope to children in Zambia.

 

 

Quilters for Orphans ... who we are ... what we do ... and why we do it ...

I have been asked to write a 'Cover page' for this little Blog .. in order for readers to understand a little more about us ... so I will attempt to do so, with a little 'cutting and pasting' of words from one of our founders, Rachel Breukel' .... and the previous CEO of Christian Outreach Ministry, Glen Cox. I will also attach Links to the organisations that we are helping to support with our fabric 'Hugs' ...and provide the dimensions of the quilts we create so that those willing to donate quilt tops can readily see how they may help us. So without further ado ... here goes ... reprinted from December 2008 ... and in Rachels words....

Who the Quilters for Orphans are .....

'Each month, fifteen to twenty women gather together in someones' house to continue their efforts  in providing Indian orphans with quilts. After the tsunami in Indonesia their passion was awakened to help others. Being told that the orphans in India simply slept on the floor, they decided they would do something about it. Making that decision was the easy bit. Fulfilling it is a task of mammoth proportions! The story goes on .....

"There are 25 ladies on our books, and we meet on a Saturday each month. Making quilts for orphans sounded simple at the time. Then we realised how many kids there were. We are making over 2000 quilts. For anyone who has made one quilt .... .well you understand the gravity of this challenge. However, we have also found out that a quilt is a sign of status in India, which encourages us even more in what we are doing.

The next container Christian Outreach Ministry (COM) sends to India carries some 100+ completed quilts. That's another 2 orphan homes worth. Something extra special about this is that the kids from Careforce Church have been creating cards for each of the quilts. On the back of each quilt is a pocket. In each pocket is a handmade card with a Bible verse, picture and the name and age of the child who made it. Then it is laminated so that it can last forever. How cool is that? Every single quilt will have a card in it.

 Personally I feel like a 'real grown up'. Being involved in something tangible and having a direct input into a childs life and their future is something difficult to put into words. My vision for the future is to see a quilt that was made by us in the arms of the son or daughter of the child who received that quilt so many years ago. I would love to see a family photo of a child of God whose life was impacted by a group of women in a far away land, all with one mission in their hearts: to send a God inspired, long distance, never ending present of a HUG. We like to think that our quilts are like a mothers arms, willing to go around them for any reason and at any time.

In October of last year I was contacted by the magazine 'Patchwork and Stitching', to do a story on us. It is one of the largest magazines of its kind in Australia. In that article I mentioned that if anyone had a quilting machine lying around that we'd be happy to get it out of their way. Within 5 days of the magazine hitting the newsstands I was contacted by a lady with a machine. She text messaged me saying 'read your emails'. I did. She wrote that she had a machine in her garage if I was interested. I rang her to say it was price dependant and that we had no funds to work with. She very sweetly said "I would really rather donate it". That did me in. The tears flowed and flowed. Within 3 days we had picked it up. God had answered a prayer we had dared to pray! A quilting machine! Not just the machine, a frame (3.6 metres long) and a table. (Editors note: these machines are worth LOTS of money!)

Our group has great fellowship. Women have responded to the magazine and joined in our workdays. They are people from different walks of life and religions. There are even ladies interstate sewing and posting their work to us.

At this point we have no financial backing. Everything is donated, whether that be by the ladies themselves or wherever we might beg from. I quite enjoy asking for stuff (it really pays to be thick skinned. The worst reaction I can get is  'No'). I've found that most people, if given the chance, really like to be generous. Never say "they'll never give us anything". How do you know? God does indeed work in mysterious ways AND he doesn't always use the people we expect to do HIS work. One of the most charitable givers is quite a colourful character. (I could be quite offended really, but I like him. Who are we to judge?). Fabric, cotton and time is donated. Whenever we run out, I start begging again. We are always running out of batting (the inside layer). It is very expensive to buy. Some has been donated by Birch Haberdashery and Mac' Crafts. The ladies also put their own money toward it. Our greatest need at this point is a studio. At the moment everything is cramped in and outside of Mum and Dads house. Basically we are waiting/praying for God to tell someone to donate us a shed. It needs to be at least 9mx12m. Pride is not an issue. We'll accept donations from anyone. We are even happy to advertise the generous giver. We have the land and most of the interior bits and pieces, but we need a concrete slab and work benches. We also need room for storage (thus the large size).

