Quilts For Orphans

And here we are .. in July 2023 ... with some quilt gifting updates to warm your heart.

Starting off this Blogpost with a message that I received on our QFO Facebook page from a nurse at Monash who gives the 'backstory' to what follows ... I'll add the rest of Jaquis message at the end of this update.

 

Hi there , my name is Jaqui Frigo , the nurse from Monash Children’s Hospital NICU . Deb and Annette helped me with an amazing donation of 50 of your beautifully crafted quilts for our Nursery. We will use these quilts to cover the isolettes for our premature babies for extra protection to keep the warmth in and help reduce noise and light. We can have up to 64 babies at a time in our Nursery.
I asked an embroidery company to label the quilts with the nursery’s name so we wouldn’t lose them through the hospital laundry service.
I wanted to forward the post I put in my work group chat and some pictures to you. I’ll send to Deb as well.
We cannot Thank you all enough for these beautiful quilts, they are amazing and my work colleagues love them also.
With warm regards
Jaqui Frigo

 

Jaqui also added ..and this will be noted by our excellent quilt 'finishers' who take pains to match the quilting pattern to the fabric used whenever possible. Our Yvonne is renowned for the little touches like this that she blesses her work with and its wonderful that these added extras didn't go unnoticed..

"They are amazing, the nurses were marvelling at the intricacies. The cat print with the cat stitching even. The detail is not lost on me or the others."

And so without further ado .... here I am with the rest of the post.

Back in April of this year you can see that we were asked to select some very special quilts to be gifted to the 'Sunbird Nest' at Monash Childrens Hospital.

A task that was an absolute privilege to undertake. And here we have QFO members Joy, Ida, Irene and Pam with the selection of quilts that would soon be covering the smallest of our recipients in a gifted fabric 'hug'.

I have just received pictures of the quilts in their new 'home' .. together with an appreciative message from Jaqui at MCH who initiated the request for our fabric 'hugs'. So very heartwarming to know that the handiwork of our stitchers will be bringing much comfort to the very smallest of our 'giftees'.

 

I'm guessing that the small images are a phone photo default and if I try to enlarge it will alter the clarity of the image ... believe me, I have tried.  So bear with me. I'd rather not tamper with technology at present ;) Onward and upward as the saying goes ...

  

And here we have the Isolettes ... complete with our gifted quilts ... which I think you'll agree add a touch of colour as well as extra warm and a degree of protection from noise and light. 

 

 

And below is the message that Jaqui shared with her fellow nursing staff ... thank you so much Jaqui for allowing us to share your words ... truly appreciated.

"Hi all, I brought in a donation of 50 absolutely beautiful cot cover quilts the other night in case anyone didn't know they were available for use now . In cupboards /Shelves both sides. (We were down to using towels and sheets to cover our little ones lsolettes lately.)

Their origin involves two donations with a bit of networking. They are so beautifully crafted and lovingly donated by the wonderful members who are the  'Stitchers' from the Quilts for Orphans organisation. All volunteers who craft both at home and also at times get together in their hall at Hoddles Creek. They craft from some donated fabrics  and some they self purchase with private money and by selling some quilts at markets to raise funds for more yarns and fabrics and raise awareness. I met Deb while volunteering myself at a market for something else. Deb volunteers for QFO to promote their work and their cause .Their quilts go overseas and to many places here also, like  '100 Day Quilts' for places too. She was certain she could help us and spoke to the QFO coordinator Annette and they asked if 50 would be ok. Fantastic was my reply.

Now considering much of our linen was  lost during laundering especially during more difficult covid times with staffing I 
approached some embroidery places and Arun, Director of Fully Promoted Mt Waverley Embroidery in Glen  Waverley was so very kind to donate all the embroidery work from his company.

Also kindly agreeing when asked if possible to make a special embroidery for a quilt gift for Baby 'Jatin' who is now in Forrest Ward. Aruns team Paul, Ash and Rukshan were so helpful to plan and complete this for us.

It is a bigger coordination than often realised.

So here they are  with the help of two groups of very kind people. Lucy in our office helped me and together we made certificates of appreciation for them and Letter emails of thanks which Alice kindly signed on behalf of The Nest.

