Quilts For Orphans

A Message for our followers from our CEO Annette .. February 2019

Hello Everyone,

Looking forward to catching up with you at the next Gathering at The Shed on
Saturday 9th March from 9.30am.

There has been some re-organising in the workspace, the stitching corner has a new
couch, there’s more room in the kitchen/office area and a smart new WC has been
installed. Thank you Kim and Joanne for your hospitality.

Bring your stitching kit, lunch and perhaps a small plate to share for morning tea.

Following the incorporation of QFO we are having a General Meeting at 11.00 to seek
your approval of office bearers and organisational questions. Separate notice will
come to all email recipients.

Don't forget Mrs Martins CFA Quilt Show in Monbulk on Sat 2nd March at The Hub If
you can spare an hour or 2 to assist on our stall it would be appreciated. Contact
Jenny [email protected] mailto:[email protected] or Annette
[email protected] mailto:[email protected] 

I will also be exhibiting some quilts and promoting the work of QFO at an Open
Garden in Ivanhoe in support of work in Timor Leste on the same day (March 2nd) 
Details/address were in the earlier February Blogpost.. 

Deb will be at the Kallista Market. These are all ways of promoting the QFO group
and mission, to send fabric hugs worldwide, and attract new members, networks,
destashers and material connections.

Jenny and I attended a Victorian Quilters meeting of member group Presidents.
Patchworkers are a creative artistic bunch, and promote learning and workmanship,
and provide opportunity for exhibition and recognition of excellence. Many groups
have, as a small  aspect of their get-togethers, a charity focus, I think we are
unique in that our sole reason for being is to serve those in need.

Along the way,we enjoy fellowship together, learn from each other , get to immerse
ourselves  in colour, pattern, and design,  and  enjoy seeing stacks of beautiful
quilts grow. It is moving to hear the wonderful stories of the comfort and hope our
gift brings. We stitch in Monbulk for global impact.

Annette

CEO Co-ordinator: Annette Stone  .... phone 0407 648 618 

email: [email protected]

Blogger: 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. Chelsea has blessed us with her destashing of fabric.

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 have also stitched 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

www.ujamaachildren.com

When it is a blessing to give ... as well as receive ... what QFO is all about.

A brief Blogpost following an email I just received from our QFO stalwart Joy, who has such a heart for China and a
follow up to the partnership we have had with the Chinakidz Butterfly Hospice in Shanghai since QFO 
started almost a decade ago. 

Below is a picture from 2010 of one of the staff at the Hospice with quilts we gifted to them. I'll also add a 
picture of just a couple of the babies who have slept more soundly under a fabric 'hug' provided by QFO.









And from Joy .. the following, with Links to the Butterfly Hospice website and story.


Hi Susan,  This is  most touching and delightful.I'm so thrilled to be part of an organisation 
who in "our way" help and give little sick babies love and a " hug ".Perhaps down the track 
Susan this cool story could be included in our blog.
🤗 Joy

Absolutely Joy ... and here is the story that you just sent me. Thank you so much for sharing.

From: The Butterfly Home Blog 
Date: Wed, Feb 20, 2019 at 7:39 PM
Subject: [New post] A real life fairytale…


Katie Hill posted: "Some of you may remember these two gorgeous boys,Michael & Robert.
Their story was one we could not have written ourselves(you can read their story here). 
The two boys are closer than ever now and absolutely thriving in their forever family. "

New post on *The Butterfly Home Blog*
http://butterflyhospice.org/?author=15> A real life fairytale…
https://butterflyhospice.org/a-real-life-fairytale/> by Katie Hill
http://butterflyhospice.org/?author=15>


https://butterflyhospice.org/story-couldnt-written/>).

https://butterflyhospice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/13509064_10206849894789289_565081518759292073_n-530x354.jpg>

The two boys are closer than ever now and absolutely thriving in their forever family. Here
is what their mama had to say about life with their two boys:

"Michael and Robert are doing really well. Both boys are enrolled in school full-time, with
Michael in first grade and Robert in kindergarten. Michael can read and write and he excels at
spelling and math. Michael likes writing stories and creating comic books. Robert is starting
to read and write and his favorite subject is Art. Robert loves crafts, building,painting, and
anything he can create. Robert recently started taking Mandarin Chinese classes. Michael is a 
sports fanatic and he loves watching and playing all sports. He is currently playing in a youth
basketball league. Both boys are healthy, which is amazing considering the urgent care that they
needed at Butterfly Children’s Hospices. We are continually grateful to everyone at Butterfly 
Children’s Hospices for providing loving care for our sons."

https://butterflyhospice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Screenshot-2019-02-16-at-17.01.04.png>

We cannot believe how much Michael and Robert have grown with the love and support of their 
forever family. Family really has changed everything for these two!

https://butterflyhospice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Screenshot-2019-02-16-at-16.58.49.png>

We love receiving updates from our Butterfly graduates and are privileged the families allow us
to share these with our supporters.

