Quilts For Orphans

April ... come what may :)

 

Well, here we are again .. after a weather induced 'hiatus' in March due to a fire danger warning. And I'll begin with a 'cheeky/sneaky' cut and paste of a recent wonderfully newsy email update I received from our Libby last week .. before moving on to the news from our April 'Gathering Day' at the Hall on Saturday the 13th.

                      Giftings this month

93 fabric hugs have been gifted to Life’s Little Treasure’s, Maroondah Rotary – Refuge Victoria, Royal Children’s Hospital – PICU and Rose Lodge Aged Care, Wonthaggi.

                 Rose Lodge, Wonthaggi:
Many Thanks for the donation of these beautiful quilts. Our residents and families have loved choosing a blanket for their loved ones. Please thank all your volunteers who have worked on these quilts.

                   Thank you also received from:

Maroondah Rotary wanted to take this moment to thank you for your generous gift of the many beautiful quilts. We fully appreciate the time and resources (and love) that go into these amazing works of art and we know they will be loved by the recipients. We have passed these quilts on to Refuge Victoria for families in need.

                   Life’s Little Treasures;
Thank you so much for your donation of handmade items to Lifes Little Treasures
Foundation. We know that they have been made with love and care, for which we are very grateful. Your donations have been unpacked and will now support a little treasure and their family through many of the support programs that we offer.

                    Oir Free motion quilting session.
Thank you so very much to our Cheryl for sharing your free motion quilting skills and tips during a Tuesday in March.

                    Talking about QFO .. our latest 'outreaches'.
Annette, Christine and Libby have had a busy few weeks sharing our QFO story to
VicQuilters - Sewing with a Cause, Yarra Valley View Club, the Fab 50’s at Ringwood North Community House and Ladies Time Out at Narre Warren North Baptist Church. We were invited to set up a trading table at 3 of the groups and have raised $650 from craft and quilt sales. How wonderful.

At the Vic Quilters Summer Gathering, Annette, Christine, Deb and Libby joined 85 quilters for a wonderful day hosted by Seabreeze Quilters in Altona North. We busied ourselves appliqueing hearts to blocks for Care Quilts that Seabreeze Quilters make. It was great to hear about other groups and their sewing for a cause - Quilts of Valour Victoria, Seabreeze Quilters and Waverly Patchworkers Gift Quilts.

VicQuilters very kindly gave us a donation of $100, so all of these funds will go towards the purchase of wadding and backing fabrics’

And now onto our notes from our Saturday 'Gathering Day at the Hall in Hoddles Creek. We had a small but industrious group in attendance  ... present were: Libby, myself, Yvonne, Cheryl, Christine, Margaret, Carmen, Deborah, Jennifer, Kathy and Loretta. 

Many bindings were attached to our 'Gifting quilts' ... Libby has been extremely busy sourcing recipients for our 'fabric hugs' and it's an absolute joy to see the shelving consequently having room for the quilts we continue to create.

'Quilts in -Quilts out' could almost be our new motto :)

Here we have Margaret busily finishing off a binding. 

Yvonne instructing Carmen on the Gammill quilting machine.

Christine measuring and matching for binding fabric to complete this beautiful Dresden Plate appliqued quilt.

Libby and Kathy sorting through some recently donated fabrics.

Deborah and Jennifer busy being busy.

Cheryl searching for the 'just right' needle from our supplies.

'Game on' as Cheryl proceeds with her free motion work ...

An overview of our little 'hive of activity'.

Morning tea/lunch goodies .... a teaser for those who were sadly disappointed in February when I didn't make it. This ones for you Joy ;)

Cheryl giving some free-motion 'pointers' to Loretta.

Busy busy busy .... Libby and Margaret.

More fabric sorting ...

This particular fabric panel will really 'pop' with the addition of some red and black sashing and binding. We envisage it delighting and aged care resident with its nod to fashions of the past. I look forward to seeing the finished quilt.

Part of a magnificent donation recently dropped off by Bron Krueger. Thank you So much for your kindness Bron .. so much gorgeous fabric. You blessed us beautifully with your kindness.

