Quilts For Orphans

Isolation Blogpost ... following our post Covid resumption .... June 2020. Did you miss us?

                                                        

Well ... here I am again ..  midway through self isolating and with pictures to share with you of quilt tops gifted to us during our  QFO hibernation period. Many thanks to Deborah for getting the pictures to me and I will now attempt to integrate them into this Blogpost and hopefully accurately transfer the relevant details as emailed to me by Jenny. So without further ado ... here goes :)

Before I start I will copy the report (below) from Deborah who kindly filled in as reporter at our Gathering Day last Saturday as well as a few photos taken at the Hall ... and has also included an update of the safety requirements for those wishing to attend our sewing sessions at the Hall 'going forward'.

 

Gathering Day Report 13/6/20 

Attendance: Annette, Deb, Isobel, Christine, Pauline, Jenny, Yvonne, Win, Sandi, Cheryl, Nina and Lynne.

The day was a little cloudy but were happy to be together again after the COVID-19 restrictions forced us to close 30/3/20. We managed to squeezed in one last day 28/3/20, which some members took the opportunity to collect fabrics etc to keep themselves busy during the ISO period. I took home what remained in the bins for binding and hand sewing. That lot certainly kept me busy each evening and I was delighted to return 20 finished quilts ready to stack in inventory. My little effort was nothing compared with the squillion quilt tops that turned up in the post or on the previous 2 Tuesdays. As you can see from the photos many of the regulars have put their ISO time to excellent use. Well done everyone.

In the meantime, Jenny, Christine Yvonne and Cheryl have been busily training on the Gammill and will soon be veritable experts ready to share their new skill with the rest of us. To that end, commencing 24/6/20, the Hall will be open every Wednesday from 9.30am to 3.00pm. You can either call in to drop off or collect work or stay for the day, train on the Gammill or assist in quilt production tasks.

Remember, until restrictions are eased do not come to the Hall if you are unwell and you must abide by the 1.5m social distancing and handwashing requirements. The Hall is large enough for all of us to feel comfortable and safe. There are hand sanitiser and cleaning sprays strategically placed around the Hall. Please bring your own food. We will also record your name and phone number for contact tracing

The 4th Monday Work Days are also back! Next one is 22/6/20  9.30am to 3.00pm. Everyone is welcome to come along and assist with quilt production tasks.

If you can’t get to the Hall midweek don’t worry because there is always the next Gathering Day held the second Saturday of every month! See you next time, 11th July, to enjoy a day of sewing and friendship.

Deb Woodward

QFO Vice President

info@quiltsfororphans.org

And now without further ado ..the photos to share ... firstly we have Dawn from Jewels of Hope in Lesotho with the girls wrapped in our quilts. You may recall that Dawn visited us in the Hall earlier in the year and collected a swag of quilts from us. Thankfully she just managed to get to Lesotho and then back to Australia before the borders were closed.

Next we have Chaplain Matt and Pastoral Care Co-ordinator Janine with two quilts we have gifted to Kirkbrae Presbyterian Aged Care in Kilsyth. We are also planning to give Kirkbrae some lap quilts.

When Jenny was chatting with Janine she was asked if it would be possible to also give them a quilt to provide dignity when their residents pass away. When a resident dies, there is a ‘guard of honour’, of staff and residents, to celebrate their life, as the person is removed from the home. The quilt will be used as a covering for the gurney as it transports the deceased from the facility. We decided that the pink and purple butterfly quilt, which had just been completed by Jenny, was a perfect fit, with butterflies a Christian symbol of new life. We also gave them a brightly coloured quilt which would be a better option for male residents. Matt and Janine were delighted with the gift, and we look forward to meeting some of the residents soon and giving them lap quilts.

From Julie Cooper we received a large red quilt top and a swathe of extra fabric. Thank you so very much Julie for your generosity.

And from J Howard nine quilt tops ... how wonderful and thank you for thinking of us.

Next .... created by our Jenny from fabric left over from a quilt she made for her grand daughter ... this pretty quilt which those with keen eyes will recognise as one of the quilts gifted to Kirkbrae .