Thank you so very much Kate, for sharing with Joy .. and consequently through this Blogpost ... with our 
readers. It's always so good to get positive feedback and to be privy to the continuing story of children whose
lives we have been able to be just a small part of with our QFO fabric 'hugs'.

Isn't it awesome to be a part of this Ministry and to be able to have such a connection with those in need of the 
comfort of a quilt that we have helped create? I look forward in 2019 to being able to share more such stories of
the places and the people we have been able to bless with a QFO quilt.

Till next Blogpost, happy stitching and kind regards,

Susan

February 2019 ... and we resumed our stitching at The Shed :)

Well here we are with all the news .. and quite a few pictures ... from our gathering at The Shed on Saturday February 9th. Grab a cuppa and make yourself comfy as I unfold all that we were busy with at our first 2019 sewing day :) The weather wasn't exactly our friend, with quite a downpour on and off during the day ... but inside The Shed we were dry and kept warm stitching merrily away.

First off .. the 'Roll Call' and we very nearly had a full house .. with Pauline (who couldn't stay, but dropped by briefly) Carol, Maxine, Mel, Sinling, Sheryl, Deborah, Julie, Libby, Annette, Sandi, Yvonne, Val, Win, Joanne, Stephanie, Christine and newest member Julianne, who Christine struck up a conversation with in Spotlight (as you do) .. and invited along to join our merry group. Plus the 'scribe' .. yours truly Susan :)

Now on to the photographic part of the day, where we gleefully unpacked gifted quilt tops and quilts from under the generous needles of our offsite supporters. As well as some amaaaazing fabric donations from generous friends who destashed and thought of us :)

Isn't exciting to get mystery bags .. with the anticipation of what they hold? From the generous heart of my friend Janet we have this wonderful donation of fabric. Many, many thanks for this awesome blessing Janet, the ladies were thrilled and look forward to incorporating this material into many wonderful quilt 'hugs' to be gifted away to those in need.

I look forward in particular .... to seeing the large amount of cute cat and owl fabric above made up into quilts. It's just the sort of pattern ....  and there is plenty of it that will surely delight a small child :)

And from Wendy, via Annette, this lovely assortment of fabrics below .... which also will be magically incorporated into a quilt very soon :)

We also received in the mail, these two beautiful quilt tops from long time supporter and offsite stitcher Julia Ozolins. Julia has been a steady stitcher for us almost since QFO began and we appreciate her handiwork so very much. Thanks Julia and hope to see you soon, weather permitting :)

Aren't these just lovely?

And the next parcel opened was from Kate Wright who had put together three matching quilt tops with a car theme which will thrill some small boys I'm sure. Thank you so very much Kate and bless your kind heart.

Our received blessings aren't just confined to quilted products. For some time now we have been gifted beautiful handknitted baby sets from the talented knitters at the Montrose Church of Christ. And I was pleased to receive more during the Christmas break for bringing to QFO. These items are destined, I think, for perhaps the Butterfly Hospice in China. Thank you so very much ladies :)

Meanwhile ... over our Christmas hiatus ... our Pauline had been busy quilting these quilts for us. And, not to be outdone, Maxine and Carol had hand finished binding some of them. Teamwork :)

We were also gifted the almost completed applique quilt below which we will look into finishing soon. Lovely handiwork and many thanks to the kind heart of the person who clearly put so much work into it :)

We were also thrilled to receive another visit from Nellie Sutherland and her friend Truus from 'Made with Love' quilts. These kind ladies have blessed us previously with their quilts for our QFO ministry and we thank them so very much for their generosity of heart.

How very vibrant is the quilt below?

Love the 'shaggy' style quilt below ... and gorgeous fabrics too :)

I like the 'slanted' effect on the quilt below .... very effective :)


Thank you so very, very much Nellie and Truus for your beautiful handiwork ... look forward to blessing folk with your fabric hugs :)

And now some pics of the busy hands we had at The Shed on Saturday ... 

Julie, Sinling, Maxine and Carol ...

The 'Cutting Crew' hard at work ....

