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| | | I Spy Quilt Plus | | | Submitted by: SallyP | January 07, 2010 | | | |  | | | While these particular I Spy quilt panels were available, I made lots and lots to give away. These were the years after my children were grown. My husband has 16 brothers and sisters - so there have always been lots of baby quilts to give away! Finally, when I had about 3 of these panels left, I decided that I had better save a couple for my grandchildren. This was years before there was even a possibility of grandchildren, but I didn't want to let something special slip away!
When my grandson was born, his first quilt is a simple Patience made with receiving blankets matching his room decorations. It was a great hit and was ready to present to him in the hospital. Forward to his 2nd birthday party - I decided that now he has some language skills and is interested in looking at pictures, so the time was right. I took one of my two precious remaining panels, added borders, and got it ready for his birthday.
Of all the I Spy quilts I made over the years, I had never ever sat down with a kid and played with it. I encourage everyone to make one, go find a kid and play. It's so fun! My grandson found the sunflower, then he found the sun. We can find penguins, spotted frogs, etc etc. He can use this for language, for color recognition, counting - the possibilities are endless! And his "qilt" is always ready for play and goes with him on numerous visits.
After observing the play value of this quilt, my mom decided her grandson needs one for his 2nd birthday - my nephew is 1 year younger than my grandson. So lucky nephew gets one next year and lucky me gets to make another one! | | |  |
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| | | QUILTS FOR ORPHANS IN KURDISTAN | | | Submitted by: scwalanna | January 06, 2010 | | | |  | | | Following is my newsletter with regard to this wonderful quilt ministry. Thequiltshow.com initially posted my story almost two years ago and the dream (with your help and help from many of your members) was finally realized. I hope you will post the newsletter for all to read. With gratitude, Alanna Petrusich
NEWSLETTER FROM MY SULYMANIYAH TRIP
December 28 finally arrived and Joe and I left for Sulymaniyah which is the second largest city in Kurdistan, the northern province of Iraq. We travelled via Amman, Jordan and spent our first night there visiting friends.
December 29 was met with great anticipation. After two years, my dream of wrapping an orphan with a hand-made quilt was finally going to be realized.
Joe and I arrived in Suly on a cold and gloomy rainy day but it did nothing to dampen our spirits. My wonderful new friend Tahseen Taha was there to greet us with his good friend Karzan. What wonderful young men they are!
Let me tell you about Tahseen before continuing with my story. When I was having trouble contacting anyone at the Chamber of commerce in Suly, I decided to try emailing the chancellor at the American University of Iraq whom Joe had met in early 2008. Still, I received no response. I later found out he had relocated to Jeddah. After that, I tried “info” @ American University of Iraq. And finally I received a response – from Tahseen Taha. Ever since then, he has been my lifeline to the orphanages and their directors. As well, he has become a dear friend and refers to me as his Canadian Mom!! Of course, I now call him my Kurdish son! He has a wonderful heart and I was witness to just how wonderful during our time together in Suly.
Tahseen and Karzan drove us to our hotel and we had a short visit to discuss the plans for the next day.
On the morning of December 30, Tahseen arrived with all of the boxes and a wonderful driver. We drove to the first orphanage which was the boys orphanage. On the lower floor were the boys age 5-10 and the upper floor were the boys 11-18. The first things we handed out were teddy bears to the little boys – squishy, huggable teddy bears! You can see by the pictures how the children’s eyes lit up! What a heartwarming scene for us! Following that, they all formed a line and as I pulled a quilt from the box, they threw up their hands if they liked that particular quilt and would like to have it! It was so much fun to wrap that colorful little quilt around a child and embrace him with a big hug. Tahseen explained the red heart that is appliquéd to each and every quilt. It means that the quilt was made with love and is given from one heart to another … that they can wrap their new quilt around themselves and know that they are wrapped in love! I watched the expressions on the children’s faces as he talked about the red heart and it was touching to see how the kids reacted facially. They knew they were receiving something very special – more than cotton and color!