Next ... from Nellie and her group in Endeavour Hills (long time supporters of QFO, bless them) a total of 47 quilts and quilt tops including 20 made by two new members Sandra and Janice who made 20 between them!! What an amazing effort :)

Apparently a 'rogue' quilt ... the orange and black one .. was actually made by our Yvonne and somehow got included in the photo above ;) But the rest are from Nellies group ... :)

We also received 6 cot quilts from Jennie Pickering and these were featured on our Facebook page in the section where we showcased what you had been stitching during lockdown, so thank you very much Jennie for your wonderful work :)

Joy Harvey and Julianne McPherson also visited the Hall on June 9th to deliver quilt tops they had made and to return quilts they had taken home to bind. Below are Juliannes two single quilt tops beautifully pieced..

And Joys strip squares on point with a blue border ... very effective indeed. Love it.

Isobel had not been idle during our hiatus .. creating six single bed and four cot size quilt tops ... and here they are. Well done!!

Cheryl Wilson had also kept out of mischief during lockdown ... whipping up 8 single quilt tops for us ... woohoo!!

I’m sure there will be many more over the next couple of months as everyone returns to ‘normal’. Thank you to everyone who has made quilts and quilt tops. We will be very busy getting all the backs organised and Yvonne will continue to be busy quilting them all!

And ... further from Jenny ... this update on a project we will be getting into now that we are slowly getting back up to speed.
 

Our Christine has made several quilts for Life’s Little Treasures. She suggested that Quilts for Orphans might like to make some quilts for them, and the Committee has agreed that QFO will support this group.
 
Life’s Little Treasures Foundation is a support network for premature babies and their families in Australia, based in Melbourne. See more at https://lifeslittletreasures.org.au/

When a baby reaches 100 days after birth, they are given a special package, including a quilt that has ‘100’ appliqued (or embroidered) on it.
The quilts are 32 inches by 48 inches.
 
This is a little different to our regular cot quilt size… so I’ve designed several quilts that measure 32 inches by 48 inches.
Before the Hall was closed, I took home some lovely pastel fabrics from the bolts of fabric donated to us by Lilian, and I’ve been cutting fabric and making up kits.
We plan to have a SEWING DAY to make up quilts for Life’s Little Treasures now that we can return to the Hall.
 
In the meantime, we have TWO PATTERNS for you to use…
The centres of the quilts are 24 inches by 40 inches – with the blocks being 4 inches and 8 inches square. You could use the same patterns and put whatever you would like in the blocks!
Then there are two borders to complete the quilt (1 inch and 3 inches).
The patterns are now on our QFO website -
QFO LLT Half-square triangles Diamond quilt.
QFO LLT Squares and Frames quilt.
Check them out on our website at https://www.quiltsfororphans.org/quilt-sizes

There will be some more patterns up soon.

Please note due to Covid-19 restrictions you will need to bring your own snacks, as well as your lunch-as we are unable to share food when we gather at the Hall.

If you can't make it or would like a kit for a Life's Little Treasures quilt, please let me know!
Happy sewing!
 
Jenny Stokes

Any queries about these LLT quilts, please contact me by email on secretary@quiltsfororphans.org 

 

And that folks ... is a wrap up for now .... I'll be back here after our next Gathering Day in July to give you more pictures and news from the Hall and its stitchers, till then .. many blessings and stay safe,

 

Susan

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsfororphans.org 

Blogger: Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

email: susanhamilton3677@gmail.com

Our postal address (for donations) is  P.O Box 398 Monbulk Victoria 3793

And .... we are www.quiltsfororphans.org 

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

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 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

COVID 19 AND QFO .... PLEASE NOTE.

ALL OUR STITCHERS AND SUPPORTERS PLEASE NOTE:

Due to Stage three restrictions in Victoria QFO operations will be postponed until further notice.

 We will all keep stitching away at our respective homes and look forward to gathering again when this challenging time has passed.

Stay safe. 

 

Susan and the Quilters 

In light of the Coronavirus .. QFO have implemented a change to operations for the duration.

The only sensible path to take. We take the health and wellbeing of our Members most seriously as I'm sure you all understand.