And that, folks, winds up this months Blogpost. I look forward to sharing with you again soon. 

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

http://heavenlytrimmings.com

http://www.changetheone.org which provides ongoing relief, care and assistance to people and communities in remote areas of Vietnam and Papua New Guinea.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Susan

 

More Festival of Quilts pics ... the Janet O'Dell Trunk Show

Here we are again ... with a mass of pics taken at our very successful Janet O'Dell Trunk Show at our Festival .. held this week at beautiful Mont De Lancey. Enjoy :)

Stunning pieces of history I think you'll agree? And may thanks to our Joanne, Annette and Deborah for the photos :)

Next Blogpost will focus on the Makers Marathon ... where a number of ladies gathered to create blocks for quilt tops .. and had a lot of fun in the process.

 

Susan

 

Putting the Spring into Spring and working toward our Festival of Quilts

                                        

Well ... not actually working on a Quilt ... just a Blogpost ... but the perameters are pretty much the same ;)

And here I go with my October update on all things QFO and FOQ (that's Festival of Quilts to those just checking out the Blog).

 

We gathered at The Shed yesterday, October 13th, to work on more fine tuning for our inaugural Festival of Quilts which is taking place next month at Mont De Lancey in Wandin. Quilts had bindings attached, plans were put in place for helpers on volunteer duty during the Festival and generally the time just flew.

Sinling, Alison and Julie .. busily stitching bindings for us :)

And long time QFO member Alice ... always smiling :)

Present and accounted for were Alice, Win, Annette, Val, Mel, Deborah, Christine (and her sister Cate, visiting from the UK) Joy, Alison, Yvonne, Joanne (and her friend Bev), Sandi, Jenny, Sinling, Sheryl, Libby, Julie and yours truly. We also welcomed during the day Vanessa from Beaconhills Primary School who brought six beautiful quilts made and gifted to us from the students in years 2 to 4 at the school. Pictures will follow. But first a bit of 'Show and Tell' with more giftings of quilt tops that came thru the mail to us :)

Firstly .... delivered to us by our Mel from her friend Janet Hill .. a wonderful parcel of beautiful quilt tops, handknitted baby beanies and jumpers, together with quilt backing fabric. Just lovely and such a wonderful blessing which we look forward to both distributing via outreach programs and also incorporating the fabric into quilts. Thank you so very much Janet.

Stunning colours Janet and so beautifully knitted.

Next we received and unpacked 7 lovely quilt tops from long time offsite stitcher and supporter Gayle Cunningham in Queensland. Many thanks Gayle ... you never stop blessing us with your handiwork :) And your kindness is so very much appreciated ...

From Mary De Rome who was destashing ... some wonderful hand embroidered blocks which we look forward into incorporating into quilt tops. Stunning stitchery Mary and thank you so much also for the pieced blocks that you included in your parcel to us :)

Our 'Challenge Quilts' are beginning to come in ... these will form part of our Festival of Quilts and here are two that we received from the Chirnside Park Monday Night Craft Group ... can't wait to see them quilted and ready to display :)

And our own Alison completed two lovely quilt tops for us ... pictured below ... beautiful florals :)

A short break for lunch and an update from Deborah and Annette on the progress with our Festival of Quilts planning.

Then, as mentioned earlier, we had a lovely visit from Vanessa from Beaconhills College who brought with her six absolutely stunning quilts that were created by the students in years 2 to 4 as part of their Visual Arts curriculum. They also gifted quilts to the Quilts of Valor group.

The quilts with faces on them were representing 'tribes' of people .. some with orange noses and some with red noses. I think you'll agree that these children show amazing talent and I'd not be at all surprised if a career in the art world beckons them. And wait till you see the intricate piecing which utilised shapes and placement in blocks .. their work and skill blew my socks off!!

Ooops ... I clicked a tad prematurely .. so apologies for this snap Vanessa ... I just got a bit excited :)





What do you think? Pretty talented and what generous hearts they have too :) Thank you so very much Vanessa ... do let the children know just how very impressed and appreciative we are for both their talent and their heart for others :)

Whilst enjoying the Spring day I couldn't resist capturing Sandi at work ... and the view from our workspace .. beautiful Australian bushland surounds us .. 

