Quilts For Orphans

And as Easter approaches .. we gather at The Shed to stitch ....

Well here we are again .. another month has passed and we gathered together on April 13th .. just a week before Easter .. to stitch away at The Shed. We welcomed Sandi, Val, Win, Yvonne, Annette, Alice, Julianne, Rose, Maxine, Carol, Christine, Isobel, Jenny, Mel, Emily, Julie, Deborah, Doreen, Sheryl and myself .. all eager to stitch and share the day with each other.

We have been blessed with many donations of quilt tops and completed quilts for our gifting Ministry and I am pleased to be able to share with you these wonderful handcrafted stitchings from the hearts and needles of our supporters.

From Agnes Lynn in Blackburn a lovely gifting of fabric for our use and a quilters iron which will come in extremely handy as we create our fabric 'hugs'. Many thanks Agnes for your kindness ..

Next ... from the generous heart of Carmen Diefenbach .. three gorgeous quilt tops that will delight the recipients when gifted .. loving the applique work Carmen and the Beatrix Potter fabric is just so very pretty. Many thanks for your generosity :)

And from under the needle of Sandra Brazier who has been such a great supporter over the years .. these lovely offerings.

And from another long time offsite stitcher .. Julia Ozolins . these four lovely quilts. Many thanks Julia, you are beyond wonderful :)

'

Our very own Christine had not been letting the dust gather under her machine needle either .. with these two completed quilt tops ..

Lovely piecing Christine .. these are brilliant :)

We then had a short break whilst Annette took to the floor to fill us in on upcoming Events that QFO will be participating in .. as well as the projected 'giftings' of quilts which we will be doing over the next weeks.

First 'cab off the rank' so to speak is this local Event in just over a week and a bits time .. do save the date and pop along, it promises to be a great day out.

We also discussed the Agenda for our November Festival of Quilts which I look forward to sharing more details of as we fine tune it for our followers.

And for our 'giftings' ... we will be delivering a dozen smaller quilts to an Aged Care facility very soon and I look forward to sharing that with you when it happens. We are also partnering again with the Prison Network Ministry who do such amazing work on a very lean budget. Only too happy to be able to help them with the valuable work that they do by fulfilling their request for assistance.

Annette also told us of an upcoming High Tea hosted by the Lyrebird Quilters on June 15th .. I'll rustle up further details on that as they come to hand. Well ,,, what do you know? I found the details. Grab your diary and slot this in :)

Event name	Lyrebird Quilters High Tea in the Dandenongs
Date	Saturday 15th June
Time	10am – 4pm
Venue	Upwey Hall, Sherbrooke Family & Children’s Centre, 1433 Burwood Hwy, Upwey, Vic
Entry	$10 per person, Tea/Coffee and Afternoon Tea provided Mug of Soup and Muffin available from $5 from mid-morning
Contact	Sheila Hampson 03 59684603 or lyrebird.quilters@gmail.com

We were then surprised by a visit from the lovely Nellie Sutherland from 'Made with Love' quilts, who once again blessed us with their handiwork for our ministry. As well as some delightful handmade cards for our fundraising purposes. Well done and many thanks Nellie .. you are amazing!!

The delightful and very generous Nellie .. always a delight to see :)

And .. below .. is what I occupied myself with on Saturday. These will be available for sale as part of our fundraising at the CWA Event on April 27th :)

And that, reader, just about wraps up this months Blogpost. Hope you enjoyed and I look forward to updating you with more news as it comes to hand. In the interim, here are our 'regularly scheduled' Links to those who we have connected with since our inception. 

Blessings,

Susan

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

email: silauran@netspace.net.au

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

email: shamilton@aanet.com.au

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

 

Special Post from our CEO .... for those who follow our QFO 'journey' ...

Just a short and sweet Blogpost to share from our CEO the very latest in the Quilts for
Orphans story. So without further ado here are the words from Annette Stone.

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

At our March Gathering Day, Quilts for Orphans held a 'General Meeting'. This
followed our recent incorporation as a 'not for profit association'. Incorporation
provides some legal protection and accountability. But we'll still operate as we
always have - a group making 'fabric hugs' for those in need!