 

Hi to all QFO members and supporters

COVID-19 is of serious concern to us all. At present QFO activities at the Hall would fit the 10/4/2 (people/space/distance) rule implemented by government but rightly so, we are greatly discouraged from getting together as a group.

To that end the Committee has devised a way for us to still operate and be mindful of our obligations to our community to help stem the spread of the corona virus. Therefore there will be no more Gathering or Work Days in the Hall until the 10/4/2 rules are lifted.

So here is the operating plan for the foreseeable future. Only one or two people are permitted in the Hall at any one time. This is the best way to be responsible but remain accessible. To get the ball rolling, I will be at the hall all day this Saturday 26/3/20 from 9.30am to 3pm to enable you to collect work and select fabrics.

After this Saturday, you will need to email me (Deborah Woodward) info@quiltfororphans.org to make individual arrangements.

I’m not about to ask who is coming or what time as that is not the QFO way. Just arrive when it suits you throughout the day. I’m sure the people movements will work OK.

Lets hope for a lovely day to have all the doors open where I get to greet you with a smile. 😊

As always please call or email me anytime. We are all in this together!

Deb Woodward

Vice President

0409 192 514

 

 

 

 

Marching into March ...... 2020 ... a quiet gathering, but enjoyable nonetheless. And a visitor from the States.

Here we are again. And it was indeed a much reduced attendance of stitchers at our sewing day on March 14th. The present Coronavirus scare kept several of our regular members away, but those that came enjoyed the companionship and we managed to get quite a bit done anyway. And there was plenty of cake to share ;) 

For those wondering how the Coronavirus is impacting the Butterfly Hospice that we have stitched for in the past, might I direct you to the Link at the bottom of this Blog where you can get the most recent update on how this awesome organisation is faring. 

Now, present on Saturday at our Hall in Hoddles Creek were: Libby, Isobel. Yvonne, Julianne, Christine, Jenny, Cheryl, Deborah, Lucy, Sandi, Joanne, myself and my friend Judy who factored in our March gathering day when planning her trip to the Antipodes from Florida USA. Pretty neat eh?

And here is my friend Judy ... who indicated that she'd be more than happy to assist Christine in trimming quilted tops for binding.

Cheryl and Deborah ...

We had several wonderful donations of quilts and tops gifted to us and first 'quilts off the rank' so to speak were given to us by Elizabeth. Many thanks Elizabeth for your kind heart ...

Now, with the installation of our 'all singing all dancing' Gammill Longarm quilting machine our members have been able to increase their skillset and embrace the joys of quilting our gifted and created tops. Here we have Isobel, Jenny, Libby, Julianne and Yvonne.

And here is some of our members handiwork ... not too shabby eh?

More donations .... this needleturn applique is rather pretty .. not quite sure who gifted it to us .. but thank you so very much :)

From Judith Howard of the 'Wednesday Quilters from Balwyn' ... these two delightful tops ... Judith and the rest of her donation to us feature further on in this Blogpost.

The amazing Nelly Sutherland from 'Made with Love' quilts arrived with another awesome donation for us ... both completed quilts and tops ... thank you so very much Nelly. Your groups generosity is always appreciated.

Deborah doing the quilt folding thing ... ;)

Yours truly doing 'attaching binding' duty ... the light in this particular corner is perfect :)

Our own Sandi had been busy also with this vibrant 'Licorice Allsorts' pieced quilt top ... you may recall we learnt this piecing technique a year or so back. Its very effective I think you'll agree.

And now some of our happy stitchers on Saturday, firstly Joanne ... using that amazing vintage workhorse Husqvarna machine.

And Sandi .... wielding an iron with flair and style ... 

Newest member Lucy .... busily stitching away .. 

Long time QFO member Isobel .. who registers all our stash of quilts and tops.

And my friend Judy Reall from Florida ... with yours truly. Judy had been wanting to be a part of our sewing day for ages.

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

Now a message that came thru to me in an email from Deborah ....

