Quilts For Orphans

Festival of Quilts 2019 .... let the fun begin. Day one overview. at Mont De Lancey.

And here we are folks ... an overview of the FOQ at MDL hosted by QFO .... ;) A collection of snaps taken on the day, our quilts, our visitors, our Julie Adamson (Victorian Quilters) Trunk Show and a selection of the stitched goodies on offer for the customer as part of our fundraising. Please enjoy :)

Some absolutely amazing and detailed embroidered pieces by our Julianne .. her handiwork has to be seen to be believed. This was very small and incredibly detailed ...

Many stitched goodies as part of our fundraising ... 

Long time followers of QFO will recognise this rustic Christmas tree created by Gaynors son at our former home The Barn.

Cheryle Franken with her Bunny Themed "Challenge Quilt" entry.

Our Yvonne, who busily custom quilted the Challenge Quilt entries for us. I like that she colour matched her outfit with this entry created by Kay Coles.

And here is Kay Coles with another of her creations ... lovely batik fabric .. most intricate patterning.

Julie Adamson from the Victorian Quilters officially opened our Festival ...

Julie gave a short talk on the making of 'gifting quilts' ...she referenced 'Jessie' .. who came to quilt making later in life and at 85 has not only created 150 quilts but has introduced her daughter Glenys to the making of fabric hugs. We were more than happy to do some 'gifting' ourselves and handed over 30 of our quilts to Julie for the 'Very Snuggly Quilts' auxilliary who provide quilts to children with life threatening illnesses who are  currently hospitalised.

Lovely to see our Annette who has been on the sick list .. but came to our first day of the FOQ to support our efforts.

A short break for morning tea .... and very tasty it was too ... thanks to all who contributed.

Meanwhile our 'shop' in the Ray Oliver Gallery had customers .... 

Quilter Helen Harapas with her quilt entry in our Challenge Quilt ..... she was pretty chuffed to see how beautifully it 'quilted up'.

Then it was time for Julie Adamsons 'Trunk Show' .. and she had brought along some magnificent examples of her hand quilting.

Julie explaining the history labels on the back of her Tree of Life quilt ...

 

Every. Inch. Hand. Quilted. Oh my giddy aunt ... isn't this incredible?

This quilt .. by our very own Pauline and her teacher Grace .. I liked. And not just because the colours matched my coat  ;) Which 'may' just have been mentioned in the video below .. courtesy of the wonderful folk at Yarra Ranges Life TV ...

https://www.facebook.com/YRLife.tv/videos/427437198170940/

An influx of visitors toward the days end .. a busload in fact I believe .. filled the Gallery and kept our volunteers very busy :)

Jenny explaining our work to a visitor ...

Visitors making choices on our 'Viewers Choice' Quilt Challenge entries.

And that winds up this Blog entry on a very busy and vibrant note. I look forward to adding more at the end of our Festival ... and highly recommend that you try to plan a visit during our Festival. We will also have a presence at the Draught Horse Festival at Mont De Lancey ... which follows our FOQ. Check the Mont De Lancey website for details.

Blessings,

Susan

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsforphans.org 

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

Aaaaand .... awaaaay we go :)

 

Here 'tis ... our banner at the Festival of Quilts ... book your spots now!!

 

Our quilts go to Sierra Leone .... how very awesome. Truly what QFO is all about :)

Received a lovely message on our Facebook Page from Monique Mokdissi together with this pic of our very own Mels sister Sharron and Tonia .. who have coordinated the despatch of 42 of our quilts to Sierra Leone. The message we got is reproduced below for you:

'A big Thank you to 'Quilts for Orphans' for their generosity and support of Paradise 4 Kids .. by volunteering to make quilts for our dear brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone. They lovingly made 42 quilts which were delivered today (October 21st) and will contribute to the container of goods to be delivered to Sierra Leone.

This kindness and support of those less fortunate is very much appreciated and will go a long way toward creating some greater comfort and care for the young children in such need of our help'.

Mel continues the story ... 'my sister Sharron (left of quilt) and Tonia (the lady coordinating the items being
sent via shipping container to Sierra Leone)  This came about as my sister attended a fundraising event for Father
Thieme  (who was in Australia) to raise awareness and money for the work he is doing in Sierra Leone which is one 
of the poorest nations on earth.  We sent 42 (32 for the children/2 for each home-staff and few extras for any new 
children they may assist.'

How very wonderful to know that children on the other side of the globe will sleep under quilts made here by QFO. 
I look forward to hopefully sharing photos when they reach their destination ... it's always wonderful to see the 
smiles that a made with love fabric 'hug' gives to the recipient.

And also from Mel, who is an excellent 'connector' ,,, some pictures of donations she received whilst out 
publicising our upcoming Festival of Quilts in nearby Fern Tree Gully. From Kathy, who owns a local cross stitch 
shop these lovely panels which we look forward to incorporating into quilts.



Dinosaurs .. sure to be a big hit with a child :)


 Aren't they awesome? Thank you so very much Kathy (and Mel) These will make amazing quilts :)
And Mels Mum Jean has also been very generous, in gifting us fabric ... always a welcome gift, one can never have
too big a 'stash' when quilting for other eh?



And things are all falling into place for our Festival of Quilts at Mont De Lancey ... promises to be a wonderful 
event. I'll be reporting/blogging soon after, so watch this space :)


Blessings,

Susan