Our AGM will be held at the September Gathering Day. The 'Committee' will have four
general members in addition to the executive (President, Vice President, Secretary,
Treasurer) and that the 'interim Committee' will operate until the AGM.
 We continue to welcome everyone to our group. No Membership or Joining fees will be
charged. Membership applications are available from 

secretary@quiltsfororphans.org<mailto:secretary@quiltsfororphans.org


There is no pressure to become a Member - we welcome everyone, members and
supporters, who want to help in our endeavour to help those whose lives are
brightened by our quilts.

Annette Stone
Quilts for Orphans.

March 27th 2019

And ... in between our sewing days ... we still connect and receive :)

Quick short but very sweet Blogpost ... following our Deborahs most recent 'outreach' on behalf of QFO at the Kallista Market. She was gifted a rather nice amount of 'destashed' fabric from Joan Reid ... thank you so very much Joan. Your kindness is much appreciated and the fabric is just wonderful.

I look forward to seeing this lovely stash incorporated into quilts for those in need .. watch this space to see your gifting to us being repurposed into quilt tops by our willing stitchers at The Shed in the very near future.

Till next Blogpost,

Blessings

Susan 

 

The March Blog ..... Part Two ... our sewing day at The Shed :)

Aaaaand ... here we are again ... with news from our stitching day on March 9th at The Shed.

Present on the day we had Sheryl, Yvonne, Jenny, Julianne, Annette, Val, Pauline, Carol, Maxine,Mel, Alice, new members Rose and Denise, Sandi, Julie, Libby, Christine, Stephanie, Joanne, yours truly .. and another new member (but very experienced quilter) Doreen. So we had a beautifully full and extremely busy Shed. And lots to Show and Tell before we got down to stitching up a storm :)

Firstly a lovely completed quilt gifted to us by Elaine who attends Evelyn Village Craft.

Lovely work Elaine and this will most surely bless a child at one of the organisations we will be partnering with in 2019. We have some new contacts which I will share with you all later on in this Blogpost ... places across the globe to gift our work to.

Next, from Heather Lownds we have two delightful cot quilt tops ... with extra fabric too :)

Ooops .. am mortified that I didn't get someone to hold them up for the photo, so very sorry Heather. Will try and rectify after they have been quilted .. we had SUCH a busy day on Saturday. I needed a cup of tea, a Bex and a jolly good lie down by the time we finished.

From Emma Covey we received an extremely generous donation of fabrics which we look forward into cutting and piecing into our quilts ... thank you so very much Emma. Your kindness will help us create fabric hugs for children far and wide.

We were totally blown away to have this 'UFO' donated to us very recently from the folk at the Seville 'Fiddle Rug' Group ... Sheryl had a lot of fun attaching the few pieces that made up the whole and we look forward to seeing it completed before long. Utterly knocks my socks off to think that so much work can go into a piece and then be gifted away to us. So very generous :)

Sheryl also completed the 'I Spy' quilt top recently gifted to us .. she's been a busy lady ;)

From the Hill Stitchers @ Emerald Hills a wonderful donation of tops, blocks, fabric destashings and strips. More than enough to keep our hands incredibly well occupied in the weeks ahead. Thank you so very, very much :)

From Janet Hill we have this delightful knitted owl ... which will be gifted away with a quilt .. and four lovely themed quilt tops. Beautiful fabric and I can't wait to see them quilted. Thank you so very much Janet .. as always, we are most touched by the generous hearts of those who support our ministry with their handiwork.

From the Montrose CFA Quilt Show a lovely gifting to us from Sydney Hammond, pictured below..

Sydney Hammond donated her aunts quilts to QFO’s at the end of the day

And, gifted to us by a fellow stitcher we met at the recent Monbulk Quilt Show .. some absolutely delightful quilt tops and a table topper .. pictured below .. how incredibly kind. Thank you so very much :)

Those who attended the Makers Marathon at Mont De Lancey last year .. as part of our Festival of Quilts .. will be pleased to see how the handiwork of the Marathon ended up. As shown here below by Christine and Sheryl. Stunning isn't it? 

Now a peek preview of a piece that will be completed and on display at the Wandin CWA Quilt Display 'Ein Plein Air' in April. Details of this Event are further down the page.