Hi Team
I struck GOLD today. I met 2 beautiful women who have generously donated fabrics to QFO

Lilian is standing at the back of 'Olive'. My car is brimming with bolts of fabric and many other amazing items. Lilian checked out our web site after talking with a work mate, who shared the QFO story from her friend Sinling! Hows that!! She wanted to donate her 'on line shop stock' to a group who would value and make good use of the fabrics, trims and yarns.

And Judith from the 'Wednesday Quilters' donated a large bag of fabric and 2 quilt tops. (displayed across my couch) I first met Judith at the Mont De Lancey Festival Of Quilts last year where she and her 2 friends bought a quilt each!  A really lovely lady with a beautiful soul. She also makes really nice pikelets  


 I'm still awe struck by these 2 women's generosity and trust in us!

Deb

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

Thank you both SO very much Lilian and Judith .. your amazing generosity will enable us to make and distribute even more fabric hugs locally and globally as we continue to do the philanthropic stuff that QFO is renowned for. Bless your kind hearts indeed.

And ... speaking of philanthropic stuff ... we have furnishing fabric and even a kit or two with which to create tote bags for Samaritans Purse. Jenny filled us in on the work that this organisation does and if anyone is interested in participating she will happily give you the heads up on how to get involved.

And that, readers, just about wraps up this months Blog post. I look forward to sharing with you as and when more news comes into my little 'realm' and leave you with our regularly scheduled lot of Links and contacts. 

Blessings to all,

Susan

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsfororphans.org 

Blogger: Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

email: susanhamilton3677@gmail.com

Our postal address (for donations) is  P.O Box 398 Monbulk Victoria 3793

And .... we are www.quiltsfororphans.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

 

Our all-singing all-dancing new 'toy' ... which will make our lives at QFO even more fun :)

Quick Blog update before we meet again on this coming Saturday March 14th at the Hall ... we are now the proud owners of a Gammill Long Arm Quilting machine with which to custom quilt our tops. This will help alleviate the workload which has, up till this time, been wholly supported by our very own Yvonne. We trust now she will have a little lightening of the pressure on her .. as well as fine tuning the skills of our Members who wish to be trained in the new 'toys' use, 

Below are some pictures of the arrival, installation and training session on our machine. Please enjoy .. many thanks to Mel for the photos.

Also some pictures of quilt tops we have recently been blessed with .. which will no doubt very soon be quilted on this new toy :)

And that's a quick 'wrap' for the time being .. until after our next 'Gathering Day' on Saturday .. when we will again enjoy the fellowship of our quilting group and stitch away on our fabric 'hugs'. 

Blessings till then,

Susan

Susan

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsfororphans.org 

Blogger: Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

email: susanhamilton3677@gmail.com

Our postal address (for donations) is  P.O Box 398 Monbulk Victoria 3793

And .... we are www.quiltsfororphans.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

First Blogpost for 2020 .. and coming to you with news and pictures of our new QFO 'Home' base ;)

Well here we are, at the start of a fresh new QFO year and in our new 'home' at Hoddles Creek ... I look forward, in this blogpost, to sharing with you the interior shots, as well as all the things that happened at our first get together under its roof on Saturday February 8th :) 

Aaaaand ... here we are ..... 

Present on Saturday we welcomed back a lot of familiar faces and met some new folk too ... which bodes well for an exciting and productive year under the QFO banner. We enjoyed the company of Sandi, Joanne, Deborah, Yvonne, Christine, Val and Val,Isobel, Jenny, Julie, Sheryl, Julianne, Mel, Pauline, Cheryl, Libby, Alison, Annette, Alice, and myself .. and welcomed new members Joy, Ann, Denise, Pat, Helen and Lucy. Quite the (nearly) Full House indeed ;)

We also welcomed Dawn Taylor, representing 'Jewels of Hope' from Lesotho (pronounced 'Lesootoo') in South Africa. We have previously gifted them quilts and Dawn came on Saturday to tell us all about the empowerment that selling the jewelry created by the children over there gives. Jewels of Hope is on the front-line in the battle against HIV/AIDS in Lesotho. It works in the midst of despair as children become orphaned due to the pandemic affecting the region. As hundreds of children have become parentless, the desire is to give them hope for their future and for eternity. Jewels of Hope provides a means of income generation for vulnerable children that is both safe and legitimate, whilst enabling the children to continue with their education.

