September 2019 Work Day Recap

This Hope Quilter's Weekend had us working up until 2:56 pm!  (We need to close it down by 3!)  The fabric was a'flyin' all over the place!  The reason for the flurry was finishing up supplying fourteen Emoji quilt kits so members can be working on them at home or at the retreat IF THEY WANT TO (not a have to!)  So much fabric cutting was done and by golly...THOSE KITS GOT FINISHED!  Much clapping and laughing and rejoicing (and collapsing) ensued!

We may get frazzled, we may get tired, we may feel under pressure to "get it all done", even with the best of intentions of providing warm quilt coverings for those who need them most.  Our devotional was so good this month to talk about our need to take time to worship the One who gave us not only the gifts we have to help others but who more importantly gave us the gift of salvation by giving His life for us so we can enjoy eternal life with Him.  From the devotional:  "We worship God because we need to and because He deserves it."  Life can be so stressful, but worship centers us, sets our sights on what matters most.

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, 

where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand.  

Colossians 3:1 

Along with the Emoji Twin Quilt Project, there were the regular things like getting binding and labels on a few quilts that were brought in the last couple months.  We're also getting geared up for the JOPPA focus during our October weekend.  In all, we delivered 28 quilts for designated missions this month!  Enjoy looking over some of the beautiful and creative quilts that were turned in here on the PHOTOS page.

And also, if you are having a bad day...just look at these emoji faces and SMILE!
GOD LOVES YOU!

August 2019 Work Day Recap

Taking a moment to just thank God for all that He provides for this quilt ministry.  From fabric donations to skilled and gifted quilters (who give much wisdom and patience to us other less skilled quilters 😄), to providing needed batting for all the quilts, and supplying long-arm quilters and non-long-arm quilters to actually QUILT all of these quilts!  God is SO good!

This weekend there were SEVEN boxes of donated fabric waiting for our crew.  Throughout the day two more ladies brought in more donations. Hope Quilter's bins and shelves are really full with some great stuff!  God is SO good!

This weekend over 35 quilts came in from quilters, ready for binding.  No, you did not read that wrong...THIRTY-FIVE!  God is SO good!

This weekend a few dedicated gals put together around forty "kits" to be ready-to-go for our JOPPA weekend in October, along with sorting through all that donated fabric and giving it a home, and other quilting "kits" are always being organized and put together to make it simple for new quilters to grab and take home to work on.  This group has a good sprinkling of organizers and those who love to swim in all that fabric!  God is SO good!

Some other items of interest:

• The Riverside auction raised $475 from the quilts we donated.  Okoboji results not in yet.  
• Emoji Project Work Day netted some PRETTY DARNED CUTE blocks, wait until you see them!  PHOTOS

I don't think we can say it enough...God is SO good!

July 2019 Work Day Recap

What a beautiful weekend of quilting with faithful friends!  Lots of activity as always but also a lot of love.  You may not know that we set aside a "Devotional time" every Hope Quilters Saturday.  We sit in a circle and someone reads a devotional, and then members share any "Joys and Concerns" that they feel comfortable sharing.  Sharing is not required as you attend Hope Quilters, but it's just a really good place to pause in our busyness, meditate on God's word for a moment and give thanks for all He has been doing, and uphold one another in prayer.

This group is so good at helping each other to stay focused on this truth: 

John 16:33: "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

In case we need another reminder of how good God is, let's talk about quilting.  It's a good thing Michelle ordered three more rolls of batting because we had at least 20 queen and twin-sized tops go out for quilting on Friday!!!  This has been a huge answer to several months of prayer!  Thank you to all those gifted long-arm quilters who volunteered to help out with this big need!  

Missions has let us know that there are a few more organizations Hope has partnered with and that Hope Quilters will have more outlets for quilts:

·  Wildwood Hills Ranch of Iowa  wildwoodhillsranch.org

·  Primary Health Care  phcinc.net

·  Waukee Area Christian Services  waukeechristianservices.org

Some of the project ideas that are being discussed and planned for the upcoming months:

JOPPA:  In August, we'll be doing an inventory for our October JOPPA workday.  

Children's quilts:  Many of the new agencies have needs for twin-sized quilts that appeal to children.  We have lots of children's fabrics still but a majority of our fabrics are tailored for adults.  We'll be getting creative on how to use colors (blues, reds, greens) and add kid-like interest (bright colors, applique, focus blocks) to our patterns.  

Overflowing Orphan Block box:  We are going to try some group projects to start using these blocks.  One thought is to "pass around" a quilt = each quilter does a row and then passes it to another quilter.  This can be a very fun project and it will be exciting seeing how the quilts turn out!