In accordance with the French 'theme' of the day Sandi pieced together this rather delightful quilt top using fabric recently gifted to us in a major destash from my friend Janet. Gorgeous retro style and will look magnificent when completed. Well done Sandi :)

Next Annette took to the floor and filled us in on planned 2019 QFO quilt giftings and the connections which we will be pursuing in the year ahead. 

So far we will be looking at once more getting quilts to India via Keith and Helen Greenwood whose work in that country through COM was the catalyst for the very creation of QFO nearly a decade ago.

Another contact has been made .. also in India .. with Ambassadors for the  Leprosy Mission in that country, Joe and Maria Bast. We look forward to being able to fulfill the needs in these areas through the good graces of these wonderful people. Follow their story at https://www.leprosymission.org.au

We are also looking at gifting some of our smaller quilts to local Aged Care Facilities for use as knee rugs for their elderly residents. It's great to be able to combine both the local AND the global when it comes to sharing out our fabric 'hugs'. 

And a further renewal of 'partnership' will be taking place when we respond to a request made toward the end of last year from the wonderful folk at the Prison Network Ministry. You may recall we created for them a year or so back and the work that they do is absolutely heartwarming. Their 'mission statement' refers to the work that they do as .... 'Supporting Women, Inspiring Change, Restoring Lives' .. and they do it brilliantly. 

We have also had a request from South Africa for our quilts (details yet to be confirmed).. so it will be an absolute privilege to be able to share with you during the year on the results of well and truly meeting each and every one of these mentioned needs for our fabric 'hugs'. So very exciting :)

And ... a tad belatedly .. but I totally lost sight of the fact that with the original report on the quilts we handed over at Billanook last year, the framed picture of the students from the previous trip to the Thai/Burma border wasn't too clear.

So I made a point of properly snapping the lovely framed picture that they gave us back then. Better? This shows the students on the trip that they take annually .. with the quilts we gifted them for distribution .. and the children who will sleep under them now :)

Now for a few 'happy snaps' of the ladies at work at The Shed on Saturday ..

Libby, Rose, Denise, Julie, Alice, Julianne, Carol and Maxine .. all busily stitching bindings on our quilts. Our hand stitching corner is always a hub of activity and conviviality :)

Yvonne ... our hardworking custom quilter ...

                                                            .... and Pauline one of our founding members

When she's not the Queen of colour matching and piecing .. Sandi wields a mean iron ;)

Jenny ... training the next generation of quilters ;)

And ... the next thing you know .. they're flying 'solo'. They grow up so quick ;)

Val .. busily machine attaching binding to one of our quilts .. after which it goes to the hand stitching corner for finishing off.

A recent quilt top 'discovery' .. needing a slight trim at the cutting table and some borders methinks ..

Sheryl, Sandi & Libby. Our day is almost over & it looks like Sandi is making her getaway ;)

Your turn will come Sheryl ... be patient ;)

Rose and Libby at the cutting table ... their day is not yet over :)

I asked Denise, one of our newest members to 'work the camera baby' .. and this was the result. See .. we have fun here at QFO in the Shed .. serious fun ;)

And whilst I'm more often behind the lens .. this time I teamed up with Sheryl and Libby at the cutting table below :)

We also welcomed to QFO this month Doreen .. a teacher and quilter with several decades of quilting behind her and thus a wealth of experience to share with us. Here are several pictures taken on Saturday ... with Doreen sharing just a few of the many quilts she has stitched. We look forward to her valued input as we continue making our fabric hugs.

Doreen, Joanne and Annette ... and below Doreen shows the many quilts that she has completed over the years .... an impressive gallery indeed.

Brilliant piecing and a magnificent 'body of work' Doreen. Looking forward immensely to your input to QFO.

                   ......................                   STOP PRESS               ...............................

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.

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

And folks ... that just about winds up this edition of the QFO Blog .. absolute pleasure to be able to share with you our plans for our quilt giftings during the coming year, and I look forward to seeing and sharing pictures of our quilts wrapped around those at the receiving end :) 

So, till next Blogpost, a warm Thank You to those offsite stitchers who have blessed us with their donated tops for our ministry and their destashings also. Without your generosity we would not be able hand out our fabric 'hugs' to those in need both local and global. And Thank You to those who come out each month to the Shed to share in our journey and our friendship.