After we gave them their quilts, it was time to give them a zip lock bag full of school supplies. These came from an organization called OIC – Operation Iraqi Children. This is an organization in the United States whose co-founders are the actor Gary Sinise and Laura Hillenbrand. They came to us via the humanitarian team of the U.S. Military. This humanitarian team was my savior because they were instrumental in transporting my 6 large boxes of quilts from Kuwait to Sulymaniyah. It would have cost a fortune to have them accompany us on Royal Jordanian Airlines! I am forever grateful to Ltd. Herrera and Chief Hall for their support and contribution to making this ministry a success!
After visiting with the little boys and looking at their bedrooms, we had a group picture and enjoyed a few final hugs. Then we were on our way upstairs to visit the teen boys. They were all waiting to see us with great anticipation!!
They were overjoyed to be receiving quilts that had themes of cars, basketballs and sports on them! Thank goodness we had lots of them!! Again, they showed their sensitive side (can they even have one after what horror stories they can tell?) when Tahseen told them the significance of the red heart. This truly seemed to mean a lot to these boys. Again, we handed out school supplies and had a fun group picture with lots of smiles and a few hugs (after all, these are teens!). The lady in the photo is a lovely, warm hearted lady who has worked at the orphanage for 30 years! Joe had met her two years ago when he visited the kids. She remembered him also.
We also found several boxes of flip-flops in the boxes of donated goods from the Humanitarian Team. We made sure every boy received a pair and all of the workers in the orphanage. Everyone was very appreciative.
In some of the other boxes from the Humanitarian Team, there were hand-made cotton bags – again full of school supplies. Inside these bags was a picture of a young boy from Tempe, Arizona. He had taken it upon himself to ask for donations of school supplies to send to the children of Iraq. His name is Taylor Lott and he is a member of the Boy Scouts of America. If I can locate him when I am in Arizona in the spring, I will go meet him and show him the pictures of the actual kids his school supplies went to!! Thank you Taylor for your kind and generous heart. You are an example of what small acts of kindness can do and how they can impact the lives of others.
It was time to leave and go meet the girls. They were about a 20 minute drive away. There weren’t as many in-house when we arrived. Several had gone to spend the holidays with extended family members. We did leave quilts and school supplies behind for them. We had a wonderful time with the 8 girls who were present. Four of them we found huddled in a small empty room with the exception of a small bench and a small tv. The caregiver introduced us to them and explained who we were. Eventually, the other girls came out of their rooms and we all gathered in the lobby of their orphanage. They dove into the teddy and doll box and made their selections. The colorful quilts that we had for the girls were so perfect! They were thrilled with their new blankets. Tahseen told them, once again, of the red hearts. And once again, they were touched by the story and significance. After handing them their new school supplies and sandals, we had a fun tour of their bedrooms. There are 3 – 5 beds per bedroom and all were very tidy. They older girls had posters of famous singers on their wall (so that seems to be the same the world over!) and the little girls has some cute pictures as well. Each bedroom was named after a flower and one was butterfly. There were two sisters here and we were told that they had two brothers in the boys orphanage. How I wish I had asked if they go to see their brothers. The oldest girl was an incredible artist. She showed us her sketches and we were so impressed that we will be sending Tahseen some art supplies for her. A talent such as that must be encouraged. As we were saying our goodbyes and preparing to leave, I mentioned this girl to Tahseen. He asked for some time to go see her work. He suggested that perhaps he can work with AUIS (the university) to get her some additional help. He came out with a sad, but true story. Beside her sketches, were several phrases but I couldn’t read them. Tahseen told me that they said how dark her days can be and she misses her mother so much. I wish I had spent more time visiting with her. My heart aches for her. I wonder what her sad story is. Four siblings in orphanages with one horrific story. I wanted to take them all home.