The Emoji Quilt:  With all the teenaged twin quilts we have an outlet for we thought it might be fun to do this as a group project.  A pattern book has been provided and we are planning to get this organized to do at the September retreat.  Participation is on a volunteer basis but should prove to be a fun project.

Some of the quilts turned in this month on PHOTOS page.

June 2019 Work Day Recap

"Too hot to be outside!"  said a lot of you this weekend.  What a great weekend we had at Hope Quilters Work Days.  It all started with a wonderful donation of fabric and supplies.  A  fellow quilter with health concerns was unable to quilt anymore and hoped we could put it to good use.  Prayers for this special gal as she has had to give up her sewing hobby, something we all may have to face someday (even though we don't want to think about it!)  But through her generous spirit, these donations will go on to help many other hurting people in our community. 

This sacrificial act of donating all her sewing supplies tied right into our devotion that member Jean brought about sharing our gifts.  And busy, busy, busy we were using those gifts today!  There were 10 finished quilts to give to Missions for delivery to YESS, LSI, Joppa, and Hawthorne Hills.  PHOTOS here. Thanks to Sandy and Doris for organizing the finished quilt tops.  The small and medium-sized tops can easily be done on your domestic machines.  I encourage you to challenge yourself to try one of these if you haven't quilted before.  We'll help you pin and mark it at the next meeting!  We are still in need of some quilters who can do twin /queen-sized quilts.  Mary Helen has been working on some fun ideas for new kits as well as some group projects.  Next month we will be ready to put our Cat Cabins together.  Those fun little log cabins are going to turn into two twin-sized quilts for LSI.  They are going to be adorable.  Just wait till you see some of the new ideas we have for stash busting, skill challenges and other interactive projects.  

In July we are going to donate some time to organize our fabric bins.

Happy Summer to you all!

This little beauty was overlooked in May.  I don't know how, as with all that rain
brings "May" flowers and all!  So because it was so pretty with such cute flowers it gets
it's own special feature here today!  Adorable!

May 2019 Work Day Recap

Rain, rain, go away.  May has given its share of water this month, good for the flowers but not so good for people finding it in their basements!  It was a good excuse to stay inside and sew this weekend.  We had a great turnout at Hope Quilters.  We missed some regulars and saw a few new faces.  Some stayed most of the two days and others popped in for a few hours.  Others stopped just to pick up some work to do at home.  Maybe you've thought about helping out in this quilt ministry but feel you don't have a whole "weekend" to donate your time, as you can see you can pop in and out with the time that you feel you can give!  It's always great to see you, even if it's just to stop and say hello!

We turned in around twenty quilts to Missions.  This includes nine that were given by member Rachel's daughter.  If you learn of friends or family that have quilts looking for good homes, our Mission partners at Hope are always a good option and we'll be glad to help you get them to a place that needs them.  We also prepared all the quilts for auction with plans for transport to Riverside and Okoboji. Thanks so much to Cheryl and Joyce for their work on this project!  There were nine quilts and several small items that will go in Riverside's Silent Auction.  

Thanks for stopping by the blog, and on with the PHOTOS!

April 2019 Work Day Recap

What a great weekend of quilting!  

Around seventeen industrious working people attended over two days of Hope Quilters.  We had a couple of donations to sort through, which are always very much appreciated, and had a large donation of good quality upholstery samples for JOPPA blankets this fall.  All in all, sixteen finished quilts were turned into Missions and they'll be delivered this week.  (See PHOTO page)

And just another reminder that the May Hope Quilters meeting is going to be the third weekend.  We'll meet on the 17th and 18th.  Mark your calendars.

Blessings to you all this Easter week.  He is Risen!

Mark 16:5-6

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting 

on the right side, and they were alarmed.  "Don't be alarmed," he said.  

"You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.  He has risen!  He is not here."

March 2019 Work Day Recap

Another great weekend with friends!   Besides a little sewing, there was time for laughter, tears, hugs, therapy and girl scout cookies ☺.   Some stopped by, others stayed a while.  I think there were around twenty-two of us over the two days.  What fun to spend time with quilting friends.  

A special thanks to Mary Helen for taking on coordinating our "ready to be quilted" inventory.  Thanks to Becky and Suzanne for taking several quilts home for quilting.  

We only had three quilts for missions but seven went home with people for binding.  One of our quilts is going to Tijuana next week with the mission group.  It will grace a family in their new house.

Be sure to check your calendars for April and May.  We will meet as normal on the 2nd Saturday in April (12th/13th).  Then we have the Spring Retreat the fourth weekend at Waukee April 25, 26 and 27.  Another reminder that the May meeting will be on the 3rd Saturday (17/18th).  

You can see this month's quilts here: PHOTOS.  Not too many photos this month, but many quilts were taken home to be completed so come back to see them once they get finished!