Team work and I am so very grateful to all of them."

 

And ... as mentioned by Jaqui that we at QFO also gift quilts to other precious small folk ... this below from our Christine who delivered quilts on our behalf to 'Lifes Little Treasures''. Another organisation that covers our smallest precious babes in a fabric hug.

Hello ladies,
I have given six more quilts to LLT, picture attached.
Christine

And that, dear reader, wraps up this Blogpost. I look forward to sharing more as and when I get updates on our gifting of quilts and other QFO news. Please check our website at https://quiltsfororphans.org for updates on our Gathering Days and fundraising activities. And follow us on social media via our Facebook page and Instagram.

Till next blog,

Blessings

Susan

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsfororphans.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.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

https://lifeslittletreasures.org.au

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

May we share with you ... our May 2023 Gathering Day and quilt giftings.

Well here we are again ... with our May Gathering Day update as well as some lovely pictures of quilts recently gifted to Lifes Little Treasures and Kirkbrae Aged Care. 

We came together at the Hall on May 13th ... a very small Gathering but we kept busy nonetheless. 'Present and correct' and ready to stitch we had Christine, Yvonne, Sheryl, Impi, Michelle, Cheryl and yours truly. 

Firstly we had a generous gifting from longtime friend Kayleen West ... who destashed some rather swish fabric which I think will be suitable to back some fine quilts. As well as a large roll of fabric that can, I imagine, do some wonderful tote bags as part of our fundraising. Many thanks Kayleen for your kind and generous heart.

Yvonne was soon hard at work ... quilting for us .... such a willing and cheerful part of our team.

Cheryl and Christine .... Cheryl had brought in some delightfully pieced quilts for Lifes Little Treasures. She does wonderful work for the very tiniest of our quilt recipients. Below is Cheryls handiwork ... the '100' appliqued on each quilt is to recognise the first 100 days of the Little Treasure who will soon snuggle into their very own quilt. Cheryl delights in creating these fabric 'hugs' .. each one a labour of love, using personally selected pretty pieces of QFO fabrics ... all put together with care.

See https://lifeslittletreasures.org.au for information on this wonderful organisation. Such a blessing to be connected with them. 

And here we have Sheryl ... busily setting up our 'Trading Table' ... where our gifted 'destash' bits and bobs are put out for those wishing to make a small donation. Many different crafts represented, knitting needles, crochet hooks, zips (LOTS of zips) buttons and papercraft, pattern books. 

Sheryl has also been busy ... putting together some beautiful 'hexies' gifted to us a while back by the talented Jennifer Knol ... now part of a lovely top that will soon be a delightful quilt. 

More bowl cosies put together by 'moi' ... destined for our next QFO fundraising stall.

I believe we have a presence at the Waratina Lavender Farm in Wandin at the moment. See our website for details. And I have more cosies  'in the pipeline' here at home for when these have been snapped up. Best I thread my machine up now and get to work eh?

We certainly had plenty of room to move on Saturday :)

Now below we have more of Lifes Little Treasures quilts, mostly created by our Cheryl  .... and recently gifted to LLT .... such intricate putting together of small beautiful fabric pieces. Awesome work. Thank you Cheryl and other talented stitchers. These are future heirlooms for the little ones that will be snuggling into them.

Below is a delivery of 26 '100 day quilts' for Lifes Little Treasures delivered by our Christine.

And a delivery of 30 lap quilts for the residents of Kirkbrae by our Vice President Libby.

And below are the quilts gifted to 'Heavenly Trimmings' by our Libby .... I'll pop the details of this gifting underneath the picture.

Message below from Libby ... 

Hi everyone,

I dropped off 30 lap quilts today to Kirkbrae Aged Care for the female residents for Mothers Day. Photo of some of the quilts and thank you card attached.

Tomorrow, I am dropping off 25 quilts (10 cot quilts - they are a good size for wheelchair fabric hugs and 15 singles) to Heavenly Trimmings.

 

Heavenly Trimmings is a small organisation based in Melbourne - https://heavenlytrimmings.com/

It was started by parents of a child who attends the school where I was principal. They aim to bless courageous children who are battling chronic/life threatening illnesses and their siblings, (the unsung heroes!) Photo of the quilts attached.