 We have received news that the 50 small quilts we recently gifted to the Butterfly Hospice in China have reached land and we hope to hear that they are soon wrapping small children at the hospice in a warm and loving fabric 'hug'. On that note I received an email from our Joy who has news of more developments within the Butterfly Childrens Hospice.

Follow the Links for the full story.

We are privileged to have been able to be involved with this wonderful place over the years since QFO began.

http://butterflyhospice.org/bigger-vision-new-directions-part-one/

This blog post is the first instalment in a two-part series written by our
CEO Lyn Gould about exciting new developments for Butterfly Children’s
Hospices. “Yesterday I wept silent tears again. I was having a meeting in
the orphanage with the head doctor discussing our new project to help
fragile children, when I saw Winter... read more

<http://butterflyhospice.org/?author=15
<https://butterflyhospice.org/bigger-vision-new-directions-part-two/> by Katie
Hill <http://butterflyhospice.org/?author=15>

This blog post is the second installment in a two-part series written by
our CEO Lyn Gould about exciting new developments for Butterfly Children’s
Hospices.

<http://butterflyhospice.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/42416667_2260038454215510_2047036723862437888_n.jpg>

<http://butterflyhospice.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Unknown.jpeg>

<http://butterflyhospice.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Unknown-1.jpeg>

<http://butterflyhospice.org/?author=15
<http://butterflyhospice.org/?taxonomy=category&term=education <http://butterflyhospice.org/?taxonomy=category&term=palliative-care>,

http://butterflyhospice.org/?taxonomy=category&term=support-us
 <http://butterflyhospice.org/?taxonomy=category&term=the-children>
| https://wp.me/p5M9mF-3Ec

I trust that your heart was touched, as are ours, by the Butterfly Hospice story.

 And now ... from our CEO Annette .. referencing just one of the attractions at our upcoming Festival of Quilts ... the 'Janet O'Dell Trunk Show' on Wednesday the 14th of November at Mont De Lancey .. for those unfamiliar with what a Trunk Show is all about. I'll include a couple of pics after Annettes introduction :)

Janet’s vast collection of quilts from around the world reveal a complex history of
textiles and the women and men who crafted them.
Janet opens the trunk, and her stories reveal a history of fibre, society, and the
people who laboured for love or necessity on the quilts unfolding before our eyes.
She will tell us how she became a collector, a history of quilt types and the
beginnings of quilting in Australia. Backing papers give glimpses of the past.

Morning and afternoon sessions are different trunks. A rare opportunity to see up close old quilts and their stories.

Annette

 
         

 Bookings for the Trunk Show may be made via our QFO Website. Promises to be a great and most enjoyable time for all. Spots still available also at our Jennifer Knol and Janna Taylor Mystery Workshop, with lunch included in the cost. Bookings via our website :)

And that just about wraps up this Blogpost. I look forward to being able to write up a fun Blogpost after our Festival of Quilts and do look forward to sharing many happy snaps of it all.

Till next post ..

many blessings

Susan 

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

email: [email protected]

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

email: [email protected]

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

And .... we are www.quiltsforphans.org 

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

Check out the following Links:

http://www.facebook.com/Chelseaonesock .... for delightful retro fabric childrens clothing

http://kayleenwest.com.au .... for Art with a positive spirit

http://mellyandme.typepad.com .... creative clothing etc for children

 http://mrsmartinsquiltshop.typepad.com/  ...whose customer blessed us with awesome fabric

We also stitch for the following Childrens Homes ....

http://www.butterflych.org/.... for news about the Butterfly Palliative Care hospice in China

And their very own Blog ... which is beautifully written and contains inspirational stories on the children in their care. See the Link below:

http://butterflyhospice.blogspot.com.au/

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a59784e7a45314d6a673d0d0a&sb=1

www.freetobekids.org/- .... the rescue organisation that frees children from slavery and exploitation

www.hopefosterhome.com ... the babies we are creating crib quilts for in China ...

