Quilts For Orphans

Monday Workday at our Barn .... June 26th 2017

                                           

Hello again ... a new Blogpost, this time following a productive day at the Barn, which saw Gaynor, Christine, Yvonne, Jenny and myself doing a catchup of 'quiltfinishing' in order to fulfil a request for the Matombo Village Project in Tanzania. Also an opportunity to photograph the awesome donated quilts and quilt tops which we had received in the post since we met earlier this month for our Saturday sewing day. We also received a photo and card from the Jewels of Hope folk in Lesotho which we had given quilts to recently. We absolutely love seeing our quilts with their recipients :)

Firstly, we received an incredible package from the wonderful Coonooer Quilters in Cobram. Absolutely lovely and we so very much appreciate their kindness (and sewing skills). Fourteen quilt tops in total, each one different ... and all beautiful!!

Love this ....

So many bright and beautiful fabrics ... and no two quilts the same.

And finally .... this one, with appliqued hearts on the border. So pretty.

How incredibly good are these quilts eh? And they will soon be joining others that we have been privileged to send far afield to wrap a child in a 'hug'. We already know that Billanook College will be taking more quilts to the Burma/Thai border as they do each year. Some of these may well be in that batch :)

We also were blessed to receive from the mother and daughter team of Sylvia and Edith, three completed quilts and two lovely cushion covers. The cushion covers are gifted to us to be used in our annual fundraising weekend in November. Thank you so very much ladies :)

Just wonderful!!

Very effective use of strips ....

Love all the variety of blocks in the above quilt ... brilliant isn't it? And the cushion covers .... below. Thank you so very much ladies :)

I mentioned at the beginning of this post that we had received feedback from Lesotho .. and here it is :)

Christine and Jenny .... 'plotting a quilt' ..... 

Still a few gaps to be filled.

And ... finally ... the gathering and bagging up of quilts heading to the Matombo Village Project in Tanzania very soon. Gaynor and Reg carrying them down for collection by Debra and Warren Harper later in the day.

Sixty two quilts in this batch ... look forward to seeing the pics when they reach their destination at the Matombo Village Project in Tanzania. It is such a privilege for me to be a small part of this QFO Ministry  ..  I feel truly blessed to be able to share our news via this Blog.

We also heard back from the Prison Network Ministry who we recently also blessed with five quilts. Three of which were passed on to a grandmother currently looking after her three grandchildren, and the remaining two quilts which will be used by the Prison Network Ministry as part of their fundraising efforts. 


And with that, I will now send this Blogpost into cyberspace so that you can read it over a cuppa before making your dinner ;) I also made another mini movie yesterday, which may be viewed on our Facebook page after I've uploaded it. Enjoy :)

More news after our next Saturday sewing session at the Barn and I look forward to sharing with you again then.

Blessings,

Susan 

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

And .... we are www.quiltsforphans.org 

On 'social media'  aka Facebook find us at https://www.facebook.com/QuiltsForOrphans/

Check out the following Links:

http://www.facebook.com/Chelseaonesock .... for delightful retro fabric childrens clothing

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

www.jewelsofhope.org ... the project we stitch for in Lesotho Southern Africa

http://www.thebabesproject.com.au/

http://elishacare.blogspot.com.au/

http://rangescc.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/elisha-care/

The Matombo Village Project vimeo.com/217129149

 

Brrrr .... it's June ... but quilting warms us up ... ;)

Goodness me ... June already ... the halfway point of our quilting year. And despite the foggy morning we still managed to rustle up sufficient ladies to achieve a goodly days work at the Barn. And by midday the sun had emerged and bathed our workspace and surrounds with glorious sunshine.

Present and accounted for were Sinling, Val R, Yvonne, Sandi, Jenny, Christine, Pauline, Val S, Win, Jan, Gaynor, Isobel ... and yours truly.

Since we gathered last month the postman had delivered a large blessing of quilt tops from the awesome ladies at the Grainshed Church in Swan Hill. Its always exciting unpacking a donation and this one certainly didn't disappoint. What wonderful work they had gifted to us .... thank you so very much :)

 

Three lovely 'fleecy' fabric completed cot quilts ... so snuggly warm

And some awesome single bed size quilt tops accompanied these fleecies. I particularly loved that each of the nine quilt tops were different, reflecting the individual styles of the ladies who created them

 Then we had a spot of 'Show and Tell' from our Sandi .... who has a great eye for colour and piecing ...