I did nominate Noah and his siblings to choose a quilt each first - the family give and give to others, so I thought it would be wonderful for them to be blessed with a fabric hug!

Here's a thank you from Winsome - 

 

Noah, Miss A and  Isaiah are very blessed by your thoughtfulness and generosity not only for them but the courageous children who will receive these.

Thank you once again and please do let all those that have lovingly made these quits that we are so so grateful for them all.

Winsome.

 

I absolutely love getting feedback when our fabric 'hugs' have been delivered. I think it motivates us all at QFO to keep on keeping on with our efforts to provide tangible hugs to those we are blessed to serve. Thanks Libby, Christine and team for ferrying these quilts to their 'forever homes'. I know they'll be so much appreciated during the cool weather ahead.

 

And that just about winds up this months Blogpost ... it's now nearly 10.30 pm and I had better get this out into cyberspace so that I can be fresh and ready to start stitching tomorrow. Can't let the moss grow on my trusty Janome now can I?

So without further ado I shall bid you a farewell ... many blessings till next post ..

 

Susan

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsfororphans.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.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

https://lifeslittletreasures.org.au

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

April come what may .... a smallish gathering and it was a tad chilly but we persevered.

Well hello and welcome again ... here we are, post Easter ... with all the happenings from our April Gathering Day at the Hall in Hoddles Creek. It was a rather cold day but we soon got into the swing of things with the brave souls who braved the weather and came out to 'play' with fabric and bobbins on behalf of QFO.

Present were: Annette, Yvonne, Kathy, Rachel, Libby, Margaret, Carmel, Sheryl, Sandi, Deborah and yours truly. 

Annette had created an Easter 'tableau' to welcome us all as we arrived at the entrance to the Hall..

And once inside we had our 'Trading table' to peruse ... brimful of 'notions' and bits and bobs to tempt us to repurpose/create with donated items that we have been gifted. Many thanks to Sheryl for the effort put into the set-up.

Our Members had been quite busy since we last met in March ... Sandi is an absolute whizz at putting together donated blocks and turning them into rather stunning table runners. These will be part of our fundraising at Market stalls during the year. I think you will agree she has an absolute gift for matching fabrics to best show off the donated blocks.

Can you guess who gifted us the QAYG blocks that form the central theme of this an d the earlier runner? The most generous Jennifer Knol who has been such a blessing to QFO over the years with her 'destashing' donations. Many, many thanks Jennifer.

We next had an assortment of beautifully pieced quilt tops .... absolutely lovely and we thank most kindly the offsite stitchers who gifted them to us.

Love the piecing on this one ^ .... so very clever. Zoom in to see the 'offset' in each block.

Pink, grey, black and white is such a good combination ... right?

Love this 'house' themed top .... very clever use of small pieces artfully combined.

A pretty pastel slightly smaller top ... 

And 'now for something completely different' as the saying goes .... a quartet of bears knitted by member Judy Smith.

And ... a 'tower' of fabric bowl cosies created by yours truly .... who has another dozen plus awaiting assembly at home .. as soon as I've finished blogging ;)

And ... to diversify even further ... three cute toddler size dresses made for us by long time supporter Nelly. Sweet eh?

Next Annette presented us with a trio of tops created by her CWA friend Heather.

A    break for sustenance and general chit chat ... Annette telling us that we have recently gifted 50 small quilts to Monash Childrens Hospital ... I look forward to sharing photos when we get them. The quilts were extremely well received I believe.

Then it was back to work ... here we have Sandi, Kathy and Annette figuring out fabric ..

Yvonne and Carmen playing on the Gammill ....

Rachel staying cosy whilst hand sewing quilt bindings. Or reading ... or both ;) Multi-tasking at its finest.

Our President and Vice President .... Annette and Libby.

Deborah creating more Fat Quarters.

An overview of our Saturday gathering ... 