We found that we had some quilts left after spending time with the children. Tahseen suggested we stop by the seniors home. He hadn’t been there and wanted to go see it. All I can say is how horrific it was. It made the kids orphanages look like the Holiday Inn! We entered and were introduced to the director of the orphanage. He told Tahseen that the building had been donated but not much had been done to it to make it very liveable. The seniors were sitting at a long table (the ladies on one side and the men on the other). They were eating rice and something else unidentifiable. Their hands were so cold as I reached over their shoulders to hold them. One little lady who couldn’t have been more than 70 pounds, was squatting down in front of a small kerosene heater – trying to get warm. As she looked up and saw Tahseen, she thought her son had come to visit her. Tahseen was so touched by this that he quickly squatted down, kissed her hand, touched it to his forehead and leaned forward and gave her a kiss on her forehead saying yes, mamma, your son is here. She wasn’t sound of mind and that scene will forever stay in my mind. It was so touching and gave the little old woman a moment of joy and peace I am sure.
for the rest of the story and pictures ~~~ www.alannaorphans.blogspot.com | | | |
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| | | Teaching my Mom to quilt | | | Submitted by: joanrae | January 06, 2010 | | | |  | | | Although mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a few years back, I could see her head thinking and doing things. Even more so, I would see her wanting to do things. So when I went to visit her and dad in October/November 2008 in Florida, I brought along quilt pieces for us to work on together. I prepared the leaf on fusible using scraps from my stash. I purchased scissors for her arthritic hands, and mom helped me cut them out. She was worried when she’d cut below the line, thinking she ruined it, but I told her that not any two leaves in nature were exactly the same and however she cut was perfectly fine. She cut out most of the 130 leaves. Once our leaves were ready, she also helped to decide which four would go together on the block and I would fuse them on each square. When the time came to teach her to stitch around each leaf, I put her chosen leaf in the hoop, she chose the color floss she liked, and I taught her to do an up and down running stitch around her leaf. She watched me do the blanket stitch, and tried it a few times, and I think she would have really mastered it if not for the fact that the house was full of confusion with nurses coming in and out taking care of my father, and we did not have the quiet we needed to concentrate! We also paid a visit to the local quilt shop and she chose the fabric for the borders for the quilts. We decided that we would make three smaller versions of the quilt in the magazine, one for each of her two sisters and brother. She signed each leaf she stitched, and decided which ones would go to which sibling. I then brought our supplies home to Virginia and finished each quilt for my uncle and aunts. As a little aside to the quilt story, during the same month, I also taught mom to type (one finger!) on the computer and write emails to her sister, and we worked easy Sudoku games together. Dad’s nurses were amazed, asking me if mom had ever done anything like this before in her life. She had not, and they said then she may have dementia and short term memory loss, but probably not Alzheimer’s as Alzheimer patients didn’t learn anything new. Mom was pretty pleased with her quilt making and I treasure the memories we made together that month. The picture shows Mom stitching, and her two sisters, Theresa and Anita and her brother Phil with their new quilts.
Joan Johnson
Scrappy Maple Leaf Quilt designed by Cheryl Kerestes, QUILT Magazine | | | |
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| | | The Anniversary | | | Submitted by: ladytoadq | August 17, 2009 | | | |  | | | Cheryl’s Memory
I sit looking out of the kitchen window trying to visualize how she looked. She was so pretty, blonde curly hair, blue-green eyes, a wonderful smile but the clarity of her inner beauty came with her voice and laughter. I can barely remember her voice she was always happy and the sweet way she talked was like music. No matter what the weather each time she called, she brought sunshine into my heart. Oh, Lord how I miss her, today is the fifth anniversary of her death; a dreadful death by breast cancer, Cheryl put up a valiant fight, it took a long painful two-year and half years she fought hard for her life; it was a brave struggle. She finally let go. Leaving behind those who loved her, we all felt her pain we all suffered with her right up to the day she let go. Her husband and two children have never come to grips with her passing. This week will be hard on them.
Grief is an action it has to find a place to go and taking your eyes off your pain and helping others is a survival skill.
I sought to find comfort in volunteering. I am a quilter and I heard of a group forming to both celebrate the love of quilting and to be a force for fighting Breast Cancer. The funds raised would go to supporting patients in our own community. I joined the Gig Harbor Quilt Festival. Their cause is Breast Cancer; they raise money for local Breast cancer patients all the while promoting the love of quilting in our community. There are so many fundraisers where the money collected goes outside of your community or even state they collect it for research and only a portion comes back to the giving community.