Many blessings all,

Susan

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

email: silauran@netspace.net.au

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

email: shamilton@aanet.com.au

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

Time Marches on ... and so does our Blog ... Parts 1 of 2 ... we've been busy.

Well here we go again .. all the news that is fit to Blog ... and we have been busy, busy, busy. 
First part of this months blogging will focus on the trip that some of our members made to
beautiful Ivanhoe recently. Invited by the Ryder Cheshire Victorian Homes Foundation to
participate in their 'Quilts in the Garden' fundraiser, we were more than happy to take this
opportunity to support them as well as share with their visitors a little of what QFO is all
about. Ryder Cheshire has 94 beds at their facility in Ivanhoe .. which caters for those who
come to Australia for medical treatment. They also support a facility in Timor-Leste.

Annette soon secured a spot in the shade ... it was an extremely hot day but as you can see
she was more than well protected from the blistering heat.
   
           
Here we have Annette our QFO CEO with Carole McLennan from Maggie Robertson Design.
 
And with our very own QFO stitcher Alice Peet who has been sewing with us since we began.
Behind them are the QFO quilts which we brought to display. We were happy to be able to
bless the Ryder Cheshire Foundation with seven of our QFO quilts for their fundraising and
distribution to their facility in Timor.
 
Peter from Ryder-Cheshire presents the winning quilt created by Carole ... stunning isnt it?
 
And here we have two of the visitors on the day .. resting with a background of quilts behind 
them. 
All in all a lovely days and another connection made between QFO and recipients of our work.

And that concludes Part 1 of the March Blog ... and on to Part 2 ... where I tell you all about
our quilting day at The Shed on Saturday March 9th.

Susan 






 

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 jenny.stokes@outlook.com mailto:jenny.stokes@outlook.com or Annette
silauran@gmail.com mailto:silauran@gmail.com 

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: silauran@netspace.net.au

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

email: shamilton@aanet.com.au

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

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: silauran@netspace.net.au

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

email: shamilton@aanet.com.au

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

Goodness, another year winds up for QFO. With lunch at Rose Cottage to celebrate.

And its the end of year gathering for our stitchers who gathered at Rose Cottage in Monbulk on Saturday December 8th to enjoy a lovely lunch as our end of year 'icing on the QFO cake' for 2018.

An overview of those present. 

Present were: Annette our new CEO, Mel (our website guru), Isobel, Win, Susan and Peter, Val R, Maxine, Carol, Alice, Sheryl, Libby and Peter, Julie and Ian, Yvonne and Don, Jenny and Peter, Sinling and Ron, Alison, Stephanie, Joanne, Sandi, Pauline and Chris .... and surprise attendees Gaynor and Reg who we were thrilled to welcome back to join us from their seachange of a year ago.

Apologies and much missed were Deborah, Christine and Val S.

The meal was, as usual, delightful and served by the very attentive staff of Rose Cottage ... many thanks for hosting us again. Always an absolute pleasure to dine here.

And many thanks also to the very talented Peter Stokes .... who kindly used his photographic skills to capture so many brilliant images of our lunch gathering. His snaps far surpassed mine and I am more than appreciative of his handiwork. Particularly the brilliant collage at the end of this Blogpost. Superb!!

Gaynor and Reg with Peter Sansom.

Annette welcoming all to our Christmas Breakup lunch.

Alison and Stephanie ... two of our stitchers ...

Ron and Sinling, Peter and Libby, Ian and Julie, Yvonne and Don ...


Peter, Susan, Sheryl, Alice, Carol, Maxine, Val, Win and Isobel ...

Making our lunch selections from the Menu :)

Roast Beef was flavoursome ...

Salmon was divine ...

Turkey was most pleasing :)

And who can quibble with a delicious Pavlova? Certainly not yours truly ;)

Annette fills us in on all that has been achieved by QFO in 2018 ...

Reg, Sandi, Joanne, Alison, Stephanie, Annette and Gaynor ...

Val, Win and Gaynor ... catching up since last they were together ...

Reg doing likewise ...