Still room for more to join us ... don't be a stranger folks :) 

Our awesome Horn sewing 'pod' of gifted work stations perfectly set up. Use our machines or bring your own ... :)

And finally ... a reminder of an upcoming Event where we will be showcasing QFO ... save the date and poodle along to the beautiful Warratina Lavender Farm .in Wandin .. we'd love to see you.

And that pretty much wraps it up ... I look forward to sharing more soon, in the interim .. happy stitching and blessings to all,

Susan.

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsfororphans.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.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

https://lifeslittletreasures.org.au

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

 

 

 

All the news that's new .... grab a cuppa for some gifting news (both received and despatched) and more ....

Nattaliia and her husband arrived in Melbourne from the Ukraine in early 2022 as refugees and as you can imagine with very few personal possessions.  Our QFO Vice President Libby discovered Nattaliia had a passion for embroidery machine craft, especially with making beautiful women’s wallets and fortuitously, a manual Pfaff machine and Horn Cabinet had been donated to QFO so very quickly we were able to help Nattaliia get sewing again.

Our latest exciting update is a computerized Pfaff embroidery machine has recently been donated to QFO and the obvious beneficiary was Nattaliia.

You can purchase her lovely wallets on Etsy find her at VikaRepkaHandMade. They are indeed quite lovely.

As you can see from the photo, Nattaliia was delighted.

 

And from our QFO longtime member Christine ...

Just gave another’s twelve quilts to Maureen who volunteers with LLT aka Lifes Little Treasures.

Do look these amazing folk up on https://lifeslittletreasures.org.au to see the wonderful organisation that they are. And we are indeed blessed to be able to contribute our fabric 'hugs' to them.

And from Deborah ... "What a great result completing the first top from the March 7th Makers Marathon blocks".

Irene joined the blocks during the week and after a lovely collaborative discussion  on Tuesday, then promptly added the sashing’s to bring the top up to single size.

Rachel is such a cutie I just had to take a snap of her wrapped in a QFO quilt.

I forgot to take a photo of the newly arrived Horn cabinet. Thanks to Judy’s sister for the donation.

Kathy delivered yesterday and with another lovely collective effort we got it into the hall, assembled and placed in the Horn nest now numbering six .. how wonderful.

Deb

And that, folks, winds up another Blogpost from yours truly. I look forward to sharing more news .. either before or after our April Gathering Day which will take place on April 8th at the Hall in Hoddles Creek. 

Until then .. many blessings,

Susan

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsfororphans.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.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

https://lifeslittletreasures.org.au

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

Wrapping Ukraine in a fabric 'hug' ....

 Just received word via Annette from Roedie and Jeanette Rap who recently gifted a number of our QFO quilts via Evolve Church to Ukrainian recipients. I will update with further details when available.

*Edit:   Have just been told that these quilts were gifted to newly arrived refugee families from the Ukraine who are being settled in Melbourne.

Below are the pictures forwarded to me .. with the accompanying 'BIG BIG THANK YOU'S' from Roedie Rap..

I think the pictures convey just how well received our quilts were. 

Blessings to all involved with wrapping these folk in our comforting quilts.

Susan

 

 

Marching on .... our March 2023 Gathering Day at the Hall.

Well 'Hello again' from our 2nd 2023 Saturday QFO 'Gathering Day' in Hoddles Creek. And we had almost a full house coming to stitch for us. 

Present were Annette, Libby, Pauline, Sheryl, Christine, Win, Yvonne, Margaret, Carmen, Rachel, Margaret W, Sandi, a new Pauline and her beautiful beagle 'Donut', Elaine, Deborah and Jennifer. 

The kettle was bubbling away in the kitchen and soon the machines were whirring away as our 'creatives' set to work putting together and finishing off our fabric 'hugs' destined to wrap folk in comfort.

We also had Ida drop in mid afternoon with a selection of quilts that she is gifting to our Ministry and I'll be sharing photos of them further down this Blogpost.

Before that we had a couple of 'in house' Show and Tell items that have been stitched off-site by members. 

Firstly a selection of 'microwave bowl cosies' i put together as much belated 'homework over the last week or so... with more stitched in the Hall yesterday. Promise that I'll not lag behind and will actually do more of these as the year progresses.