www.zoehopeproject.blogspot.com  .... giving hope to children in Zambia.

http://english.chinaconcern.org/  ... more children in China that we have stitched for ...

http://www.lolachildrensfund.org/ .... in Ethiopia

http://www.fikelela.org.za/orphan.asp .... the Fikelala AIDS Project in Capetown

http://mifanmama.com/Shining_Star_2.html the Home for vision impaired children in Shanghai

http://www.austchamshanghai.com/about-us/csr/mifan-mama.aspx

www.jewelsofhope.org ... the project we stitch for in Lesotho Southern Africa

http://www.thebabesproject.com.au/

http://elishacare.blogspot.com.au/

http://rangescc.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/elisha-care/

The Matombo Village Project vimeo.com/217129149

www.ujamaachildren.com

 

Start cutting, planning and piecing ... an exciting QFO Event is on the horizon ..

Yes ... you heard correctly ... this year we are having a FESTIVAL ... a FESTIVAL OF QUILTS. And you are invited to participate. This Event will take the place of our Annual Quilt Fair and we look forward to it being a wonderful series of creative collaborations ... all held in the beautiful Mont De Lancey precinct in Wandin. Looking forward to a brilliant time which we are sure will be enjoyed by all.

 

 

And that wraps up this Blogpost .. but another will roll off the keyboard after our regular monthly sewing day this coming Saturday. Look forward to sharing with you then.

 

Blessings,

 

Susan 

An 'inbetween Blogs' Thank You blogpost. And ...... a very important 'Save the Date' date :) Pens ready?

Hello again Readers …. just a quick Blogpost this time, firstly to thank very much our regular offsite quilting team of Edith and Sylvia for the delightful quilts that they sent us recently. Once again absolutely wonderful thank you both so very very much for your kindness. Also for the beautiful knitted beanies that came with them … is there no end to your talents and generosity?

And from the very kind Kate Wright in Cobram … these beautifully bright quilt tops, together with spools of thread … always a welcome addition :) Many thanks Kate … these are just gorgeous and brightened up a chilly winters day :)

 

Also … a message I just received from our Deborah .. many thanks to these kind ladies in Warrandyte. We truly appreciate you :)

                    'Jennifer and friend from Warrandyte donation of furnishing fabrics. Great for aprons
                       and specialty crafts or quits backing. Jennifer is a member of the Draught Horse
                        group who found us last November at our stall at Mont Delancy Draught Horse
                   Festival. Extremely kind of Jennifer and her friend to gift such a large volume of fabric'

And now announcing ... in order for you to go thru your ‘stash’ and create 🤗 ... our very first QFO Festival of Quilts. Grab a pen and your calendar.

Below ....  we have our 'QFO brains trust' going through the plans we are putting in place for this inaugural November Event. We envisage a number of activities taking place during this Festival, a workshop, a quilting day and other opportunities for those attending to get the very most out of their time at Mont De Lancey. Watch our Website and our Facebook Page for updates as we fine tune all that we hope to be offering those attending.

This Festival is to be held at beautiful Mont De Lancey between Friday November 9th and Sunday November 18th 2018.

Details will be on our website in early August. 

 

Looking forward to an awesome Festival. More updates as they come to hand.

#montdelancey #festivalofquilts #playtime #generoushearts #quiltsfororphans

 

And that wraps up this brief Blogpost … and we look forward to sharing more with you over the weeks to come :)

 

Blessings on behalf of QFO,

 

Susan

 

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

email: [email protected]

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

email: [email protected]

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

And .... we are www.quiltsforphans.org 

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

Check out the following Links:

http://www.facebook.com/Chelseaonesock .... for delightful retro fabric childrens clothing

http://kayleenwest.com.au .... for Art with a positive spirit

http://mellyandme.typepad.com .... creative clothing etc for children

 http://mrsmartinsquiltshop.typepad.com/  ...whose customer blessed us with awesome fabric

We also stitch for the following Childrens Homes ....

http://www.butterflych.org/.... for news about the Butterfly Palliative Care hospice in China

