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: [email protected]
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.
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