We are hoping to have quite a few things for sale during Missions Month at Careforce Church in October. We will have displays around the church. There will be quilts for sale with all proceeds going toward batting. The need is great. The challenge will be ongoing. Unfortunately there will always be orphaned children. Fortunately we will continue as long as needed. If you would like to help us in any way, please don't hesitate to contact us."

                                                                                Rachel Breukel

So there you are folks ... in Rachels own words the QFO story. Obviously the October 2008 Missions Month has been and gone and our shed is so very nearly a completed reality.... but the rest of Rachels story is still as relevant as when she spoke to the church magazine. Just thought it would be nice to share her obvious passion with the rest of our Blog readers.

Now to share from our previous COM CEO, Glen Cox .... from May 2010

 The Why:

   No matter what path we follow in life....it is our passion/calling (the why) that ultimately drives us. To travel to a developing country like India & walk through the streets/slums in the big cities & the village roads of rural communities you can't help but observe the obvious need that exists among the children of this great land.

  To understand that literally millions (indeed 100's of millions) of Indians never get a chance to be educated or have any hope of breaking out of the cycle of poverty is something that strikes you as soon as you spend a few hours in these communities. You ask yourself.....'What can I do?' or 'What difference could I ever make?'.....The feeling can be overwhelming if not daunting!

   It touches your heart & indeed often challenges your whole world view on the important role we have as coming from a society that takes all we have for granted. Often 'messes up your hair' big time as we seek to understand what our purpose in life ultimately distills down to.

  The realisation that we can make a difference...even if it is to a single child in India can be profound & life changing for us & the child concerned.

  This is what COM has done both through its support for on average 1250 children every year for the past 25+years. The running of the opportunity shop(s) in Mt Evelyn has effectively supplied the capital required for each of the 25 homes over the past 25 years & continues to allow development & growth of this vital part part of God's plan to see us 'rescue' the widows & particularly the fatherless in this context.

In addition to this to see the outworking of peoples concern, care & love for these children by seeing a project develop that is going to provide each of these children with a handmade quilt is yet another example of how we have been able to engage in a meaningful way with these amazing children.

   Making a difference in the life of child & giving them an opportunity that they may never have had if COM had not turned up is the real heart beat of both the shops established in Mt Evelyn & the Quilting group.....it is the why!

Glen Cox

So there we are ... who and what we are ... now to add a tiny bit more ... the details of our quilt sizes for those willing to get out their sewing machines after reading this ... and our contact details and related Links.

Quilt top sizes for India and China... updated and current as of November 2010 .. for India we require tops sized 65" x 45" ... it seems that the children in India now require extra length, as these quilts will be their for life and they don't stay 'munchkin size' forever ... and we are also using new double width wadding for our quilt 'insides'.

For the children in the New Hope Foundation in China the requirements are a little different. The quilts must be in matching sets of three. The reasons for this are that the nannys in this fosterhome are each responsible for 3 babies. These babies are in rooms of a specific colour, and for ease of identification the beds/quilts are colour co-ordinated with the rooms. In other words, green cribs and quilts in the green room, pink in the pink room etc. Now the quilts can be pieced together in different styles, but the fabrics MUST be the same for each set of three quilts. The dimensions for these quilts are 30" x 45". All basic colours are needed. The website for the New Hope Foundation is:

 Now our QFO Contact details are as follow:

Gaynor Peterson .... (03)9756 7950

Susan Hamilton .... (03)9737 1825 ... shamilton@aanet.com.au

.... and finally ....Links to those that we support and that support us through publicity Links in their own Blogs:

www.chinakidz.org  .... for news about the Butterfly Palliative Care hospice in China

www.freetobekids.org/- .... the rescue organisation that frees children from slavery and exploitation

www.com.org.au .... our very own Christian Outreach Ministry in Mount Evelyn

http://kayleenwest.com.au .... for Art with a positive spirit

http://mellyandme.typepad.com .... creative clothing etc for children

 www.hopefosterhome.com ... the latest group of babies we are creating crib quilts for ...