 Now, before I add more photos of our day, a farewell to one of our longtime stitchers Jan, who is making a 'seachange' and thus leaves us. Jan has been the absolute 'queen' of intricate tiny patchwork piecing quilt tops and we will miss her very much. I trust that we will see her should she find herself nearby ... she will always be assured of a warm welcome. Thank you for all that you have contributed to QFO Jan ... and we wish you happy days ahead.

Win, Yvonne and Val all busy ......

 

Gaynor and Sandi .... ready to measure, slice and dice ....

Sinling ... hand stitching bindings ...

Christine and Val ... finding bindings ...

Isobel dropped by .... and chatted to Pauline.

 

The work focus of the day was 'bindings' ... machine sewing, then hand finishing.

And we had a visitor, young Jo and her daughter called in to see what QFO was all about, hopefully we will see them again :)

And that just about wound up our June gathering. But before I close I will share news of our latest project. We have been asked (and were only too happy to oblige) to provide flannel fabric for the Matombo Village Project. The flannel will be used to create toiletry products and bags for Tanzania. We have also been asked to make a quilt for a birthing bed, 60 quilts for their dormitory and two quilts for the Sisters who look after the dormitory residents. How very exciting. I have a Link for this Project. You can find it at vimeo.com/217129149 I look forward to sharing photos when we receive them ... as always, its an absolute privilege to be able to serve projects across the globe. There is no better feeling than to be able to make a difference in lives so very far away from our Barn.

And on that note I will finish this months Blogpost, leaving you .. as always .. with contact numbers and the Links to those we are connected with. We meet again on July 8th, with our lunch 'Theme' being 'Christmas in July'. Don't forget to visit our web page, the more visitors it receives, the higher its 'profile' on good old Google, and the more 'traffic' it generates for QFO. Thank you all for your support and encouragement, it truly is appreciated.

And for those of you on 'Social Media' .. a small video clip was created at this months quilting day at the Barn and may be viewed on our Facebook page. Enjoy ;) 

Blessings to all,

Susan

 

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

And .... we are www.quiltsforphans.org 

On 'social media'  aka Facebook find us at https://www.facebook.com/QuiltsForOrphans/

Check out the following Links:

http://www.facebook.com/Chelseaonesock .... for delightful retro fabric childrens clothing

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

www.jewelsofhope.org ... the project we stitch for in Lesotho Southern Africa

http://www.thebabesproject.com.au/

http://elishacare.blogspot.com.au/

http://rangescc.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/elisha-care/

The Matombo Village Project vimeo.com/217129149

A day out for our quilters .... 'Up Upwey way' as the song goes ;)

                                                                    

Hello again ... a little Blogpost to share pictures taken last month of a trip some of our quilters made to nearby Upwey ... for a quilt exhibition hosted by the Lyrebird quilters. Hope you enjoy them. By all accounts it was a wonderful day with some extremely talented guest speakers and lots of awesome quilts on display. And I have just received our Deborahs report of the events of the day ... so am able to utilise my 'cyberclag' to update this Blog. Enjoy :) Sounds like the QFO ladies that attended this gathering had an amaaaaazing time indeed!!

                                Debs report on the gathering of the Lyrebird Quilters

                        This year the lovely Lyrebird Quilters sponsored the Autumn Gathering on
                        behalf of Victorian Quilters Inc. It was a very rewarding day held in the
                        very spacious Upwey Community Hall on Saturday 20th May sharing loads of fun
                        and fellowship amongst 80 likeminded women. Before I explain the days
                        happenings I would like to thank the Lyrebird Quilters for firstly inviting
                        QFO's to set up a display and secondly for the extraordinary effort and
                        generosity given to ensure everyone who attended so very welcome. It was my
                        first experience of a full on 'sew in' and I thoroughly enjoyed the day.