Newest member Julianne joins the happy stitchers at the handfinishing corner of The Shed :)

Yvonne, Win, Joanne and Val busily machining bindings to quilts ... 
Christine, Annette and Libby at the cutting table ...
Joanne, Annette and Val ...
Libby and Sheryl ... trimming away ... 

'Yours truly' and Sheryl .... fear not, I'm only pretending to cut without benefit of a ruler ;)

Whereas ... in reality ... I was sewing binding on a quilt top ;) And not getting my fingers in the way ..

Sandi and Sheryl collaborating on fabric choices for the next quilt  ... both have a great eye for colour.

Deborah and Annette ...

Busy, busy, busy, Stephanie, Sinling, Julianne, Maxine, Carol and Joannes visiting houseguest ....

Our Leader/CEO Annette, then took the floor amidst all our beavering away .. to give us the updates on QFO and advise us of Events in the near future that we will have a presence at ... to share the story of what QFO is all about.. 

We presently have 290 completed quilts available for 'gifting' to those in need. This is the absolute essence of what we do and the very reason that we exist. I look forward to sharing updates with you throughout the year as these quilts go to their 'forever homes' and are wrapped around the shoulders of those in most need of the fabric 'hug' that we and our offsite stitchers create. Watch this space :)

Now on to the upcoming 'Events' ....

Firstly, QFO will once again have a Stall at the Monbulk CFA Quilt Show on Saturday March 2nd. 

Look forward to seeing you at this popular local Event and we thank Mrs Martins Quilt Shop for once again allowing us to participate. Promises to be a grand day :)

***********************************************************************************************************************************

Next 'cab off the rank' so to speak .. and on the same day .. so plan your journeys wisely and you could squeeze both in ... is: 

                                QUILTS IN THE COURT YARD

2^ND March, 2019 1.00 to 4.30 pm. At the Ryder-Cheshire Victorian Homes Foundation.

10-14 Donaldson Street, Ivanhoe. Vic. 

A display of quilts to support the Ryder-Cheshire Foundation Klibur Domin Home, Timor-Leste and the Ryder Cheshire Victorian Homes Foundation in Ivanhoe.

Ryder Cheshire Foundations are worldwide. Here in Australia they are run by volunteers.  At 
Ivanhoe they supply accommodation for country people receiving treatment at Melbourne Hospitals.
In Timor Leste the Foundation’s home, Klibur Domin (sharing the love) runs TB programs, outreach
testing for TB, looks after disabled and terminally ill people and hopes to expand activities 
to provide an eye clinic and mental health facilities.  

Quilts on display plus some quilts for sale. 

Art – Paintings for sale.

Trading tables – bric-a-brac 

Handcrafts – cards etc. 

Entry $10 includes afternoon tea. 

Quilt Raffle. Art raffle.

100% of money raised will go to supporting these foundations run entirely by volunteers. 

To display a quilt contact Carole McLennan 0439 750 721.

*******************************************************************************************************************************

And ... not forgetting in April ... which follows March just as surely as night follows day ... 

Wanallock and Wandin CWA are hosting a Quilts for Orphans Exhibition. With Quilt sales.

                        Where: 48 Hunter Rd, Wandin North
                         When: April 27th ... 9.30 am till 4 pm

                       Refreshments: Devonshire teas & scones

                    Enquiries: Annette Stone Mob: 0407 648 618

Quilts for Orphans started when one woman, following a battle with cancer, sought to reach out to those in need. Now, our quilts are sent worldwide.

Exhibition sales are a means of raising money to purchase batting and supplies to make quilts for those in need, here and abroad.

Quilts for Orphans now includes many ladies who gather to enjoy the camaraderie & friendship of sewing fabric hugs for this cause.
Quilts will be displayed en plein air (outside) ...with Devonshire teas to be enjoyed.
Celebrate Autumn, bring your family & friends, enjoy the company of quilters & country women.

********************************************************************************************************************************

And now, something a little closer to home .. and at the same time, so very far away. A story of how far our QFO quilts can ... and often do ... travel :)

        This is a story of 5 QFO gifted quilts. By Deborah Woodward.

The story starts at Kallista Market November 2018 whilst chatting with a friend passing by our
QFO stall. Josh told me he and 4 mates would be travelling to Rwanda in East Africa on a special
volunteer project in a couple of weeks time! Never to let an opportunity pass me by, I asked him
if he and his mates would carry a quilt each to distribute as they saw fit to locals they might
meet. He graciously agreed. His wife Jeanette and 3 boys also decided to go along on this adventure
of a life time. On their return home they provided me with photos and stories of their amazing
journey.