******************************************************************************************************

       ***********   IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR ******************

Now to see the latest Blog entry from now on as well as those leading up to the latest, simply go to the top right hand side of this page and click on the 'Archive' tab for the relevant month ... simple as can be ... blessings to you, and thank you for reading ..

 

Susan

First we 'Tiptoed thru the Tulips' again .. then we had our October Sewing Bee ...

Well, what a busy month it has been for we Quilters for Orphans!!! We spent two blocks of three days each at the Tesselaar Tulip Festival in beautiful Silvan, our Stall raising a magnificent $1400 with which to purchase batting/wadding for the inner 'sandwich' of our quilts.

 
Here we have Gaynor, Veronica and Christine setting up our Stall at the Tulip Festival.

 
We were right next door to the Alpacas for the second year running ... amiable neighbours indeed!

 
We had the perfect spot for our Stall ... with views over the Tulip fields ... and  the young staff.

We sold quilts, handmade Christmas decorations and napery, tote bags, finger puppets and dressed dolls, all created by our own nimble fingers.

 
Our Christmas themed gift selection ..... Gaynor and Christine putting the final touches on our display.

This fantastic amount, Gaynor tells me, will  enable us to purchase sufficient wadding for 400 quilts. AWESOME!!! This makes our job of creating quilts for the children in India and China so much easier. As I have mentioned before, whilst we receive donations of fabric and quilt tops from many kind folk, the batting (at $216 per roll ... enough to make 40 of our quilts) is the most expensive component of our fabric 'hugs' and thus we have to fund its purchase through our sales of dog coats, specifically created quilts and whatever other items we can whip up for sale during the year.

 
 
Handmade cards .... beautifully crafted and popular too!!

 
Handmade and dressed dolls .... ready to be given a face and hair by the recipient ... nice idea!

 
Our pet 'pillows' and dog jackets .... could have sold our 'model' dog several times over:)

 
Christine ... having a brief break between customers ...

 
What would a Tulip Festival be without Tulips I ask you? Aren't they stunning?

So, all in all it was quite a successful enterprise for QFO and we thank the Tesselaars very much for allowing us to participate .... it was also a great way to get what we do 'out there' to folk .... all of whom were most supportive of our efforts to create a little comfort in the young lives we reach with our quilts.

Now on to all the news and pictures from our Working Bee held on October 8th at our Barn. We had a slightly smaller turnout yesterday, but were still very pleased to have Yvonne, Amber,Val, Christine, Win, Grace, Janagi, Jenny, Noelle, Julie, Emily, Tracy, Margaret, Gaynor .... and her son Dale, daughter in law Fiona and grand daughter Tyler with us.

Fiona is going to create an on-line 'shop' for us, so that we can sell some of our fundraising quilts and our wedding dresses to interested clients. This will be a brilliant way to be able to raise funds from those folk who are a little further afield and unable to visit personally to purchase from us. This should enable us to generate more cash flow for wadding and other needs to create our quilts. With the COM Homes and  FreeToBeKids in India, the New Hope Foundation and Butterfly Hospices in China (they are creating more Homes in China for us to kit out with quilts) it is now even more imperative that we have enough funds to purchase supplies for what we do.

 
Gaynor .... with daughter in law Fiona ....

I am also able to tell you that we are 'adopting' yet another group of recipients to bless with our quilts. Gaynor has been approached by the 'Zoe Hope project' in Zambia. See the Link for this organisation at:

www.zoehopeproject.blogspot.com

We will be creating quilts for the very young mothers, and their babies, who have been the victims of the turmoil in the area. We very much look forward to being able to provide them with a 'hug' in the form of our quilts with which to brighten their lives and that of their babies as they put their lives back together and gain skills with which to create a future for themselves and their little ones.