For more details on Jewels of Hope. please visit their website at www.jewelsofhope.org and for more information on helping this project or purchasing jewelry, please contact Dawn at dawntaylor6491@gmail.com

One of the poorest countries in the world, and one which has an unemployment rate of 49%, Lesotho nonetheless enjoys 300 days a year of sunshine ... which, might I add, seems only rivalled by the smiles of the children looked after by the Jewels of Hope organisation.

The children learn, among other things, the Principles and Practice of Business thru the Program, which helps to give them usable skills for their future. 

Dawn also came along with cakes of this amazing soap .. and its 'backstory' of generating funds for the Philippines.

Now among our visitors today we welcomed Helen, Denise, Pat and Ann from the Steels Creek Stitchers, who blessed us with an amazing number of quilt tops  ... just so incredibly kind of them. Pictures are below .. they also blessed us with a sizeable box of fabric for which we are most grateful :)

Thank you so very, very much ladies .. your contribution to our quilt gifting 'stash' is most appreciated and we look forward to blessing those in need with your fabric 'hugs' in the not too distant future. According to our records, between October and the end of 2019 we were able to gift 110 quilts to those in need both locally and globally. We look forward to doing even more as the year progresses. 

We were also visited on Saturday by long time supporter Nelly Sutherland from 'Made with Love' quilts in Endeavour Hills. Nelly has previously been incredibly generous with her groups quilts and once again we thank her so very much for their kindness to us. This time, in addition to the quilts, Nellys group kindly gifted us a roll of cotton batting (so very useful) and a Janome sewing machine which will come in jolly handy as being put to use by stitchers needing one on-site here.

And now a few candid shots of our new space .... pretty schmick eh?

Pauline and Sheryl in our kitchen ... so much room and perfect for organising our refreshments. Speaking of which, here they are :)

The Handsewing corner ... with Libby, Alison, Julie .. and one of our lovely new visitors whose name, I'm afraid to say .. totally escaped me. Profuse apologies ... I'll try better next time :)

Work tables just awaiting sewing machines and stitchers ...

And here we have .. Val and Val ... doing great stuff at our work tables :)
Jenny, Isobel and Sheryl chatting at our 'quilt top recording table' where incoming tops are 'registered' for tracking purposes as they go thru the 'process' toward gifting.

 

The 'Process' ... complex, but all part of our new QFO tracking and accountability set-up. And below we have the pictures of the 'behind the scenes storage area. So good to have all this room for our stuff :)

And now on to a bit of 'Show and Tell' from our on site stitchers ... first we have Paulines efforts .

So incredibly colourful .. and hasn't Pauline been busy since we last gathered?

Next we have Cheryls quilt tops .. zoom in on the red blue and white .. the nautical fabric is gorgeous ...

And now from our Val ... and pictured with fabric gifted to her by her daughters friend Jean .. this top ... just lovely.

From our Christine .. two single quilt tops, and isn't the vibrant Dresden Plate combo just stunning?

And finally, from Sandi .. we have three cot size and one single bed size top .. again pieced with precision .. she's a perfectionist :)

Now a few more random shots of our new workspace and then an 'ad' for an upcoming Event that QFO will have a table at .. 

Natural light, as well as overhead lights and fresh air ... a great working combo :)

Above we have Yvonne, Julianne, Deborah and Nelly ... 

Sandi and Cheryl .... 

View from our kitchen servery window ... and below we have Pauline and Christine at the cutting table. 

We even have a balcony for those that like to take in the fresh country air whilst stitching .. or even just having a cuppa break ;)

Aaand .... before the final bit of this Blog .. we were pleased to be able to farewell Dawn Taylor from Jewels of Hope .. with a stack of quilts to take back to Lesotho. Looking forward to seeing pics of them some time down the track when they are wrapped around their new owners :)

Aaaand now ... our first 'participating' Event for the year ... so save your pocket money AND the date and pop along to support us and the CFA. The Event is hosted by Karen Martin of Mrs Martins Quilt Shop and we thank her very much for allowing us space to display our wares. See you there.

