Another simply brilliant day spent in the company of our quilters for orphans who gathered at Gaynors on Saturday October 11th to stitch quilts for the children in India. We had a full house, as indicated by the cars crowding the driveway ... neat parking job ladies ... and not a ticket in sight!!
We even spilled out of the house and onto the porch!
After the generous deal that Rachel had negotiated with Birch, we had to make sure that our prepared quilt tops were sorted into sizes so that the most efficient use could be made of the wadding they supplied. The dimensions for quilts has now been set at 60"x44" so as to make best use of the wadding we have.
Robyn chose to do her measuring with the aid of a cardboard tube ....
While Gail simply threw herself into the measuring in her own way ... that's dedication!!
Willing hands stitched bindings ... here's our recent 'newbie' Tracy doing her bit :)
Janet isn't REALLY square, but she was a little shy, it was her first visit today .. nice shoesies Janet!!
Debbie just dropped by to see what we do at quilting bee, she soon found out! We recruit ....!!
The machines fairly hummed along all day without a break, Pauline even put the imminent arrival of a new grandchild into 'holding pattern' so she could attend and do her bit ..... thanks Pauline :)
Young Tom practised his embroidery skills ... we'll have him quilting in no time at all I reckon!
While Charlotte checked out our Weblog for 'typos' ... she keeps us all on our toes!
After breaking for a well deserved lunch of pizza and salad ... with scrumptious 'afters' ....
..... we resumed work. More measuring, cutting and assembling .... we were indeed busy bees!!Pauline,Jenni,Tracy and Alice ... all hard at work ... aren't they just wonderful?
As well as quilting at our working bee, we also did some making up of lavender casserole mats .... these will be sold during Missions Month so that we may create a small cash flow for the purchase of quilt supplies for our project.
Here are Helen and Joy, hard at work with the sweet smelling stuff .... what a great job!!
And when there was the odd spill during the finishing process... Reg leapt to the rescue with his trusty brush and pan ... he's a legend!!
We achieved SO much yesterday with the help of our happy band of volunteers ... you are AWESOME ladies & we certainly couldn't do it without you ... we are blessed indeed by your willing hands & generous hearts.
Gail and Debbie deciding whether to make room for Joy and Gaynor at the finishing off post... generosity only goes so far though when seats are limited :)
By the end of the day we had amassed yet another pile of quilts all ready to go thru the quilting machine and Rachel had adopted the foetal position .... it had been a BIG day!!
At the end of the day though, there is alway a hug to go on with for our team ... and here is Joy getting her thanks for a day well spent and a job well done ....
... and that makes it all worth while ... together with the knowledge that we are ultimately making a difference in lives half a world away.
We next meet on Saturday November 8th at 2pm for our 'Show and Tell' afternoon ... look forward to sharing with you again after that. In the meantime it's back to stitching for yours truly (and indeed the rest of our band of quilters).
Many, many thanks to all who have contributed to our vision, without you we would not have been able to achieve a fraction of what we have been able to do. Keep watching this Blog, I believe we will soon have the pictures of the Mission trip to India to add .. which will show our latest batch of quilts being delivered ... AND I have heard that there is a brilliant video made which charts the journey of an individual quilt as it wings its way across the world from Careforce to India ... with interviews along the way ... reported to be a masterpiece of filming, can't wait to see it ... and will be sharing with you all :)
There will also be a follow-up article out in December in the Patchwork and Stitching magazine. this magazine featured an article on us earlier in the year, through which we were given the donation of our awesome quilting machine ... so will be eagerly awaiting the next article that they do on our efforts. Issue date and details will follow as soon as I have them to hand.
Blessings to all .... and keep praying for that shed (thought I'd forgotten, didn't you?) it will make all the difference to our efforts to have a dedicated workspace in which to keep on quilting for India. As I said in an earlier Blog .. we know 'our' shed is out there ... it's just getting the prayers to the right ears in order for it to find its way to our mission, and in the meantime we still welcome with open arms donations of fabric,thread and your time to help.
Till next posting ... keep stitching and keep our efforts in your prayers, and remember you can contact Rachel at :
and you can also contact Gaynor on 9756 7950 for more information on Quiltsfororphans
Susan
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