Next we had some beautifully assembled runners put together by Sandi ... who made great use of some lovely donated QAYG blocks gifted to us last year by the incredibly generous Jennifer Knol who has been such a wonderful 'giver' to QFO over the years. Sandi searched out some fabric from our stash to complement the blocks and I think you'll agree that her eye for colour is superb. Well done!!

Sandi also created this rather bold runner using some great 'foodie' fabric which I think would be perfect for a casual buffet setting .. 

How amazing and tasty is this fabric eh? And Sandi has beautifully quilted it with a nicely toning mustard thread which sets it off perfectly I think you'll agree.

And now to continue with the remainder of this Blogpost which apparently mysteriously fell off the page between my typing it on Saturday and hitting the 'publish' button. Profuse apologies. Technology caught me napping.

Next we have two scrumptious scrappy quilts made by Sandis friend Pauline Dainty .. who has very artfully created these lovely tops and pieced them innovatively. Aren't they just wonderful?

Next we have Sheryl who was given the task of bringing order from chaos and setting up our 'Trading Table'. This is where varied sewing items that we are gifted from 'destashes' end up. They will be available ... some priced and others for a donation' for our Members to repurpose. Well done Sheryl ... you did a wonderful job!!

A short break for Morning Tea before we resumed our work ... many thanks to those who brought along tasty comestibles to share.

We next welcomed Ida who popped in with a lovely donation of gorgeous quilts for us ... such kindness and many thanks.

Delightful machine embroidery on this top ...

And again .. many thanks Ida for your generosity. We truly are blessed by our off-site supporters who continue to gift us their handiwork. We look forward to passing on these fabric 'hugs' as we continue to gift quilts such as these to those in need both near and far.

Now for a few overview shots of our Gathering Day at the Hall ... where it was busy, busy, busy from start to finish.

Yvonne and Margaret at the Gammill machine .... Yvonne is our gifted teacher of 'all things quilting machine' and continues to be an integral part of the fabric here at QFO. She has blessed us all so much with her heart and her willingness to share her knowledge.

Annette, Christine and Pauline ... busily sorting and stitching. Annette was organising the many buttons we have been gifted ... for a project that will utilise them perfectly.

Pauline and Rachel in the hand finishing corner ...

And what a veritable hive of activity it was at Hoddles Creek. I look forward to an equally productive day when next we gather .. in the interim I'll briskly send this into cyberspace ... covering it profusely with apologies for the gremlins that seemingly 'ate' my first draft :)

Till next Blogpost,

Many blessings,

Susan.

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsfororphans.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.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

And here we are .. first Gathering Day for 2023 ... February 11th. And what a turnout!!

And a lovely welcome at our front door in Hoddles Creek as we rolled up for the start of another year of creating our fabric 'hugs'. The weather was rather warm, but that didn't deter us .. and during the course of the morning a large (mega large actually) fan on a stand materialised and soon sent a refreshing breeze thru the workspace for our comfort. Think we have Jim to thank for that ... so thanks ever so muchly. And here he is .. in front of his biggest fan ;)

Present on the day we welcomed some familiar faces as well as some new folk ... we had Annette, Cheryl, Yvonne, Deborah, Pauline, Win, Isobel (and Gemma) Joan, Christine, Jennifer, Sandi, Kathy, Janet, Sheryl, Joy, Impi and Naomi (who kindly popped in with a donation of quilt tops).

I confess to missing the taking of Show and Tell donations .. I was busy stitching and kind of got 'lost' in the moment. I have however taken a selection of random snaps of the day though and promise (cross my heart) to do better next month.

