20 quilts from Audrey in North Carolina!

Audrey from North Carolina is a master with scraps. She is one of our most prolific quilters and has been supporting QBB for years. Enjoy the pictures of the beautiful quilts that she made. One of her earlier quilts was given to a girl at AHope orphanage when we delivered quilts in May. The girl had just arrived at the orphanage because her aunt was no longer able to take care of her. This girl had obviously just had her life turned upside down, and she was withdrawn and not comfortable yet in her new environment. We were able to give her one of Audrey’s beautiful quilts which hopefully has been providing her warmth and comfort as she adjusts to her new life. Thank you, Audrey, for the wonderful work that you do and for sharing it with the children who need all that a quilt provides.
Carolyn

Some interesting pictures

Fekade sent a link to where Door of Hope Humanitarian Services has posted some pictures on Picasa.  The quilt picture is a repeat of one we have already seen, but some of the other pictures show children which I swear are younger pictures of some of the children who received quilts.  Look in the album called “Dedicated Founders of the organization” to see those pictures.  Here is the link
https://picasaweb.google.com/
117842741241355003378

Then there are some pictures posted on their facebook site.  Some of these pictures are also ones we have already seen, but there are three new ones.  You might even see a quilt that you made!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.146417572116080.33716.100002435132562&l=619ab27e94&type=1

And, just a little tidbit, Sep 11 was the start of the Ethiopian new year.  If anybody knows Ahmaric  this is what Fekade called it,  “Meskerm 1″ the first day of the year.

Take care,

Carolyn

More Quilts to Children

Fekade with Door of Hope Humanitarian Service sent some more pictures.  These are children on the outskirts of Addis Ababa in the subcity of Lafto.  These children are living with family and not in orphanages.  Ethiopia has been trying to reduce the number of children in orphanages and trying to keep the children with family even if it is extended family.  Unfortunately, there seems to be resources that are available to orphanages, but not to individual families.  You can see by the children in the picture that the children don’t seem to be as well dressed as the children from the orphanages.  I’m happy that we can provide quilts to those children.  And, when I was in Ethiopia, the people there told me that these quilts will be considered prize possessions of the children.

These pictures are very special to me.  You see, we all make these quilts and then we let them go.  As volunteers, we don’t know exactly where they will end up, but we hope that the life of the child who receives them is brighten by the gift of the quilt.  We don’t get pictures of all of the quilts that are delivered, and I’m sure that we all look hard at the pictures we do get hoping to see one of the quilts that we made.  Well, I have made well over 100 quilts, and I finally had the pleasure of seeing a child wrapped in a quilt that I had a large part in making.  I cut the kit that we handed out at the Houston International Quilt Festival, somebody else sewed the top (and if you are the person, please let me know), and the top was returned to me and I quilted it.  That adorable little boy in the 4th picture is wrapped in that quilt.  I couldn’t be more thrilled!

I hope you all have this same experience of seeing one of your quilts wrapped around some child halfway around the world knowing that you are putting a little love in their life.

Carolyn

Beautiful Smiles!!!

Ok, well the one little guy is crying, but I’m sure it isn’t because he is getting a quilt.  These are pictures of quilts being given to children in an orphanage in Ziway which is several hours outside of Addis Ababa.  Fekade, the General Manager for Door of Hope Humanitarian Service, (we have a link to their facebook page on our blogroll) sent these pictures.  When we went in May, we had left quilts with him to distribute to orphanages outside of Addis since we were not able to travel to them.

Here is what Fekade wrote when he sent the pictures.

“Dear Carolyn Sower, Thank you again for the quilts you gave me for the children that live in Ethiopia, Ziway. Here are some photos that I took when I gave them Yesterday.

God bless you and your collage who are working for these needy children.

Fekade Tesema

General manager of  Door of Hope Humanitarian Service”

It warms my heart to see those smiles, and I add my thanks for all your hard work.  Check out the names on some of those photos, that is how they were named when sent to me.

Fekade is also the one who has asked for another 200 quilts for an orphanage that will be opening up this fall.  Those tops and quilts you are making and sending to Carla will be provided to Fekade for that new orphanage.  So, ladies and gentlemen, keep those quilts coming – we want to put a smile on every child’s face.

I’ll be posting the pictures in higher resolution to our Shutterfly site when I get some time.  You will be better able to see the beautiful faces.  I’ll post and let you know when I do so.

Carolyn

6 Pretty Quilts from Nancy

One of the many lovely benefits of coordinating long arming for QBB is that every once in a while I get to meet someone in my neck of the woods. As some of you know, I belong to several long arming Yahoo groups and I occasionally post that I have tops kitted up and ready for quilting. Over the last 4 years I’ve had respondents from Alaska to Florida, Maine to California, even from Canada. No one from Hawaii, yet, but perhaps that will happen and I can drop off the tops in person, and practice the hulas I’ve learned over the years!

Anyway, I digress. Last month I received a note from a lady named Nancy Sturgeon, who had seen our blog and was offering to quilt for us. That name looked very familiar to me, so I did a little searching and discovered that Nancy and I belonged to the same guild, the Northern Illinois Long Arm Guild! I met Nancy for lunch and dropped off 6 tops, and was delighted at the next guild meeting when Nancy showed the lovely completed quilts at the guild’s Show and Tell. Nancy talked about Quilts Beyond Borders and mentioned the wonderful synergy of doing good for a needy child at the same time as you get to practice new techniques and enhance your skills. Nancy’s talk encouraged two other guild members to sign up to quilt some tops for us, and Nancy picked up 6 more tops to do for us before the next guild meeting.

Nancy did a wonderful job of the quilts, using a different technique for each of them. Click on the thumbnails below so you can see a close-up.