And their very own Blog ... which is beautifully written and contains inspirational stories on the children in their care. See the Link below:

http://butterflyhospice.blogspot.com.au/

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a59784e7a45314d6a673d0d0a&sb=1

www.freetobekids.org/- .... the rescue organisation that frees children from slavery and exploitation

www.hopefosterhome.com ... the babies we are creating crib quilts for in China ...

www.zoehopeproject.blogspot.com  .... giving hope to children in Zambia.

http://english.chinaconcern.org/  ... more children in China that we have stitched for ...

http://www.lolachildrensfund.org/ .... in Ethiopia

http://www.fikelela.org.za/orphan.asp .... the Fikelala AIDS Project in Capetown

http://mifanmama.com/Shining_Star_2.html the Home for vision impaired children in Shanghai

http://www.austchamshanghai.com/about-us/csr/mifan-mama.aspx

www.jewelsofhope.org ... the project we stitch for in Lesotho Southern Africa

http://www.thebabesproject.com.au/

http://elishacare.blogspot.com.au/

http://rangescc.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/elisha-care/

The Matombo Village Project vimeo.com/217129149

www.ujamaachildren.com

Another 'in-betweener' Blog Post and a visit to kindred spirits in Nunawading.

 

                                                    
Hello again and here I am with another Blog update which will include a couple of Thank You messages and pictures for your viewing pleasure,

so grab a cuppa and enjoy :) A message came through from our leader Annette last week, following a trip she and Sheryl made at the invitation

of the Nunawading U3a Quilters and it was accompanied by some lovely photos which I will share with you. These words from Annette ….

 

                        Sheryl and I had a visit to Nunawading U3a quilters and we have some more goodies to
                        show you. This was their final meeting for the term and we enjoyed afternoon tea
                        following their workday.
                        They are very pleased to send their quilts for distribution through our channels and
                        enquired about the beginnings of the group, our story so far, and quilt
                        destinations.
                       A similar demographic to our group, they meet and work on their projects,
                        occasionally teaching, sharing a technique (e.g. joining curves as in these photos).

 Thank you so very much to the wonderfully skilled ladies of the U3a group … it will be our pleasure to add the finishing touches and quilting to these beautiful quilt tops and we look forward to being involved with you in future endeavours to wrap folk in our fabric 'hugs'.

                                                

      
       

And this delightful completed piece, just gorgeous … thank you so very much :)

                                                    

We also received, yesterday .. courtesy of the Montrose Church of Christ knitters .. a wonderful batch of beautifully handknitted jackets which will be destined for China. Many thanks ladies, it is always an absolute delight to receive the knitted baby items which will bless small infants on the other side of the globe.

    

And that wraps up this brief Blogpost … apologies for the line to the left of the final U3a pic … technology baffles me more often than not .. am just grateful I managed to wrap the words in paragraphs rather than the unending horizontal line that it seemed intent on doing at the beginning of this update ;)

Till next post …. blessings all, and I'm off for a restorative coffee .. a large one ;)

 

Susan 
 

 

And where our handiwork goes ... as quilt tops and fabrics come in ... they go out to grateful recipients :)

Another quick Blogpost … which I very nearly overlooked in the excitement of announcing our inaugural upcoming Festival of Quilts in November.

I was privileged last week to be able to hand over three rather heavy quilts that we had created specifically for young folk on the autism spectrum. These quilts were created utilising the heavy wool fabric that we were gifted late last year by our friends in Traralgon. 

It was wonderful to hand over three of our ‘heavy’ quilts to the folk at ‘Different Journeys’ ASD Support Group in Kilsyth at their monthly young peoples social dinner gathering. The quilt above was gifted as a door prize to the mother of one of the young adults attending on the night. She and her son were thrilled and it was such a blessing to have been a part of this 'gifting' to them. The other two quilts will be presented by Different Journeys to a local school to be used as comfort when needed within their classroom for children on the spectrum. We will follow up with several more quilts using the remaining heavy wool fabric that we were blessed with by our supporters in Traralgon. Pictures below are of Deborah and Christines trip to Traralgon last year to collect the heavy wool fabric we used subsequently as the 'inner' part of our quilt 'sandwich'.