There are also 112 quilts to be provided early in 2012 for the newly built double COM Childrens Home in  Orissa, India, which will house children who have been the victims of persecution in that place. So you can see we will really have our work 'cut out for us' (pardon the quilting pun) to provide quilts for all these children. Work which we gladly do ... as it is just wonderful to see the smiles on the faces of the children who are able to wrap themselves in tangible proof of the caring that comes from our hearts and hands to them.

 
Here we have Yvonne, Janagi and Grace .... with a quilt which you will see a little further on, being bound by Grace.

 
And here is Amber ... at 14 the youngest of our group ... and Grace ... at 93 ... the oldest.

 

 Grace ..... quite amazing ...... so lovely to have her as part of our group.

 
And Amber .... rarely without a needle in hand or at her sewing machine. Yvonne has taught her well!!

 
Win and Christine selecting fabrics to create quilt 'kits' for us, for the Chinakidz Butterfly Hospice.

 
Val .... busily measuring and cutting fabric for us ....

 
Julie, Amber and Noelle ..... we later put Noelle to work on Teddy 'repairs'.
And here she is ..... these Teddys were donated in need of slight 'cosmetic surgery', before we despatch them to India,

Then it was time for 'Show and Tell', always an enjoyable part of our get togethers, where we see just how creative we can be with fabric ...

First we had one of three specially created quilts, made by Helen Van Dijk from Happy Valley in South Australia. These quilts, donated to us by Helen, will be destined for the New Hope Foundation in China ... and we thank Helen VERY much for her kindness and creativity.

 
The quilts for the New Hope Foundation are made in sets of three, as each group of three small babies in this Home are cared for by a single nurse and it makes her job easier if 'her' cots are easily identified.

Next we have a Seaside themed quilt top made by our Jenny ... she has been particularly busy recently!

 

 
This is also one of Jennys ...love the small picture squares in this one,each one looked like a little quilt.

 
Another very clever bit of piecing ... so many 'pictures' in this one to amuse a small child.

 
Gorgeous pooches in this ... and dramatic use of black sashing to set off the diamond piecing ... and if you enlarge this picture, you will see that the green fabric is covered with tiny dog bones!!

 
And finally ....this one was made by Jennys friend Cheryl Meyer ... and is a dramatic and vibrant piece of 'piecing' indeed ... absolutely stunning!!! Many thanks to Cheryl for creating this one for us:)

Now we are not too sure who created this pretty quilt for us ... but have a close look at the wonderful custom quilting on the borders .... done by our very own Yvonne. Her attention to detail and choice of quilting pattern is just lovely ...

 
Here is the quilt .... and now for a close up of the 'Piano Keys' quilting pattern ....

 
Here is the corner .....

 
And the sides ... with the roses on the piano keys .... just lovely!!!

Soon it was time to break for lunch ... we made our own 'gourmet' meat and salad rolls ... with scrumptious Strudel and icecream for 'afters' ... sewing is hungry work indeed!

 

 
Scrumptious fare .... and thanks to Reg and Gaynor for doing all the setting up...

 
A well earned meal break ..... for Christine, Tracy, Amber and Yvonne .... 

 
 .... also Win and Julie .... the rolls and salad were just delicious!!!

Then it was back to work for the remainder of the afternoon ...

 
Janagi and Win with some colourful quilting strips for future use ...

 
And Emily and Margaret hard at work .... slaving over hot sewing machines :)

And that, dear reader, just about wraps it up for this months double Blog entry ... not much else to add .... other than to remind our stitchers that the lunch 'Theme' for the November Working Bee will be 'Barbeque and Salad' ... so select your prime cuts and bring them along, with a salad  to share ... and we will have Reg firing up the Barbie before you can say 'make mine medium rare'!!

 We will meet up for this Working Bee on Saturday November 12th  .... and our usual 'info pack is listed below ... as well as the Links that you may care to follow ... both of our supporters ... and those we support with our quilts.

