June Work Day

Well Saturday turned out to be a full house!  We had 15 or 16 people show up throughout the day.  Five of them were first time guests and hopefully most of them will come back.  Ginni, you're excused as I realize the trip from California may be prohibitive  

What a blessing it was to experience the energy in the room.  We got a ton done.  Show and Tell was the longest part of the meeting.  We had lots of beautiful quilts to look at. There were 6 or 7 people piecing. Several people were cutting out projects.  We had a few small donations to sort through.  We found backs for 4 or 5 quilts.  Linda prayed for us to find a quilter and before the end of the day I believe 10 quilts went out the door with Sandy and Suzanne!  We finished 6 quilts that were dropped off with Missions.  They will go to JOPPA and YESS.  Whew, are you tired yet? 

 

Check out the Photo tab to see the activities of the day.  Here are just a few.

Zoom in and look at the embroidered Noah's Ark blocks.  So cute!

 

A great quilt for LSI.

 

Rachael like her pink.  Just not all the small pieces.  But she did a great job.

 

A very simple way to use some strip sets.

April Work Day Recap

 

Thanks to all for another energetic and productive work day!  5 quilts off to Missions, 5 more ready for the auctions, another 5 off to the quilters and 7 or 8 more that we found backing for.  WOW!  Thank you, God, for the generous donations of materials as well as the faithful servants who are Hope Quilters!

Check out the pictures of our newest creations on the Photos tab.

Just a reminder that we have a retreat coming up on the 24th of this month.  This is time for fellowship and time to work on your own projects.  We have Room 101 on Friday, starting any time.  I'll be there around 8am.  We can stay as long we want on Friday.  We will also sew on Saturday.  Church opens at 6:30 so you can start as early as you want and we'll finish at 3pm.  Fee is $10/day to cover Friday dinner and Saturday lunch.   There is also a snack table so feel free to bring something to share.  Coffee will be provided.  Bring a friend if you like.  There is always plenty of room.

Here is the end result of the project I showed in the last post.  Quite a clever group we have.   

Finally, take a look at the new page; Jeans for Joppa!  A new ministry in partnership with Hope's Men's Ministry

February Work Day Recap

There was a fairly small crowd on Saturday.  It was also pretty quiet in the room.  People were busy at their tasks I guess.  And the talkers were not here this weekend.......you know who you are.

We needed batting for about 12 finished quilts.  7 finished quilts were distributed for missions or the auctions.  Others worked on new quilt tops.  A great day all around!

 

Our faithful Sister of Batting



A repurposed quilt.

Thinking and rethinking this design. 
Look for the new result in an upcoming blog.

 

Another big topic of conversation was around the Quilt Auctions.  Both auctions are schedule for August 1st.  This is the weekend of our summer quilt retreat.  Since we are being honored at the Okoboji auction I will be attending that one.  Others attend the Riverside auction each year as well.  A suggestion was made that we could cancel the summer retreat and for anyone who was interested we could instead plan a road trip to the auctions.  Plans for the road trip will continue to be formulated so keep that in mind.

Finally, we worked on the idea for creating quilts for the Joppa ministry.  We've had several jean donations and Georgia brought us lots of yardages of heavyweight fabric (denim, broadcloth, corduroy, etc) that could also be used.  The men's ministry is gearing up to collect jeans for us.  Jeans for Joppa is what they are calling it.  Look for a page on the Blog, soon, to explain.

 

 

Quilts to Robin's Nest

Several of our baby quilts went with the group on the Robin's Nest Mission trip in January.  Here are a few photo's.  The kids loved their quilts!

January Work Day Recap

Tubs of fabric, batting and binding and 24 finished quilts, OH MY!! 

Our work day this month was certainly a flurry of activity.  14 quilters showed up including some new faces.  We had the fun of combing through 2 more generous donations.  There were 24 quilts ready for distribution so the group decided which should go to LSI, Hawthorne Hill, ASP, Navajo and the guilt auctions this summer.  We have great mission partners who love to receive these creations. 

We had a visit from one of the Joppa coordinators.  We talked with Robert about whether they had a need for blankets to help keep these people warm.  We discussed the opportunity to make some Jean quilts for him to distribute to those who had a need.  We are going to try this for a little bit to see how it goes.  If you have any old denim clothes (jean, shirts, jackets) that you are willing to donate we will experiment with some quick and easy ways to put jean quilts together. Bring your donations to the upcoming retreat, get them to me or leave them in the closet in Room 214.  Let's see if we can spread a little warmth in some new ways.

Our next big event is the January Retreat.  I hope you have it on your calendar for January 23rd and 24th.  We will be in room 101 again.  We can sew all day Friday and til 3:00 on Saturday.  The church opens at 6:30 so feel free to come any time.  I will probably be there to set up before 8am.  We will order pizza Friday night and then something else for lunch on Saturday.  We ask for $10 per day if you are eating with us.  Otherwise, I will have a coffee pot and a cooler if you need to keep anything cold.  People have just brought treats to share.  I'll have paper products and silverware. 

I would like to get an idea of how many people we will have.  If you are considering attending could you reply to this email and let me know.  Also, feel free to bring a friend or family member.  We always welcome new faces.  And to help you plan ahead, we are confirmed for the additional following dates   April 24-25 and July 31-Aug 1 .