And the message below is from the Different Journeys Facebook page after I had handed over three of the four quilts so far that we have been able to give them.

Different Journeys

12 June at 21:06 ·

Tonight we were lucky enough to have a door prize to raffle off at our Adults ASD Peer Support and Social Event @clubkilsyth - a weighted blanket that was handmade and generously donated by Quilts for Orphans! #communities #connections #celebrations #weightedblanket #donations

 

Knowing that these weighted quilts will give comfort to those on the autism spectrum is just a small part of what we are all about. It’s been a blessing to have been able to find a good home for these special quilts. Fabric ‘hugs’ to those who need them the most.

We also created, in response to a request made to Gaynor .. special aprons for the Prison Network craft group last year. I just discovered the following pictures of their volunteers wearing our handiwork and special thanks must go to our Yvonne and Deborah who worked so very hard to facilitate the filling of this request … and to Gaynor who had such a heart to help this ministry which operates on a very slim budget. It was a blessing to be able to help them thus and to see that our efforts were so well appreciated.

 So … our readers and supporters can now see where their giftings  through donations to us of fabric, and their financial support through our fundraising flows out to folk, not only globally … but equally importantly locally to organisations like Different Journeys and Prison Network Ministry.

Keep us in your hearts folks, without your continued support and encouragement we would not be able to achieve a fraction of what we have been able to do so far. Your contributions are so very much appreciated and bless so many :)

 

Till next Blogpost,

Blessings,

 

Susan

 

 

We were 'bound' to have an enjoyable day ... stitching quilt bindings at Mont De Lancey :)

We found ourselves in Wandin this month for our sewing day … at the delightful Mont De Lancey as part of the 'We've got you covered' exhibition. And given that our quilts cover those receiving them in a warming hug …. what better place to be eh?

And here is Annette … taking a moment away from quilts … to show off some of the wool from the Exhibition 'Theme' here at Mont De Lancey. Picture courtesy of Julie who was roadtesting her new camera :)

Present this month we had Annette, Gabby, Libby, Sheryl, Sinling, Julie, Coby, Christine, Pauline, both Vals, Win, Yvonne, Carol, Maxine, Joy, Alice, Julie, Mel, Sandi and myself. We filled the beautiful Ray Oliver Gallery space and made ourselves quite comfortable among all the lovely handknitted items on display there for the Exhibition. Extremely cosy and we thank Mont De Lancey for making this space available to our Group today.

A pause for 'Show and Tell' from our Joy who had been busy making quilt tops for China …… 

A quick 'reviver' to fuel us up for the stitching that awaited us ...

I confess I liked this mug so much that I made a purchase of one to take home before the day ended :) You can never have too many lovely mugs.

Annette welcomes us to our June sewing day & told us about her visit to the Waverley Patchworkers gathering earlier this month (more on that later).

Some of the stunning knitted pieces that surrounded our workspace today … isn't this beautiful?

Julie got the comfy chair today …. and doesn't she look happy?

Our ladies hard at work handfinishing bindings on a multitude of quilts … great warming work on a cool June day :)

A lunch break at Monty's Tearoom and what a delightful place it was … 

A brief foray into the lovely little shop that operates at Mont De Lancey …. full of wonderful handcrafted items … highly recommend it folks :)

Gorgeous 'felted' creatures in a little castle .. utterly sweet.

Tasty homemade relishes and jams … among other things :)

And Oooooh look!! They have kindly allocated a little space to us … how very kind of them :)

Swung back into the tearoom to capture this vintage corner sitting spot … 

Couldn't resist this little handcrafted toy either … it's going straight into my toyroom ;) Readers should really make time to visit Mont De Lancey, it has so very much to offer. A wonderful museum, historic home, a working Blacksmiths and more. All situated not too far from the Yarra Valley and with lots of on-site parking AND a Tearoom for refreshments. Winning on all fronts!!

Great place to stock up for Christmas, whilst supporting local crafters.

Now, toward the end of our stitching day Annette brought in some incredibly amaaaazing vintage magazines for us to look at .. I've snapped a few images from within the pages for your benefit :) I adore old magazines and these were stunning!! 