 

And dear reader, that just about wraps up this Blog .. we meet again at Hoddles Creek on the second Saturday in March (14th).. BYO lunch and a plate to share for morning tea .. as well as your enthusiasm and sewing machine. But don't fret too much on the latter if you don't have a machine as we do have a couple of QFO machines available for use.

OOOH!! .. speaking of which, I very nearly forgot our BIG NEWS. We have purchased a Gammill Long Arm quilting machine and will be training those interested in it's use. This will lighten the load for our Yvonne who has single handedly been custom quilting our tops pretty much since we started. We hope to have the machine set up in a week or so, ready for our next gathering. 

Such an exciting year ahead ... and now to hit the 'publish' button and send this baby into cyberspace for your enjoyment :)

Blessings to all,

 

Susan

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsfororphans.org 

Blogger: Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

email: susanhamilton3677@gmail.com

Our postal address (for donations) is  P.O Box 398 Monbulk Victoria 3793

And .... we are www.quiltsfororphans.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

 

Moving to The Hall – Office Chairs and rubber castors ... and a BIG Thank You to generous hearts.

 

Well here I am again .... making use of a relatively quiet Monday and some inclement weather .. to sit and Blog, Blog, Blog. And here is the last Post for the day. Words provided by those involved with beginning the set up at our new home in Hoddles Creek. Pictures also attached and some Thank You mentions to the generous hearts of those who have facilitated some of the finer things needed to make our new home even spiffier. 

We’ve all been busy lately, packing up everything at The Shed and getting ready for the move., and planning what equipment we’ll need at our new location.

At The Shed, our machine sewers have enjoyed using the adjustable office chairs that belonged to the owners.

So Jenny has been busy sourcing adjustable office chairs and working out the best way to protect the timber floors at The Hall.

Five office chairs were located on Facebook Marketplace. When Jenny explained the work of Quilts for Orphans, Jake, the seller, decided to donate them all to us! Thank you so much, Jake!

Peter and Jenny took the trailer to Ivanhoe East to collect them, and then delivered them to The Hall.

Jenny found out that replacing the regular castors with ‘rubber castors’ was the best way of protecting the timber floor. She wrote to Slipstick, an Australian company that manufactures and distributes rubber castors, as well as a wide range of products to go under furniture to protect floors. Jenny initially asked if we could purchase them wholesale, but also invited the company to consider supporting our group by donating some sets of castors. The owners of Slipstick responded, saying they would be delighted to sponsor our group by donating 12 sets of castors for our office chairs! Thanks so much, Slipstick, for your very generous donation. You can check out Slipstick, and the extensive range of products they have for protecting floors and furniture at https://www.slipstick.com.au  They’re also listed on our partnerships page on our website.

They also sent us ten packs of various sized pieces of ‘furniture felt’, to put under chairs, tables, and other furniture to protect the timber floor! 

At the Working Bee, Jenny and Ron (Sinling’s husband) swapped over all the castors on the five donated chairs!

Ron, Jenny and Sinling ...

We’ve since been given an additional four used office chairs by Allen and the team at Excellence IT – they are in Boronia, and online at https://excellenceit.com.au  They had the chairs advertised on Facebook Marketplace and decided to donate them to our group! Thanks so much.

With another one Jenny found at her local Op Shop, and a couple more in her shed, we’ll have a full complement of adjustable chairs for all our planned ‘sewing stations’ – all with lovely rubber castors!

Eager beavers at the Working Bee. 

Its not a QFO gathering without food and I think some of the 'five basic food groups' seem to be covered here. Am I right?

Not sure what Deborah had done to be banished outside .. perhaps crumbs on the new homes floor? Trust they'll let her play inside in February ;)

Aaand that wraps it up till I have more to report. We hope to be in our new home for the first Gathering Day on February 8th ... after which I will have another Blogpost with even more photos of all the ladies cosily ensconced in their new QFO abode at Hoddles Creek. 