Our contact details are as follow:

Gaynor Peterson ... phone (03)9756 7950

Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

or email:  shamilton@aanet.com.au

Our postal address (for donations) is now P.O Box 398 Monbulk Victoria 3793

 And don't forget to support the Blogs and organisations that we both support and publicize for their connection to us ... 

www.chinakidz.org  .... for news about the Butterfly Palliative Care hospice in China

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a59784e7a45314d6a673d0d0a&sb=1

www.freetobekids.org/- .... the rescue organisation that frees children from slavery and exploitation

www.com.org.au/   .... our very own Christian Outreach Ministry in Mount Evelyn

http://kayleenwest.com.au .... for Art with a positive spirit

http://mellyandme.typepad.com .... creative clothing etc for children

 www.hopefosterhome.com ... the latest group of babies we are creating crib quilts for  in China ...

and also now .... www.zoehopeproject.blogspot.com  giving hope to children in Zambia.

 And finally .......

Our Link to Treasure Corner Opshop in Wray Crescent Mount Evelyn .... the brainchild of Helen Greenwood so many years ago, the start of the support for COM Homes in India is listed below. Well worth a visit for the many bargains available, proceeds from the sales go toward the Childrens Homes in India ... 26 so far have been built through funds raised by this shop, an amazing achievement indeed. 

 http://opshop.org/review/810

So .... till next I put fingers to keyboard and tap out my next Blog for Quilts for Orphans ... blessings to all ... and keep supporting us. Without YOUR help it would be so very much harder to provide our 'hugs' where most needed! I will also hopefully have news in my next Blog of our on-line Link to purchase the quilts we offer as our fundraising project.

 

Susan

 

 

Springing into Spring .... and busy, busy, busy getting fabric 'hugs' ready for India.

Well here we are again ... another chapter in the Blog for Quilters for Orphans ... with all the news thats fit to print following our September 10th 2011 Working Bee.

We were as busy as could be on Saturday, finishing off the quilts that are destined for India later this month ... to be delivered by the next Careforce COM Missions Trip heading over there. Hopefully someone on the trip will take along the updated equivalent of a good old 'Box Brownie' and capture on film the handing over of our fabric 'Hugs' Our stitchers always get an absolute 'buzz' when they see something that they have created in the arms of one of the children in the COM Homes that we are stitching for.

It was lovely to have at  our 'Roll Call' : Yvonne, Amber, Karen, Val, Julie, Jenny, Christine, Kay, Jan, Win, Joy, Janagi, Noelle, Margaret and Emily ..... and of course our founding stitcher and absolute gem ... Gaynor (and kitchen co-ordinator Reg!!). So it was a pretty full house (or barn) and we made every moment count as we stitched pockets on so many quilts destined for India. These pockets were then filled by Karen with small soft toys for the children ... an extra little 'something' for these children who have so little compared to children in Western society.

 
Here we have Emily and Julie .... hard at work ....

 
Yvonne, Janagi, Christine and Margaret ... equally busy, whilst in the background Karen is counting and folding quilts prior to 'bagging' them ready for collection.

Now before I go any further I must do a 'Thank You very Muchly' for the gifts that come our way from stitchers and 'Stash unloaders' out there ... we are always blessed and appreciative when we receive fabric and quilt tops from folk who are supportive of our efforts ...

Firstly I must thank the music students of Diana, the lovely lady who travelled to see us in July with that amazing bootload of fabric . Her students have donated $70 which will be put toward batting for our quilts. thank you SO much Diana for your kindness and that of your students in supporting us this way.

This stash of fabric, pictured below,was given to us by Margaret Downes, a friend of our Val .. it will make lovely backing for our quilts and we thank Margaret very warmly for her kindness and generosity.

 
Val also brought along two quilt tops stitched by Lee of the 'Three Friends' quilting group. These ladies have been incredible kind and amazingly prolific in stitching for us  over the last couple of years ... and these two quilt tops are just lovely. Thank you Lee!!  

 
Clever use of applique in this one .... above ... and a nice 'quilt as you go' effort below .. 

 

I will now launch into our 'Show and Tell' as it seemed that everyone had something lovely to share with us ... and I get a lot of enjoyment being able to showcase out talented ladies in this Blog ...

 
This is one of 3 quilt tops created by Jan ... the rose fabric is so pretty isn't it?

 
Interesting 'piecing' on this one ..... Jan is very inventive and has created some lovely tops for us ..