And some more of the handcrafted display items from the 'We've got you covered' wool exhibition running in the Gallery.

How incredibly cute are these double ended knitted dolls?

And this beautiful lacy shawl …. isn't it so delicate?

I was also very taken with this handknitted blanket … 

And then it was time to pack up our stitching until next months gathering … an extremely productive day in beautiful surrounds. Many bindings attached and much happy chatting between our ladies. 

Now I mentioned at the very start of todays Blog that Annette had spent a pleasant time, with Jenny and Yvonne, at the Waverley Patchworkers gathering early this month. As well as the incredible quilts on show there, and the opportunity for Jenny and Annette to speak to the Waverley members and guests of the work that QFO has done over the years, special mention was made of the incredible contribution our Yvonne has made as our custom quilter.

We have been thoroughly blessed by having Yvonne work on our quilts .. single handedly quilting, on average, a quilt a day on her 'behemoth' of a machine for us. A magnificent blessing to us is the work that Yvonne has done for us since QFO first began nearly a decade ago. To honour her work a special presentation was made  … which coincided with her Golden Wedding anniversary … of a rather wonderful quilt. The pictures below I have immense pleasure in sharing with you ..

 

And that just about wraps up this months Blog for your reading pleasure. I'll finish by reminding our readers that the special events continue at Mont De Lancey in the week ahead. Special days/themes being as follow … pop them on your calendar. Should be much fun :)

Wednesday the 13th June …. Circle of Friends. Join a 'sit and knit together' day 

Thursday the 14th June …      Lee will be spinning wool in the Gallery.

Friday the 15th June …           The Tea Cosy Ladies. Join their 'Sit and Knit' day.

I look forward to sharing with you again next month after our sewing day on July 14th, when we gather again at The Shed for a day of stitching and camaraderie. In the interim, here are our Links and contact details.

Many blessings,

Susan

 

 

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

email: [email protected]

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

email: [email protected]

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

And .... we are www.quiltsforphans.org 

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

Check out the following Links:

http://www.facebook.com/Chelseaonesock .... for delightful retro fabric childrens clothing

http://kayleenwest.com.au .... for Art with a positive spirit

http://mellyandme.typepad.com .... creative clothing etc for children

 http://mrsmartinsquiltshop.typepad.com/  ...whose customer blessed us with awesome fabric

We also stitch for the following Childrens Homes ....

http://www.butterflych.org/.... for news about the Butterfly Palliative Care hospice in China

And their very own Blog ... which is beautifully written and contains inspirational stories on the children in their care. See the Link below:

http://butterflyhospice.blogspot.com.au/

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a59784e7a45314d6a673d0d0a&sb=1

www.freetobekids.org/- .... the rescue organisation that frees children from slavery and exploitation

www.hopefosterhome.com ... the babies we are creating crib quilts for in China ...

www.zoehopeproject.blogspot.com  .... giving hope to children in Zambia.

http://english.chinaconcern.org/  ... more children in China that we have stitched for ...

http://www.lolachildrensfund.org/ .... in Ethiopia

http://www.fikelela.org.za/orphan.asp .... the Fikelala AIDS Project in Capetown

http://mifanmama.com/Shining_Star_2.html the Home for vision impaired children in Shanghai

http://www.austchamshanghai.com/about-us/csr/mifan-mama.aspx

www.jewelsofhope.org ... the project we stitch for in Lesotho Southern Africa

http://www.thebabesproject.com.au/

http://elishacare.blogspot.com.au/

http://rangescc.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/elisha-care/

The Matombo Village Project vimeo.com/217129149

www.ujamaachildren.com

  Aaaand … here's a bonus picture folks … popped it in here because I couldn't get my recalcitrant 'puter to accept turning it right way around in the middle of the other Blog pics … so it can sit nicely here at the end of my Post. Just like those 'hidden' tracks that sometimes get squirreled away on vinyl LP records (remember those). You're welcome ;) It's of Pauline at our Saturday at Mont De Lancey … with another of our lovely quilts.