Till then,

Blessings to all,

Susan

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsforphans.org 

Blogger: Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

email: susanhamilton3677@gmail.com

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

Prison Network Ministry photo ... we are local as well as global ....

Just a quick picture .. which has also been shared to Facebook and on the Prison Network site .... of their awesome volunteers wearing aprons created and gifted to them by QFO. Prison Network Ministry are an amazing group of ladies working within the system to bring joy and creative activities to those most in need of friendship and hope.

They visited us at the Barn a couple of years ago and Gaynor had it on her heart to partner with them as far as we were able. So here they are with the newest aprons we created for them to wear as they pursue their volunteering within the system. And don't they look so very smart? I'll also share the Thank You message they sent us with the photo :)

https://prisonnetwork.org.au/

From the Prison Network ladies: 

'How fantastic are these aprons so generously and beautifuly made by Quilts for Orphans. They are so bright and cheery and practical. They are how the women in jail identify us as soon as we walk through the gates. Thank you! Thank you! You ladies do wonderful work.'

Blessings till next Blogpost,

Susan

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsforphans.org 

Blogger: Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

email: susanhamilton3677@gmail.com

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

News from Mukti ..... with pictures and Links to a video or two or three uploaded to Facebook :)

And here I am again .. with news of quilts delivered and happy recipients. Words and pictures sent to me by our stitcher and QFO Member Jenny Stokes. .. please enjoy.

Quilts for Orphans has recently given quilts to Mukti. https://mukti.org.au/

Have you heard of Mukti?

Mukti Australia works with Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission in India and Wings of Hope in Sri Lanka. Mukti Australia raises fund to support development projects in both countries, supporting and empowering disadvantaged and vulnerable children and women. In India the focus is on education.

Between 30 and 40 quilts were given to Mukti – some quilts have been sent to Wings of Hope in Sri Lanka. The others were taken to India by Glenda (National Director of Mukti Australia) and Susan (who co-ordinates projects). The quilts were given to the new children at Mukti.

The children were very excited to receive a quilt. The photos show show the children receiving the quilts and one of Glenda with the children. The video shows the children saying ‘Thank You’ for the quilts!

The children have given us a lovely card, and Glenda has made us a lovely laminated A4 card showing all the children with their quilts.

Lovely photos – and some very happy children who are thankful for the work done by Quilts for Orphans!

How gorgeous are these pictures and the children eh? I do hope that some of our Blog readers can recognise their handiwork here .. always a joy to spy our handiwork being held tight by its recipient :)

And ... this is where the 'rubber hits the technology road' ... or it doesn't. Was totally unable to create a URL to upload these videos onto the Blog or the Website. So I took the next best shortcut and posted them to Facebook, where hopefully the Link below will take you. Enjoy. The children look so very chuffed as they hold their quilts so tightly. And how very blessed are we to be connected with them and Mukti.

https://www.facebook.com/QuiltsForOrphans/videos/589497091834236/

https://www.facebook.com/QuiltsForOrphans/videos/958824011185827/

https://www.facebook.com/QuiltsForOrphans/videos/625023308251234/

Blessing to all .... till next Blogpost ... 

Susan

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsforphans.org 

Blogger: Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825

email: susanhamilton3677@gmail.com

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

Christmas lunch 2019 with the QFO stitchers ... December 14th at Rose Cottage.

Apologies for the belated Post .. I had started it .. and then Christmas got in the way .. Ooops!! Apologies also for the less than stellar photo quality ... no idea what happened there. But we make up for it at the bottom of this Post with two great pics showing our stitchers and our Calendar for the coming/present year. Enjoy. 

Christmas lunch was again held at the delightful Rose Cottage in Monbulk and was absolutely delicious. Many thanks to the staff there ... we always enjoy this time spent at your establishment :) Same time next year?

And here we have our ladies and the latest Calendar .. a magnificent job was done by our Mel and her friend Arthur and we cannot praise them both enough for the quality and layout. Superb job and a rousing 'Thumbs Up' from us all :)

Aaaaand now on to the next couple of Blog Posts to lead us in to the New Year and new beginnings for QFO ... in our new 'home'. Stay tuned ...

Susan