Joanne and Jenny ... and we must give a big 'shout out' to Joanne who has, with husband Kim ... kindly allowed us to occupy space at their Shed in 2018. Enabling us to continue stitching and creating for those in need.

It's been so very much a gifting to us and we look forward to being able to 'encroach' on them, with their blessing ... for a little longer in 2019. Many thanks to you both .. we would indeed be 'orphans' without your generosity of heart and willingness to share. Thank you :)

Jennys shoes ..... the ladies will understand. It's all about the shoes .. and aren't they divine?

Not to be outdone ... my attention was directed to Sinlings snazzy footwear too ;) It's a 'girl thing' folks ... 

Alison and Stephanie ...

Alison and Libby ...

Carol, Sandi and Maxine ...

Sinling, Win, Yvonne and Val ... looks like folk are beginning to depart ...

Sheryl and Alice ...

Yvonne, Don, Jenny ... and THOSE shoes ...Isn't the colour divine?

Val and Yvonne ...

Sinling ...

Sinling and Libby ..

Gaynor, Sheryl and Alice ...

Carol, Sandi, Maxine and Sinling :)

And that winds up the photographic side of things ... almost. But before I finalise this Blogpost I'll give a brief overview of all that has been done by QFO in the year that is nearly over ... according to notes I took yesterday.

We have created 60 Beanbags with our furnishing fabric ... for Indonesia. As well as many aprons also for the Hohidiai School there.

We gifted 50 quilts to the Babes Project which supports young mothers in raising their infants.

Quilts were also given to CPEC for the Cerebral Palsy children having therapy sessions there.

Different Journeys .. the Autism Spectrum folk also received some heavyweight quilts for passing on to a local school for classroom comfort with children on the spectrum.

Billanook College received quilts from us for taking to their Thai Service project on the Thai Burma border.

The Boomerang Bag ladies in Mount Evelyn were gifted our furnishing fabric for use in their eco friendly shopping bags created to reduce the reliance on plastics.

Mustard Tree Op Shop in Lilydale received the remainder of the furnishing fabric which we are sure they will have no trouble recycling into useful projects,

And finally ... it pleases me to announce that following our Festival of Quilts at Mont De Lancey last month ... we had a winner in the 'Viewers Choice' part of the Quilt Challenge and it was Sandi and her 'Springtime on the Peninsula' quilt. We hope that Sandi enjoys spending her voucher ... on fabric of course ;)

Winner of the Puffing Billy Pass for contributing feedback on or Forum was Irene Ferguson. Many thanks for participating Irene, enjoy the train ride :)

And that wraps up pretty much our year to date. Hope that you enjoyed following our journey and I look forward to sharing more with you in the weeks to come .. as and when more news comes to hand. In the interim enjoy the brief hiatus between now and Christmas day and may your Christmas be beautiful, blessed and everything that you could possibly wish for,

 

Blessings,

Susan

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

email: silauran@netspace.net.au

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

email: shamilton@aanet.com.au

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

 

 

 

Gifting some fabric to the Boomerang Bag ladies ... for their wonderful work.

And another Blog update .. with pictures .. grab a cuppa and enjoy :) 

We were very recently able to bless a local community initiative Boomerang Bags with sturdy furnishing fabric in order for them to create reusable shopping bags .. a wonderful initiative in this day of throwaway plastic. Bags that are incredibly tough and help make a less messy environment. I have popped a Link I found on the Web below which explains what they do. Always good to be able to 'destash' a little and pay it forward to another community group. And we were also able to bless the Mustard Tree Op Shop in Lilydale with some of this fabric too, which I'm sure will help with the valuable work that they do locally.

https://www.mtevelynch.com.au/news

Christine and Jenny busily cutting fabric ...

Christine and Annette loading it all up ...

Filling the van ...

Handing over our 'destash' ...

And very soon the fabric will be .... bags :)

And that's this Blog update 'in the bag' ... so to speak :)

I look forward to sharing with you further after our Christmas lunch which will be happening this coming Saturday .. always wonderful to end our QFO year with a relaxing gathering and no pins or needles in sight :)

Till then,

 

Blessings,

Susan

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

email: silauran@netspace.net.au

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

email: shamilton@aanet.com.au

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