First random snap is of a rather spectacular appliqued quilt which Cheryl brought along to show us. It's her personal piece (sorry for anyone hoping to see it on our fundraising table) but an inspirational work to showcase what can be created with fabric of many sizes and patterns. It's for going travelling in her caravan .. and I think it's just a leetle bit incredible :)

Now I've been told by Annette that from destashing donations we have been able to enlist a few offsite folk with a creative 'bent' who have stitched for us a variety of rather wonderful items indeed. From the Lorne quilters ... who worked on a very large donation from a lady (Shirley) whose family blessed us with the contents of her sewing room. The Lorne quilters have created for us these beautiful tote bags, which will be available I believe at our upcoming fundraising stalls (details of which may be found on our website under 'Upcoming Events')

Other items have also been created and regifted back to us upon completion and we are so very appreciative .. :)

And wait .... there's more ..... not quite sure I caught the creator of these. Intense concentration was not my forte on the day I'm afraid .. so bear with me. I promise I'll have my act well and truly together in March ;)

Funds generated from the sale of these skillfully created pieces will of course be funnelled back into the purchase of batting used in the creation of our 'gifting' quilts. Which I have taken a random snap of our shelves to show just how very busy we have been. Behind our Sheryl are our already completed fabric 'hugs'.

And below ... we have tubs of quilts heading toward completion and just in need of our finishing touches.

Of course without the willing hands of our hand stitchers ... those tubs would be even fuller. And needless to say we had been busy during our break .. so those tubs will most definitely be fuller by next time I whip my camera out.

Our intrepid hand stitchers hard at work.

Annette and Pauline catching up ... 

A combination of quilting methods .. Yvonne who runs and teaches on the Gammill at the Hall ... and Cheryl who was busy on her domestic quilting machine. Great to have 'options' with which to finish off our fabric 'hugs'.

Fascinating to watch the smaller quilting machine at work ... 

A well earned break for lunch whilst Annette filled us in on what's been happening since we last met ...

We learnt that donated items that are not able to be utilised in the creating of our quilts are in turn re-gifted to other charity organisations for their fundraising purposes. These charities include Samaritans Purse, the Benwewrren Opshop and the Leprosy Mission among others. So nothing is wasted after we have taken the fabrics and threads etc suitable for making our quilts. Of course we must thank Deborah and Annette for facilitating the 'regifting' and collection/delivery of these destashings. Should any of our volunteers be available to help in these tasks .. please let Annette and Deborah know ... many hands make the collecting and sorting easier needless to say.

A few 'post lunch' shots of our suitably refreshed stitchers ... refuelled and ready to resume. Here we have Sandi and Sheryl.

And proving that it is indeed possible to almost be in two places at once .. the multi-talented Sandi wields a mean iron whilst Cheryl trims fabric in the background.

Our 'newbie' Janet soon came to grips with learning the Gammill under Yvonnes tutelage.

And lest folk decide that lugging their machine from home is a wearisome option ... we have a selection of freshly serviced machines here ... including the whizzbang workhorse 'Husqvarna' which was gifted to us a few years ago and apparently runs like the proverbial dream. So folks ... we are never short of options ;)

And leaving on a happy note from our Sheryl ... I will now wind this up and bid you farewell until next Blog entry. I look forward to sharing with you news of quilt giftings and plans for more activities. I believe Annette will be co-ordinating a 'Makers Marathon' up at the Hall in the not too distant future. So prime yourselves for a day of stitching camaraderie and creating.

Till next blog,

Blessings and thanks to all our supporters

Susan

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsfororphans.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.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

How blessed we are … as more quilt tops are gifted to us. ❤️❤️❤️

Just a quick update as we continue to be blessed by our offsite stitching supporters. This month we received a total of 58 quilt tops … which once ‘sandwiched’ with batting and toning backing fabric will be finished off at the Hall and added to our gifting ‘stash’. Many thanks to Kay in Geelong (who used to stitch with us at the Barn in our early days of QFO) and Wendy who stitches at Traralgon.

These from Wendy … 37 tops in total. 

And from Kay … a further 21 tops. 

I look forward to updating you when they are completed and ready to bless folk. In the interim I hear from Glenda that a consignment of QFO quilts are almost ready to go to Mukti … where I am sure they will be well received. 

Till next update … many, many thanks to our supporters who help wrap others in warm fabric QFO ‘hugs’. Your support is invaluable and so very much appreciated. 

Blessings

Susan. 

 

Aaaaand again I say .... here's the news from September and October 2022. I'm the Queen of Cut and Paste.;)

Well folks ..... here is my THIRD attempt (yes, you read that right) to get this Blogpost up and running and out into cyberspace. Begone 'default account' which swallowed my two previous attempts and glued them into something that appeared seemingly out of nowhere and which few people were able to find. Called itself a 'test blog' ... ugh ... I've banished it to a corner to have a jolly good hard look at itself. 