 





Josh explains.. "These 3 we gave to very young mothers with very young children that were in 
the fields with their children on the outskirts of a village we lived in.

It bought tears and true joy for the mothers to be able to warm their children. Can't say that
the quilts will bright and beautiful for long but they will be loved and used."



Jeanette explains.. "We selected this lady as she has a very young daughter and is probably 
only 16 herself. We spoke to our staff where we were staying and they suggested this local 
woman.
Where we were staying was very rural, farmlands with shelter and a mattress is the basic and 
usual luxuries.... This young mother was walking home in the pouring rain with her baby on her
back and our staff offered her to stay in our site till the rain passed. They then realised how
poor and needy she was. When I gave her your donations she was very humble and I don't think
could show her emotions but presented the local staff how grateful she was.

The 5th quilt, was gifted to young man whose wife were expecting their first child. Josh 
explained the quilt was received with tears and at receiving the extraordinary gift for his 
baby.

I can't thank Josh and Jeanette enough for going out of their way on behalf of QFO's to gift 
the quilts with so much care and compassion. 

Deb Woodward

**********************************************************************************************

And, to show that we are local as well as global ... it was my absolute privilege to hand over
 to Mel Spencer and the amazing folk at Different Journeys in Kilsyth last night, February 12th, the
last of the 'heavy quilts' that we had created for them. Such a joy to be able to bless them with our 
handiwork, and much gratitude goes to our own Yvonne for dealing with the weight of the quilts as she
finished them off for us. And thanks also to our stitchers who handsewed the bindings on them
in mid summer :)

 

And so folks .. that winds up our Blog for February .. so far :) And so I will hit 'save' then'publish' and 
get it out into cyberspace for your reading enjoyment. I look forward to sharing with you again soon,

Blessings,

Susan

CEO Co-ordinator: Annette Stone  .... phone 0407 648 618 

email: [email protected]

Blogger: 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. Chelsea has blessed us with her destashing of fabric.

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 have also stitched 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

www.ujamaachildren.com

Welcome back ..... it's 2019 and we have a busy year planned for QFO :)

        
Well here we are again ... at the beginning of a fresh new QFO year .. and before we 
proceed I have a welcoming message from our CEO Annette ... so without further ado 
here 'tis.

Hello Everyone,

Hope you are all keeping cool,
Forecast looks good for Saturday February 9th, with a forecast temperature of 25 and a 
20% chance of rain,  our first Gathering of the year. Hope to see you there and welcome some
new folk to our group..

Committee Monday prepared some tops for bindings and Yvonne has been quilting again
this week after having caught up the backlog. Amazing effort Yvonne!

We have a couple of exhibition opportunities coming up to showcase our quilts and
the work of Quilts for Orphans. 
The committee has also planned the distribution of quilts for 2019 and is always on
the alert for other requests.

Pauline has kindly offered to be our librarian and will catalogue our magazine/pattern book 
collection for borrowing.

We are pleased to be able to utilise this resource to build our knowledge and skills. 
Thank you Pauline

Are you itching to Stitch?

Then we look forward to seeing you this Saturday from 9.30 a.m at The Shed. BYO lunch 
and perhaps a small plate to share for morning tea if you feel so inclined :)
 
Love,

Annette 

And ... as mentioned in Annettes welcome .. we have an 'Exhibition Opportunity' coming
up .. in April ... so grab your calendars and ink in the details.

Wanallock and Wandin CWA are hosting a Quilts for Orphans Exhibition. With Quilt sales.


       Where: 48 Hunter Rd, Wandin North
       When: April 27th ... 9.30 am till 4 pm
       Refreshments: Devonshire teas & scones
       Enquiries: Annette Stone Mob: 0407 648 618

Quilts for Orphans started when one woman, following a battle with cancer,
sought to reach out to those in need. 
Now, quilts are sent worldwide. Exhibition sales are a means of raising money to
purchase batting and supplies to make quilts for those in need, here and abroad.
Quilts for Orphans now includes many ladies who gather to enjoy the camaraderie &
friendship of sewing fabric hugs for this cause.

Quilts will be displayed en plein air (outside) ...with Devonshire teas to be enjoyed.

Celebrate Autumn, bring your family & friends, enjoy the company of quilters &
country women. 

So Folks ... that's our first Blog for the year ready to hit cyberspace and I look forward to
sharing with you after Saturday all that we achieve at our first gathering for the year,

Many blessings,

Susan

Co-ordinator: Annette Stone  .... phone 0407 648 618                                                                                                    

email: [email protected]

Blogger: 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

www.ujamaachildren.com