 
So much piecing on this one too ... Jan is an absolute whizz at putting together many of the smaller bits of fabric we have had donated to us ... we really appreciate her talent!

We also had a quilt top brought along by Jenny ... her friend Cheryl Meyer had created this for us ... many thanks Cheryl ... the ladies were knocked speechless by the vibrant use of colour and amazing piecing in this, just spectacular!!

 

Jenny herself had also been more than a little creative ... as these pics below will show ..

 
 
Isn't this fabric scrumptious? First we have the pooches .... then below ... the feline counterpart...

 
 
Aren't they lovely?

 
And a vibrant use of colour here too ...

Next we have Gaynors stitchings ... two interesting 'Log Cabin' piecings ... and a most effective use of colour.

 
 
 
Aren't the 'windows' in these just sweet?

It was Christines turn next .... I love her clever use of small strips in this 'quilts as you go' ... 
And the hexagonal windows in this one ... below....

 
 
.... with a Flower Fairy in each one ...

Isobel had sourced some appliqued fabric and had created three of the required 'matching' cot quilt tops for the New Hope Foundation in China ... these will soon grace the cots of small babies in this Home. Here are two of the three tops ...

 
 
The 'sameness' of the fabrics make it easy for the nurses at the Home to identify the babies they are responsible for ...

 
This is a beautiful quilt that Margaret finished the binding on ...this will be a 'For Sale' quilt ... the money received from its sale will help purchase batting for more quilts for the children in India.  As batting is such an expensive component of our work, and not generally something that we receive as a 'donation', it is necessary that we sell some of our quilts. One quilt sale will enable us to create several quilts for the children, so it is quite cost effective ...

 
Soon it was back to stitching .... aiming to get a little more finished before lunch ... Gaynor,Joy,Isobel and Kay.

 
Noelle, Val, Yvonne, Jenny, Win and Amber .... it was a rather cold and wet outside, so snuggling and stitching under a lapful of quilts was a great way to spend the day .... :)

 
Amber and Janagi .... all the quilts on the table at the back of this picture are destined for India....

 
Noelle and Val ...... these quilts will soon be added to the pile headed for India ...

Soon however it was lunchtime ... the theme of the day was 'Casserole and Cake' ... and we ate most heartily indeed. We had earnt it .... stitching is hungry work ... and the aromas permeating the workbarn were almost unbearable as noon approached!!

 
 

 Isobel .... waiting for the queue to shorten .. kept busily stitching ...

After lunch we resumed stitching, but not before seeing what had arrived from Lyn in Mildura ... one of our talented off-site quilters. You will recall she has done some amazing quilting for us on her amazing machine ... and this batch were no exception ... we are absolutely blessed to have the services and willing help of Lyn, who puts so much effort into the quilting she does for us. Such a heart for our work and we cannot thank her enough.

 
If you look carefully you'll see the kangaroos quilted into this top to match the 'Australiana' fabric used.

 
Stars and teddy bears quilted into this one ....

 
How amazing is this elephant piecing ...... incredibly clever ... I love the intertwining trunks!

 
Another clever piece of piecing .... we have some talented quilters out there!

 
A pretty 'Shabby Chic' quilt top .....

 
This one was quilted with puppies to complement the doggy themed fabric used ... see detail below.

 
 
More cat and dog themed fabric .... so much lovely material around ... we are blessed indeed to be able to put it to such good use in our quilts!

 
A veritable kaleidoscope of colour!

 
.... and a close up .... such pretty fabric .... so many pieces lovingly stitched together for us ...

 
Stunning!!!

 
The mauve is the backing fabric ... which is a nice combination with the lemon and sage green ...

 
This tartan quilt has been artfully quilted with ..... wait for it ....

 
Scotty dogs ...... neat huh?

 
 
Such a pretty combination of colours ....

 
 
A little girl will love this ...

 
 
Loving the applique on this quilt ....  and the 'pebbles' surrounding the doll is actually quilting ....

 
A lot of work has gone into this piece ....

 
 
This was the last quilt we were treated to ... and how stunning is not only the fabric ... but the fluorescent 'starburst' quilting. Yvonne was of the opinion that the thread might glow in the dark .... I would not be surprised if it did!!!