So here I am finally speaking to you from the original and best QFO Blog ... with news of what we have been up to since I last posted. A bit of creative cut and pasting .. and a mad scramble to find the photos I have to post ... and we'll be 'good to go' in a manner of speaking. 

 

Well hello, hello, hello … and here, fresh from the keyboard and with a little Newsletter ‘cut and pasting’ toward the end … is all the latest from QFO. 

I’ll start with the most recent news and work my way backward for a change. I’ll probably need to do a little cutting and pasting and refer to previous updates so that it all comes together with some semblance of ‘coherence’.  

I was MIA in New Zealand last month and so wasn’t at the actual September Gathering Day to capture all that happened at the AGM. I'm sure that news from then will be attached somewhere on our website or in a Newsletter. However … I just got pics from Deborah of the preparations that were being done for the Monbulk Quilt Show on the day…  so can share them here. As well as updated photos just in from Annette who was at Monbulk on Saturday overseeing our fundraising stall at Mrs Martins Quilt Show.

A little bit of cheer from the Hall at the September Gathering Day ...

A gifting of beautiful hand knitted blankets from Maggie in St Kilda. I've been told that one of these beauties will be used as a Raffle prize at our Mont DeLancey event later this month. The remainder will be gifted to where they will be most needed. Am in total awe of your skills Maggie  .. I struggle with casting on and have only attempted (many years ago) handknitted jumpers in stripes (because I get bored easily) for my firstborn child. They were two large squares with rectangular sleeves attached and buttons on the shoulder. Super basic. :)

And here we have a selection of quilt tops made by our very own Cheryl .. beautifully pieced as usual and gratefully received.

And now onto the preparation for our table at Mrs Martins Monbulk Quilt Show ... remember all the cutting, folding and ironing of Fat Quarters at our last few Gathering Days ... well here is the end result. Tubs, MANY tubs, of Fat Quarters destined for sale at our fundraising table.

And here is Christine .. our 'tote bag lady' ... with some of the lovely bags she has created utilising colourful scraps artfully pieced together to make one of a kind useful bags. Well done. I'm sure these went down a treat at Monbulk.

And from Sandi .. some great table runners assembled using donated piecings from our long time (and most generous) supporter Jennifer Knol. Many thanks to both ladies.

And now to Mrs Martins Annual Quilt Show in Monbulk ... where we plied our wares as part of our fundraising. Above we see one of our members, setting up with our easily seen signage. And thank you so much to Karen (Mrs Martin) for allowing us to once again participate in your wonderful annual event. Always a pleasure.

You want Fat Quarters ... look no further. We had quite a few. 

And some of our finest Quilts for sale too. As well as other hand crafted offerings made by our stitchers. All funds raised going right back into purchasing backing fabrics and batting for our gifting quilts.

Now a bit more cyber-clagging of upcoming Events and Markets where we ply our goodies ....

Actually … insert ‘face palm’ 🤦🏻‍♀️ here … just realised I don’t have to ‘cut and paste’ our upcoming Event attendances as you will be able to find them on our website under the ‘Newsletter’ tab at https://www.quiltsfororphans.org … how easy is that eh?

 There are Newsletter ‘tabs’ on our website for the upcoming months and you just have to click on the ‘read more’ button to see where we will have a presence between now and the years end. I will however remind you that .. on our website it says with reference to our usual monthly Saturday Gathering Days:

 “Please remember the events in October and November replace the normal Gathering days. There will be NO Gathering Days in October and November.

Tuesdays open days at the Hall will continue as normal.

So other than our upcoming Tuesday get together/training days and our Christmas lunch at Rose Cottage in December … as far as our normal monthly Saturday ‘Gathering Days’ at the Hall are concerned … we will next meet up in the New Year which I'm sure we will all be looking forward to eagerly. 

And that, folks, winds up this Blogpost. I will be regularly updating our Facebook page with reference to our Market fundraising attendances and look forward to sharing with you via FB and this Blog as news comes to hand. 