                        QFO gals that attended were, Gaynor, Yvonne, Christine, Sheryl, Mel and
                        yours truly. First up the Lyrebird girls gave us all a show bag full of
                        goodies. I love my pin cushion, book mark , pin pal and needle book. (I
                        believe all lovingly hand made by the Lyrebird girls.) There was also heaps
                        of local tourist information plus a free quilting mag! What more could a
                        sewing gal ask for? Oh yes, a ticket for the lucky door prize and morning
                        tea that went on all day! QFO's day kicked off quickly with many fellow
                        quilters buying our fat quarters. Gaynor was delighted as she had spent many
                        a long day creating and colour coding 8 wonderful tubs of fabric to sell on
                        this day. We sold at least 44 fat quarters during the day whilst sharing our
                        story. It was great to also display some larger QFO quilts that originally
                        came to us as unfinished projects.

                        The first speaker for the day was Katie Somerville, Senior Curator of
                        Fashion and Textiles at the National Gallery of Victoria. Katie gave us the
                        back stories about many quilts that were displayed last year at the Heirloom
                        Display held at the gallery in 2016. Very interesting to listen to whilst we
                        hand stitched away at quilt bindings. Katie had us all intrigued about the
                        next exhibit later this year of the famous Designer House of Christian Dior.
                        Apparently Melbourne was the first place to have Dior tour outside of France
                        back in the 1950's. This exhibit will do homage to those days of beautiful
                        post war romantic fashion. I'll be there!

                        Then the Lyrebirds played a game of pass the parcel around each groups
                        table. Very funny. I was delighted to win the prize of a quilted fabric
                        bowl. Just the thing to removing a hot bowl from the microwave!

                        After lunch we enjoyed listening and admiring the fabulous work of the
                        second speaker. Can you believe anyone could make nearly 400 quilts in one
                        life time? Well believe me this extraordinary quilter by the name of Eileen
                        Campbell has done exactly that! Eileen is a Melbourne quilter with a string
                        of international accolades. A serious completion gal who loves the
                        international quilting scene. Eileen also loves to make wonderful fantasy
                        quilts for her grandchildren. Just amazing clever and inventive work. I
                        shall not try to describe the quilts as I'm sure to muddle them up but
                        suffice to say I was fascinated by the applique pelicans and dragons. My
                        photos tell it all!

                        One of the last items on the agenda was a general raffle of which QFO's
                        donated a baby quilt. I so wanted to win the twin Meerkats that were
                        magnificently crafted by on one of the Lyrebird team. This lovely lady told
                        me she even went to the Royal Melbourne Zoo to watch these amazing critters
                        so as to create that right look and typical playful Meerkat look! Truly a
                        labour of love.

                        Then came 'Show and Tell' to finish the day. Gaynor bravely got up and
                        talked about the QFO's mission of sharing a fabric hug with as many children
                        and adults in need around the world as we possibly can. The quilt she took
                        on stage was one made by QFO off-site quilter Sylvia's and her mum from
                        North Ryde in Sydney. Gaynor told the story of how Sylvia became involved
                        with QFO's and how she linked us up with a wonderful neighbour of hers
                        called Mahboba. This wonderful Afghani refugee has set up a group of
                        orphanages with the help of her family in Afghanistan called Mahboba's
                        Promise located in Kabul. So through Sylvia, QFO's was able to send all the
                        way across the world 65 fabric quilts hugs! After Gaynor had told the story
                        a couple of ladies came forward to enquire how they too could donate their
                        quilt tops. This topped of wonderful day of fun and fellowship. Thank you
                        again to the Lyrebird Quilters for providing us with a great day to
                        remember.

And Thank you to Deb, for sharing this wonderful report of a fabulous day with our readers. And here are her photos ... :)

The work in this is just stunning!!

A little light refreshments during the course of the day ....

A hive of activity .... and a raffle ....

Our very own Christine ....

Busy, busy, busy ....

Yvonne ......

Gaynor .....

Mel .....

And some of the absolutely stunning quilts ....

 

Guest speakers .....

And that winds the photo display of the event up. Should I get more details to share on this ... I will do a Blog update (which, as you can see, I've just done) ... in the interim I'll get this into cyberspace ... just a day ahead of tomorrows QFO Quilting day at the Barn.

Catch you again real soon,

Blessings,

Susan