 

I thought these pics did a good job of showing the fabric action of the day.  See the blog for more pictures of many of the quilts that we were able to donate. http://hopequilters.blogspot.com/p/photos.html

A table full of donated fabric and another one full of completed quilts.  We've been busy last year.

December 2014 Work Day

Let the miracle that happened long ago and far away

Be a special source of joy and love within your heart today.

Merry Christmas to all!

We had a good crowd on both Friday and Saturday.  The highlight was seeing all the One Body quilts finished up.  The project began by printing pictures that were made by the students on fabric.   Then the pictures were pieced into banners to look like film strips.  Each picture was quilted individually to pull out the design.  We presented the quilts to Cindy Grandquist at the meeting.  She was thrilled and can't wait to show them to the students.  Cyndee Buck has made arrangements for them to be hanging in the church starting in January.   Thanks to all who helped with this project.

We had a large variety of projects going this weekend.  Binding finished on four quilts.  Batting cut and ready to go to the quilters on 6 more quilts.  I think 6 or 8 of the kits were taken have to work on.  I better get to making a few more.

We have a good list of missions that would love to have quilts.  There are several quilts already done so in January we'll start to identify locations for them.  The ASP and Navajo mission trips are coming up in spring.  We've also learned that local organizations, LSI and Hawthorne Hill, have a constant need for quilts so we have several places that can benefit.  We will continue to support the Bible camp auctions as well.    We have an outlet for just about any size and theme but the twin, throw or crib size seem to be the most versatile.  While we make most of the quilts we give away, gently used quilts in good shape will also find homes..

 

Julie's red-white-blue quilt

 Rachael's Black and White and Red

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auditioning border, binding and backing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a reminder that the next retreat date is in January on the 23rd and 24th. We are confirmed for Room 101.  The format will be the same as in the past.  We can sew all day Friday and then until 3:00 on Saturday afternoon.  We'll order in dinner Friday and lunch on Saturday.  $10 a day covers the cost of these meals.   And don't worry if you can't sew both days.  Many drop in for just part of the time as their schedule allows.  Feel free to invite a friend to join us for the weekend.

As I look back on the year it's quite amazing to think what you've accomplished. 

• 18 quilts for Hope Village in Ghana, Africa
• 12-15 quilts in each of the Riverside and Okaboji auctions helping them to raise $43,000 and $53,000, respectively. 
• 23 quilts to LSI
• 2 quilts to Valley High School
• 12 quilts to Mission Navajo in September
• 15 quilts to ASP over two different trips

In the new year I think we should set a couple of goals.  We have lots of blue, green and pink/red fabrics.  Be thinking of a scrappy pattern that might utilize these colors and I'll come up with some kits.  Another goal could be to search out new fabric contributions.   At the rate you gals are finishing quilts we can always use more!  But never fear.  We have continued to make the best of what God has provided.  And you have done it joyfully all year long.  I look forward to seeing what we might accomplish in 2015.

God bless you faithful servants,

Jody Eubank

November Work Day

Our mission is to serve God in the world by making quilts that give warmth, comfort and support for those in need.

 

Hope Quilters vision is to grow and learn in fellowship and fun while designing and creating quilts for others, at home and in the world.

 

While I truly believe in this mission. I believe that those in attendance Saturday could truly feel the warmth of the Holy Spirit in the room as we lived out this mission.  And the variety of quilt designs that you came up with for the children's quilts was evidence of your living out our vision.

A trunkful of children's quilts were sent with Mike Buck, off to Lutheran Services of Iowa.  Thanks to you we were able to provide 23 quilts to LSI for their Christmas program that supplies beds to children in need.

 

 

 

 

We focused Friday and Saturday on finishing the binding and labels on the LSI quilts and also worked to make progress on the One Body Quilt.   Another beautiful project in the works but I won't be sharing pictures until we've completed it.  This tribute to the Adult One Body ministry will be hanging in the church during the month of January.    Thanks for those of you who came to sew on Friday and who took home parts of this project to finish.

 

 

Our December meeting date will coincide with the Women's Christmas Brunch.  I wanted to encourage you to sign up for the brunch if you desire.  We will still have Room 212 on Friday and Saturday for those of you who would like to quilt.  There would be plenty of time to do both if you wish.  We don't have any pressing business to discuss so we'll have our devotion for those in attendance and otherwise start to tackle other projects as you so desire.  We have several missions that we will supply quilts for in 2015.   The ASP mission always welcomes quilts of any size.  This trip is scheduled for June.  Mission Navajo also enjoyed taking along some quilts.  They have trips planned in March, June and September.  And Mike Buck talked about other LSI programs that would benefit from quilts so I think we should consider them a recipient of our quilts on a regular basis.    Any of these missions would likely accept anything.  If you are wondering what projects to do I think that both adult and children's quilts in throw or twin sizes are a good choice and will serve most any need we have.   We will also continue to supply quilts for the Riverside and Okaboji Bible Camp auctions in the summer.

At the meeting we discussed purchasing some wide back fabric to help us finish those quilts.  This will be easier on the quilters and shouldn't take away from our selection of fabrics for quilt tops.  Several members are going to come back to the meeting with some figures and then we'll discuss a purchase with Missions.  

The next retreat date is set for January 23rd and 24th.  Put this on your calendar. It should be a perfect time to get together and get out of the cold and forget about the bleak and dreary weather.  And if we get snowed it, we'll just have to sew all night.  How bad can that be?

Thanks to Rachael Smith for accepting my request to help me with devotions.  I truly appreciate it.