Till then, many blessings, and lets get this out into publication before any gremlins mess it up again (fingers crossed)

Susan

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsfororphans.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.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

Our August 13th 2022 offering … I call this the Day of the Fat Quarters. Many, many Fat Quarters.

And here we are again … on a sunny but cool day at the Hall in Hoddles Creek.

A small turnout again with a couple of new faces joining us. Present were Annette, Yvonne, Libby, Christine, Carmen, Sandi, Impi, Isobel, Deborah, and newbies Joy, Anne, and Marg. As well as yours truly who spent her day taking notes and hand stitching bindings on a couple of lap size quilts (her 'homework' from last month ... ooops!!) 

Whilst Yvonne was occupied showing Libby the workings of our quilting machine ... others spent the day sorting, cutting, folding and ironing fabric for Fat Quarters … for the fundraising arm of our organisation. We are hopeful that the next time we gather we will be able to break out our freshly serviced sewing machines and get stuck into the sewing 'arm' of QFO. And many thanks to David Godfrey from Kilsyth for the brilliant job of servicing our sewing machines. Excellent job and we are most grateful for your expertise. 

We look forward to sharing our skills and creating some amazingly lovely 'fabric hugs' for the many outreaches we are connected with and which Annette mentioned in detail on the latest Newsletter (to be found on our website). 

Christine had been busy assembling this owl cushion in between our Gathering days whilst Julianne had turned her skills toward the creation of these delightful stitched items. 

How utterly gorgeous are these? We hope to be able to offer some of Juliannes work at our upcoming fundraising tables. Details of which can be found on our website.

Libby and Yvonne at their spot working our quilting machine.

The quilt trimming 'station' ... Joy preparing a fresh quilt for the next stage which will be the attaching of a toning binding.

Our newest member .. Anne ... ironing Fat Quarters for our fundraising. 

Sandi ... refuelling her inner stitcher with a restorative and warming cuppa ... 

Fat quarter fabric being sorted by Margaret .. with Annette and Impi in the background busy folding.

Carmen got an 'early leaver pass' after a session of busyness with us ... 'see you next month' :)

A well earned break for a spot of sustenance and cameraderie between our ladies.

And some shared ideas .... this little stitched item is a bookmark created by Sandi. What a clever idea .. a way to mark your place without damaging your book. Look out for these at our next market stall :)

I actually meant to snap this last month but got distracted (Ooooh shiny) ... but this amazing piece of work was gifted to us by offsite stitcher Judith. Isn't her work incredible? 

A wonderful use of toning fabrics to create this beautiful autumn coloured quilt. The combination of reds, creams and apple greens really work well I think.

And finally .. this donated huge quilt top ... I'm afraid I don't have any details of the donor .. but the work is incredible.

And that winds up this rather short and sweet Blog offering. I look forward to sharing with you again soon. In the interim keep a watch on our Facebook page and website for interim updates on what we are doing. There will be Markets (and a Quilt Show in Monbulk) attended by us from October I believe as well as a presence later in the year at Mont DeLancey. Details will be shared when I have them.

* Edit: Just found some of the dates so grab a pen and note in your Calendars accordingly. 

Save the dates and add to your diary
CFA Quilt Show at Monbulk 1^st October

Quilts and Crafts display at
Mont de Lancey 19^th - 27^th November.

We are seeking craft items to sell at these events and invite you to attend or roster on for a session or two.

Please check the calendar on https://www.quiltsfororphans.org for details of markets and events

In the meantime many thanks to all who support us and I will make a special mention of our Jenny Stokes who is taking a 'sabbatical' from QFO for a while as she rests and refreshes with family. Jenny has been an integral part of our QFO organisation and has shared her amazing quilting and piecing skills with us both at our monthly gatherings and our Tuesday preparation sessions here at the Hall (and prior to that at the Barn and the Shed). Her willingness to teach and share her artistic giftings and her heart for others has been much appreciated by all who have learnt from her.  Her contribution to QFO over many years has been most significant in many areas and I do hope that we will see her again soon.

 

Many blessings till next time,

Susan

Contact us via our Website : www.quiltsfororphans.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.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