 
So much beautiful 'piecing'  .... and set off by Lyns amazing quilting .... just wonderful work!!

Now whilst all this 'Show and tell' was being displayed ... Karen had been busily counting, packing ... and weighing ... bags of quilts destined for India.  
 Each bag held 5 or six quilts with a total weight of 5kg. This is the allowable baggage for each of the people going on the Mission trip to India in late September.

And here are the filled bags ... how much fun will be had at the other end as they are unpacked and given out to the children at the COM Homes!! Gaynor has just told me she will be personally handing over (wait for it!!) 28 bags ... holding in total 137 quilts to COM. That's 134 quilts for the children ... and 3 for the Host parents at the Homes. Pretty amazing effort, if I do say so myself:)

 
 
All in all a very productive Working Bee ... cannot wait to see the smiling faces as the children are handed their very own fabric 'hug' .... made with love in every stitch. Here is a sample picture of some of the children who have already been gifted with our quilts in previous shipments...

 
 

Gaynor also tells me me that our next Childrens Home to get quilts after this batch will be the COM Home in Orissa India ... they will need 100 quilts.And after that we will be required to complete 180 quilts per year to keep up to date with the incoming children to each Home. Of course this number could well be flexible, as there will always be a need somewhere for a fabric 'hug' from QFO .... and we still have the children in China as well as the FreeToBeKids organisation in Kolkatta that we are supporting. As long as there is a need we will stitch ..... and enjoy the companionship that goes along with our work. Personally I can think of no better way to spend a Saturday than with these lovely ladies and their creative minds, hearts and hands.

 And that just about wraps up, so to speak, this months Blog ... however (yes, there's a leetle bit more...) we are going to again have a stall at the Tulip Festival in Silvan.

http://www.tulipfestival.com.au/

This stall will showcase not only our 'for sale' quilts, but an array of Christmas themed handmade gifts. Funds generated from this stall will be put directly back into purchasing batting for more of our quilts for India and China. last year we were very successful in generating funds in this manner ... and it is to be hoped that we are equally 'prosperous' this year. So please spread the word. we will be there on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday two weeks in a row .... on the Tulip Festivals 'Childrens Days', which will be September 27th, 28th and 29th ... and October 4th, 5th and 6th 2011.

 Now our next Working Bee will be Saturday October 8th .... lunch theme will be  'Take Out' .... so $6 lunchmoney will be required on the day so that our 'lunch monitor' (aka Reg) will be able to do our lunch 'run' prior to midday:)

Our contact details are as follow:

Gaynor Peterson ... phone (03)9756 7950

Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

or email:  shamilton@aanet.com.au

Our postal address (for donations) is now P.O Box 398 Monbulk Victoria 3793

 And don't forget to support the Blogs and organisations that we both support and publicize for their connection to us ... 

www.chinakidz.org  .... for news about the Butterfly Palliative Care hospice in China

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a59784e7a45314d6a673d0d0a&sb=1

www.freetobekids.org/- .... the rescue organisation that frees children from slavery and exploitation

www.com.org.au .... our very own Christian Outreach Ministry in Mount Evelyn

http://kayleenwest.com.au .... for Art with a positive spirit

http://mellyandme.typepad.com .... creative clothing etc for children

 www.hopefosterhome.com ... the latest group of babies we are creating crib quilts for  in China ...

And finally .......

Our Link to Treasure Corner Opshop in Wray Crescent Mount Evelyn .... the brainchild of Helen Greenwood so many years ago, the start of the support for COM Homes in India is listed below. Well worth a visit for the many bargains available, proceeds from the sales go toward the Childrens Homes in India ... 26 so far have been built through funds raised by this shop, an amazing achievement indeed. And Treasure Corner has a 'sister shop' a few doors up in Wray Crescent. FANS (For A New Season), also used to generate funding for COM.

 http://opshop.org/review/810

And that just about wraps it up from me for this Blog update ... am in dire need of a restorative coffee ... so without further ado will bid you all a fond farewell till next Blog ...

Blessings,

Susan