There are so many women standing in front of their mirrors and feeling that strange lump, they have no insurance and no idea what to do next. That is where GHQF come in we have funds to provide free screening, counseling and so much more. We have raise over $157,000. Every penny stays in our community.
I became the Silent Auction Chair, the first year my silent auction made $900, last year we made $10,000 on the Silent Auction alone, wow is all I can say. This year I stepped down and work in a supporting roll, my heart will always belong to GHQF.
I learned the secret of giving/volunteering while leading a support group, I thought I was helping the patients but soon learned they were healing my spirit and I was getting better.
There is magic in giving of yourself to others; a magic you ca not find anywhere else.
We also have a group of women that meet every other Tuesday they make Comfort quilts for the patients of a local Oncologist. Just picture yourself going to chemotherapy for the first time and having a nurse rap a bright quilt around you, and saying “This quilt is for your recovery; it is a gift from people who care about you.” The sad thing is we cannot keep up with the volume of new patients; we live in what seems to be an epidemic state that is why getting that Mammogram is so important. Have you had yours lately?
The phone finally rings I suspect it will be my granddaughter she always calls on the anniversary of her mothers death, we will probably talk for an hour or so, maybe even cry a little. Grieving stays in your broken heart, the act of giving of yourself relieves the pressure but the pain never goes away. | | | |
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| | | June 16, 2009 | | Kurdistan Orphans to Receive Quilts by scwalanna | | | | | June 15, 2009 | | A Quinquagenarian's Quilt Quest - Five Decades of by mac1998ny | | | | | May 12, 2009 | | An Italian Quilter by ladybug09 | | | | | May 11, 2009 | | Moms final celebration of life by QuiltingPinjinsa | | | | | April 11, 2009 | | From Pennsylvania to Norway by patcollie | | | | | April 02, 2009 | | 100 Wishes to All by angelines | | | | | February 27, 2009 | | FOR THE CHURCH RAFFLE by josie43 | | | | | February 05, 2009 | | Terri's Quilt by ClaraLawrence | | | A Pay it Forward Quilt by quiltwonder | | | | | February 03, 2009 | | Quilt for Catheryn continued! by LynnEl | | | | | January 29, 2009 | | Catheryn's Quilt Top by LynnEl | | | | | December 16, 2008 | | Quilts from Helen's Clothes by NancyAnn1959 | | | | | December 03, 2008 | | A Quilt for Carmen by PamiD | | | | | December 02, 2008 | | Why I love Quilts by Rayellen | | | | | November 26, 2008 | | Last Quilting Weekend at Bay View Villa by luvstakwilt | | | Dutch Doll Quilt Made by my Grandmother by sandytn | | | Kidney Quilts by quiltrascal | | | | | October 01, 2008 | | A Truly Alaskan Quilt by Alaskababyrn | | | Binding Mishap by ajclapp | | | | | September 24, 2008 | | Stitches Away from Happiness by Katzzz | | | | | September 14, 2008 | | BOM helping heal cancer by snowladyns | | | | | September 13, 2008 | | Quilt for my niece by SallyP | | | | | September 12, 2008 | | The Ugly Quilt Top by Katzzz | | | | | September 11, 2008 | | Quilts Make A Difference by Nanelas | | | | | September 02, 2008 | | New Life for an Old Quilt by linmcquilter | | | | | September 01, 2008 | | Making A New List by ajclapp | | | | | August 26, 2008 | | Happy Birthday Fraser Valley Quilters' Guild by Cher4 | | | | | August 20, 2008 | | Preserving My Family's 1930's Quilt by altalynn | | | Quilts from East Africa by suzanne3499 | | | | | August 15, 2008 | | A Truly Long-Term Project. by pknord | | | | | August 09, 2008 | | Wedding