Well Hello again dear Reader ..... and as another Blogpost starts meandering its way from my keyboard to your computer screen, grab a cuppa and settle in for a read of what we did at our April gathering at the Barn.
Present (and accounted for) we welcomed Win, Carol, Maxine, Julie,Val, Joy, Christine, Pauline, Alison, Yvonne, Val, Jan, Gaynor and yours truly. It was a beautiful day and we soon set to work, cutting, stitching, handsewing and creating. We were later joined by two very special visitors and I will tell you all about them as soon as I have done our 'Donations/Show and Tell' segment of this Blogpost.
We have had some delightful donations since our last gathering and I will now thank those generous souls who have created some delightful quilt tops for us. Its always such a pleasure opening parcels ... almost like Christmas visits us not just once a year :)
From Yvonne Dykstra ... a bit of 'destashing' and two wonderful (and rather heavy) boxes of incredible fabric. How wonderful it is to be blessed by such generosity and we look forward to incorporating Yvonnes gifting to us into some awesome quilts. Thank you so very much Yvonne :)
And from Kathy in Doncaster, we were thrilled to receive this beautiful and intricately pieced quilt top ... blessings to you for your kindness Kathy.
Judith Howard from Warragul kindly created nine incredibly vibrant quilt tops ... love your work Judith, just stunning!!
This dinosaur one was also appliqued ... so much work Judith ... we loved it!!
Lovely work Judith ... and thank you again so very much :)
From Sandra Brazier in Nhulunbuy (and I'm getting pretty good at spelling that without checking now, as Sandra is a regular offsite contributor to QFO) ... two lovely quilt tops, complete with backing fabric. Many thanks Sandra, its always an absolute delight to receive your handiwork :)
Love this ... reminds me of a jigsaw puzzle ... and such pretty colours.
Retro/vintage fabric theme here ... lovely ... and backing fabric too :)
From H.Burgess in Tathra .. a wonderful (and huge!!) hexagonal pieced quilt top, complete with all its templates and extra fabric. What an amazing job ... and so wonderful that you were able to let it go ... what a generous heart.
Now .. from our Joy .. a couple of lovely tops .. some she created, some she added the 'finishing touches' to ....
Now I mentioned at the start that we had some visitors to our Barn, and we were very happy to meet Diane and Marisa from Prison Network Ministries.
This is an awesome not-for-profit ministry that began back in 1946. This organisation works with female prisoners, and their families, offering support, care and love. We talked together about ways in which QFO could partner with them and offer support with their existing (and future) craft programs. A lot of 'brainstorming' went on and we at QFO really look forward to an ongoing relationship with these awesome people. They offer, through their ministry, a variety of support services within the prisons. This includes one on one visits with prisoners in Victorian womens prisons, the delivery of weekly life skills and recreational programs. The transportation of children to visit their mothers, Court attendance and support, facilitation of weekly Christian discussion groups. Also outreach to children, including funding for holiday camps. What an awesome job they do ... absolutely brilliant!!
I will now share the words of the CEO Diane .... originally published in 2014.
Diane spoke of some of the challenges presented in providing craft classes within the constraints of access to specific tools and materials. One of the areas that we hope to be able to help is in the giving of used greeting cards, which the women can turn into recycled cards as part of their craft sessions. Perhaps some of our readers have birthday or Christmas cards that would otherwise be just sitting in a shoebox waiting for a moment of inspired recycling? Our readers might also like to visit the Prison Network Ministry at www.prisonnetwork.org.au for further details on this amazing program.
We were happy to be able to gift some fabrics to Diane and Marisa for their craft program ... here is Gaynor sorting through our stash of fleecy fabric. The ladies who participate in the craft program run by PNM use this type of fabric to create hot water bottle covers, and beaded scarves ... among other items.
Such a pleasure to be able to share .... :) And here is Marisa with Gaynor and some of our bagged up fabric for them.
A break for lunch .... which we enjoyed sharing with our guests ... quiche and finger food was this months 'theme' and tasty too :)
Diane was kind enough to share some of the photos that she took on her visit, so I will intersperse them with mine, its always good to see our work thru fresh eyes :)
A 'wall' of quilt insulation ..... think these ones are awaiting the attaching of bindings. Val has her work cut out for her ;)
A sample of some of Yvonnes impressive custom quilting ....
Some of our fundraising 'for sale' quilts ...
"Say cheese" .... a group shot.
Maxine and Win .... busy, busy, busy ...
And Carol with Maxine ...
The 'scribe' ... taking notes with the help of Marisa ...
Carol, Maxine, Gaynor, Marisa and Diane ...
Pauline, Alison and Julie ....
Carol .... 'working the camera' ;)
Which just about winds up this months Blogpost ..... except for the last pic ... especially for Sandi, who wasn't with us this weekend ... but will surely appreciate the next snap *wink*
Now .... one more bit of sharing. We were recently happy to be able to donate a quilt to the following fundraiser for a very worthwhile cause. The Angel Gowns organisation. I have taken the liberty of 'lifting' their promotional information for the upcoming Gala Fundraiser where the quilt we gifted them will be part of the auction. Please feel free to visit their website and support this event.
To Book go to http://
About Angel Gowns Australia Gala Dinner
We are delighted to be hosting our very first fundraising Gala Dinner and auction. Please join us in celebrating two years of serving the community, of supplying families with our beautiful Angel Gown Garments and gorgeous Tutus. They have been two very special years of “Raising Awareness and Breaking The Silence” on infant loss.
From the very beginning our program has been blessed to have the overwhelming support of business, individuals and the wider community. We gratefully acknowledge that without this support we could not continue gifting our stunning gowns to families in need.
Angel Gowns Australia is run totally by volunteers and we rely entirely upon the support of the community to continue our work. The purchase of tickets and your generous participation in all this wonderful night has to offer, will ensure that bereaved families will continue to receive the gift of an Angel Gown garment when they need it the most.
We would like to extend a special “Thank You” from the bottom of our hearts to our sponsors countrywide. Your continued support for this Gala Dinner and throughout the year is truly amazing.
We look forward to the pleasure of your company at Lincoln of Toorak.
With love from everyone at Angel Gowns Australia
For further information on this organisation please visit the website www.angelgownsaustralia.or
Now that really does wrap up this months writings, it only remains for me to share our regular Links, our Contact details ... and the fact that we next meet on Saturday May 14th .... the lunch 'Theme' will be 'surprise us with a mystery dish' ... (I'm looking forward to this one, I love surprises!!).
Look forward to sharing all the news from that get together. In the interim, thank you all so very much for all the support and encouragement that is given to us. It truly is an absolute privilege for me to be a small part of this wonderful group of ladies, and I do so enjoy spreading the word as far and wide as it is possible to do via this Blog.
Blessings.
Susan
Contact us at ...
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/
http://www.thebabesproject.com.au/
http://elishacare.blogspot.com.au/
http://rangescc.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/elisha-care/
https://jewelsofhope.wordpress.com/partners/