Hello again Quiltblog fans .... here I am, with all the news that's fit to report ... from our Working Bee on March 14th,
We had a smaller than usual gathering, due to some of our leading lights being in attendance at the Monbulk Quilt Fair ..... doing their bit to publicize our group ... and fundraise by selling a few quilts in the process. Pleased to report that Gaynor, Deborah and Joy were able to sell several quilts and let folk know all about Quilts for Orphans. Cheers ladies for doing your bit, we missed your smiling faces, but appreciate your efforts :)
Meanwhile, back at the Barn, we were blessed with the company of Val, Christine, Sandi, Win, Yvonne, Jenny, Glenis, Carole, Maxine, Tracy, Carole and yours truly :) A small group, but we were kept busy with the planning and assembling of small quilt tops in no time at all.
But before we got started we were thrilled to receive another parcel from the mother and daughter team of Sylvia and Edith in North Ryde. These ladies regularly bless us with their beautiful quilts and this month was no exception .... two gorgeous fully completed quilts. Just lovely, thank you both so very, very much :)
Our next 'blessing' was an amazing donation of five bags of beautiful fabrics, delivered by Carole, who had been given them by a lady on a local Facebook Community Noticeboard who was 'destashing' her home. Many thanks to Natalie who had offered the fabrics and was thus contacted by our Carole who effected the collection and delivery. Stunning fabrics and so generous Natalie .... thank you :)
Now on to 'Show and Tell' .... and Sandi had pieced together two lovely quilt tops. She has a real gift for colour co-ordination and these two tops were no exception.
Now on to the work in hand. Prior to leaving to attend the Monbulk Quilt Fair, Gaynor had left us with a large amount of pre-cut fabrics from which we were left instructions to choose and create quilt tops. The ladies were soon busily selecting their fabrics and I will be showing you just a couple of the finished tops at the end of this months Blog :)
Christine and Maxine perusing the fabrics on offer ...... and planning a quilt top ......
Win busy stitching .....
Ditto for Sandi .....
A brief respite for lunch ..... this months 'Theme' being BBQ and desserts ....
Mmmmmmmmm ......... dessert :)
Tracy .... busily stitching after refreshments ....
Glenis ..... one of our newest members :)
And Jenny .... studying her piecing plan :)
And as the day drew to a close ... we showcased just a couple of the results of the days efforts ....
I'm detecting a theme here .... cat inspired perhaps? We had an abundance of fabric just teeming with cats of all shapes and sizes ... and our ladies made good use of them I think you'll agree :)
And that just about winds up this months reporting ... but before I go, I'll add a few statistics, prompted by Tracys musings at the end of the day about Quilts for Orphans and what we manage to achieve. Did you know that we have:
26 quilters who attend our Barn during the year to stitch with us and for us? This is in addition to the many wonderful off-site stitchers who gift us with their efforts and send tops and quilts to us through the mail. Each and every contribution is so very much appreciated. Take a bow ladies!!
We have just sent 11 quilts (and more went on the weekend) to the Babes Project which supports young Mums and enables them to raise their babies with encouragement. The Link to the Babes Project is at the end of the Blog.
We have sent 21 quilts to 'Jewels of Hope' in Lesotho .... the Link to this wonderful organisation is also at the Blog end credits.
We estimate that since our beginnings back in about 2008, we have sent over 2000 quilts to all corners of the globe. Pretty amazing effort and one that we are all very proud of. And humbling to think that our efforts have made so many lives just that little more comfortable in places where there is often so much sadness.
All in all .... this Group is just a blessing, not only to those we are able to help, but to each and every participant. There is no better feeling than being able to meet up each month in a spirit of giving, to chat, sew and collaborate in making fabric hugs in our Barn, and to receive parcels of quilt tops and completed quilts that have been gifted to us by our supporters in places around Australia.
Looking forward to showing more of what we do NEXT month. We meet again on April 11th .... and the Lunch Theme will be 'Multi National Mains and Dessert'. Should be some delicious dishes partaken of I imagine :) Not only are our Members gifted stitchers .... they are pretty good cooks too :)
And finally to post 'Links' to all our supporters as well as those we have been blessed to be connected with through our Quilts for Orphans project. Till next Post ...
Blessings,
Susan
Our contact details are as follow:
Gaynor Peterson ... phone (03)9756 7950
email ... [email protected]
Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825
email: [email protected]
Our postal address (for donations) is P.O Box 398 Monbulk Victoria 3793
Check out the following Links:
http://kayleenwest.com.au .... for Art with a positive spirit
http://mellyandme.typepad.com .... creative clothing etc for children
http://mrsmartinsquiltshop.typepad.com/ ...whose customer blessed us with awesome fabric
We also stitch for the following Childrens Homes ....
http://www.butterflych.org/.... for news about the Butterfly Palliative Care hospice in China
And their very own Blog ... which is beautifully written and contains inspirational stories on the children in their care. See the Link below:
http://butterflyhospice.blogspot.com.au/
http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a59784e7a45314d6a673d0d0a&sb=1
www.freetobekids.org/- .... the rescue organisation that frees children from slavery and exploitation
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/ ... more children in China that we have stitched for ...
http://www.lolachildrensfund.org/ .... in Ethiopia
http://www.fikelela.org.za/orphan.asp .... the Fikelala AIDS Project in Capetown
http://mifanmama.com/Shining_Star_2.html the Home for vision impaired children in Shanghai
http://www.austchamshanghai.com/about-us/csr/mifan-mama.aspx
And also our latest Project .... for the Holocaust Survivors in Israel.
http://au.icej.org/
Our Projects for 2015:
http://www.thebabesproject.com.au/
http://elishacare.blogspot.com.au/
http://rangescc.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/elisha-care/
https://jewelsofhope.wordpress.com/partners/
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