Quilt Inspiration from "The Quilt Show" by RockridgeQuilter | | | Quilts for Peru by 9patchnurse | | | | | May 14, 2008 | | Quilts Surviving a Tornado! by Bonnie23 | | | | | May 08, 2008 | | The Bluebirds are ready for SPRING! by Margo | | | Bobbie's Quilt by Caitlin | | | Quilt Pink Auction Supports Breast Cancer Research by quiltpinkauction | | | | | March 16, 2008 | | Desiree's Birthday Quilt by NancyAnn1959 | | | | | March 13, 2008 | | Rosa Parks Quilt Debuts at the MLKing Library by waltzquilt | | | Love & Life by BBGirl | | | | | March 12, 2008 | | If you wait long enough . . . dreams do come true. by ajclapp | | | | | March 11, 2008 | | Quilts for Kurdistan Orphans by scwalanna | | | | | March 08, 2008 | | OMG... fleece and fake fur? by Quilter79 | | | | | December 29, 2007 | | Finally, a real surprise. by eyeonquilts | | | | | December 26, 2007 | | First place with quilt African Equator! by Eugenie | | | | | December 20, 2007 | | Irene's (Mostly Purple) UFO's by NancyAnn1959 | | | | | November 27, 2007 | | Phoenix Rises from the Ashes by dphock | | | | | November 26, 2007 | | Stew Bunny's Garden by SandiMako | | | | | November 07, 2007 | | The Gift of Memory by littleflower | | | | | September 19, 2007 | | Never too young to start by LufftoCraft | | | | | August 15, 2007 | | Creating Connections with Stories and Fabric by TQSWizard | | | | | August 11, 2007 | | Where it all begins. by Bonnie23 | | | | | August 10, 2007 | | Quilt Odyssey 2007 by marysu4 | | | | | July 31, 2007 | | Road Trip by quiltedkathy | | | | | July 23, 2007 | | A New Day by MaryRinWI | | | | | July 12, 2007 | | Quilting Has Gone to the Dogs by pabozem | | | | | July 08, 2007 | | Don't Give Up by lilyf | | | | | July 07, 2007 | | Lorens quilt by QueenNonna | | | | | June 25, 2007 | | My Bernina by Kaypeaye | | | Takes a droppin and keeps on sewin by mascyn | | | Making a difference by KnottyQuilter | | | | | June 18, 2007 | | TQS Member Has Harrowing Trip To Retreat by TQSWizard | | | | | June 15, 2007 | | My 15 minutes of fame by sewcolorful | | | | | June 14, 2007 | | Carla's surprise by Ibereeree | | | | | June 13, 2007 | | The Little Quilts That Could!! by SDQUILTER | | | | | June 07, 2007 | | My Brother's Keeper "SLEEPING BAG PROJECT" by NancyinSTL | | | | | May 13, 2007 | | 12 days of Christmas topiary by ravels | | | DIVAS by marit | | | A Kindegartener's Nine Patch by quiltnmama | | | | | April 21, 2007 | | Betty's quilt by richandrita | | | | | April 20, 2007 | | Friends for a Cure by sunshinequilts | | | | | April 19, 2007 | | Don's memory Quilt by maryw | | | | | April 14, 2007 | | An Exciting Surprise by pknord | | | | | March 31, 2007 | | Year of the Boar by Koala58 | | | | | March 28, 2007 | | Fish Tales by angelinejovan | | | | | March 27, 2007 | | Mark McGuire by MarietNieskens | | | | | March 26, 2007 | | A Quilt for Our Soldier Son by annasgirl | | | | | March 25, 2007 | | He waited 4 years.... by MarietNieskens | | | | | March 24, 2007 | | A Mother's Love by PatternGridGal | | | | | March 20, 2007 | | The Most Embarrassing Mom on the Baseball Team by mrs-mookie | | | | | March 17, 2007 | | The Tale of a Quilting Nightmare by Pattiwatti | | | | | March 14, 2007 | | The Story of Rutledge Red by sewraysofjoy | | | Quitling B by kayzwart | | | Comfort for a Soldier's Son by SandiMako | | | | | March 13, 2007 | | 1000 Cranes by florence | | | | | March 06, 2007 | | Trash to Treasure by RickyTims | | | | | January 08, 2007 | | Scrappy Log Cabin by RickyTims | | | | | December 30, 2006 | | The Young Grandma by Pat Pollock by RickyTims | | | | | April 13, 1200 | | The Twelve Days of Christmas by Margo | |
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