Thanks for doing such a great job of these, Nancy! I know the children will love them! And thanks so much for introducing QBB to our guild!

Regards,
Carla

Quilts received from Sharon and Judy

This has been an interesting week, as I have been hearing quite a bit from people who lived in Ethiopia when I did. I attended the American Community School in Addis Ababa from first through third grade, and I hear there will be a reunion in 2013 in Addis for ACS students. Very exciting!

When I was a child in Addis, I was actually a very privileged kid. We lived in a great house with a very large yard, with a formal garden, a vegetable garden, and a playhouse large enough to host my school classes for birthday parties. Like many American kids whose parents worked for Ethiopian Airlines, we went back to the States every summer to stock up on school clothes and toys, and visit relatives. My grandmother, in Kansas, was a quilter, and like many quilters she saw the creation of quilts as an act of love. I’ve always thought of quilts as a “portable hug” because when wrapped in a quilt, you can always feel the love of the person who made it for you.

My grandmother made quilts for my sister and me which we kept on our beds, and which we still have to this day. Paula’s was a Chips and Whetstones quilt, and mine was a variegated 9-patch with alternate pink blocks between each scrappy 9-patch. I used to sit on my bed and find matching squares and triangles, made from my grandmother’s old clothes and from feed sacks. I spent a lot of time checking how those half-triangle squares fit together and checking out the colors that went well together and those that seemed discordant. It was actually very mentally stimulating. That quilt was, and still is, very special to me, both because I loved all the colors and fabrics, and because it symbolized my grandmother’s love for me.

In 2007 and 2008 QBB gave over 500 quilts to girls and boys in an orphanage in Addis. (If you click on the photo links on the left of this page you’ll be able to see pictures of the children in that orphanage.) While I wasn’t able to go on those trips, I know the children treasured those quilts, even more than I treasured the quilt from my grandmother. These children owned nothing else. Even their school uniforms were shared. And because there weren’t enough toys for all the children in the orphanage, the toys they did have were hung from the ceiling so all the children could see them. The quilts that are given to children by QBB are truly valued by these children, and it’s wonderful to see some of the quilts that we receive that will wrap them in love, inspire their sense of color and shape, and keep them warm at night.

Today’s featured quilts are quilted by Sharon Wilt and Judy Vliss (and a couple I did). Piecers include Richard and Martha, Carolyn and Allison.

The first two quilts were quilted by Judy Vliss. Judy is a hobby quilter who quilts for her family and a Women’s Crisis Center, as well as QBB. She believes that “those of us who have been blessed need to give back.” Well said, Judy! The quilts were pieced by Allison and Carolyn, and Judy finished them with big loopy meanders.

The next 3 quilts were quilted by Sharon Wilt, who has a business called Fabric Creations. The Hotwheels quilt was pieced by Richard from Texas, and was quilted by Sharon with swirls. The Cat quilt was pieced by Richard’s wife Martha, and Sharon quilted it with feathered motifs and wreaths in the orange blocks, meanders in the cat blocks. Martha also pieced the Indian center panel quilt, which Sharon quilted with meanders and leaves.

Martha also kitted up three more wholecloths with cheery fabric that was just too pretty to cut up, which Sharon quilted with loopy hearts and swirls.  Martha tells me that she and Richard are “trying to outdo each other” with quilt creation! Fabulous! They’ve done many quilts for us over the last year or so, and I know the children will love everyone of them!

These two quilts were quilted by me, with tops by Richard:

All of these quilts are great as “stashbusters”, and all of them will be greatly loved and appreciated by the children who will receive them. Thank you to all!

Regards,
Carla

3 Cute Quilts Received from Sandy in Maine

One of the great things about working with Quilts Beyond Borders is that I get to open packages with lovely surprises all year round, instead of just on Christmas and Birthdays. Early this week the doorbell rang, the dogs broke into yelps of excitement, and I discovered a box on my front porch sent by Sandy Knox in Maine. Sandy had done some quilts for us earlier in the year, but I wasn’t on the receiving end, since they were sent to Carolyn who was headed to Ethiopia and collecting the quilts to take with her. This time I was the lucky one to be able to open the package. Yippee!

Sandy quilted these three tops with meanders, loops and stars, and they look very cheerful and playful. I know the children will love them!

This top was made by Mary S in California, and it really appeals to me that it was quilted by Sandy in Maine. Quilters from the far corners of the US collectively creating a soft and lovely quilt to provide warmth and comfort to a needy child on the other side of the world. Is this a great hobby, or what??

Quilt by Sandy & Mary

The next two quilts tops were not accompanied by information that identified the piecers. If you recognize them, let us know, and we’ll add the names to the labels.

Sandy, thank you very much for the lovely quilting.  I know the three children who receive these quilts will be very happy with them!

Regards,

Carla

Karen’s Pictures from Quilt Delivery

Karen’s pictures of the children from our trip in May to deliver quilts to orphanages in Ethiopia are now posted.  It makes me smile all over again to see the joy on the children’s faces when they received their quilts.  Plus, there is a picture of the children’s dolls that they made clothes for.  They did a great job making the clothes.

Direct link to Karen’s pictures.  Hope they make you smile too. 
http://qbborphans.shutterfly.com/

Thanks everybody for your part in making it possible to deliver these quilts.  It’s not too late to get your tops and quilts finished and shipped to Carla for our upcoming trip the end of this year.  We are hoping to deliver 230 quilts at a minimum.

Carolyn

Tops with Borders Added

An earlier post showed tops made by Allison that needed to be enlarged.  Here is the link
http://quiltsbeyondborders.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/tops-by-younger-quilter/

The pictures below show what they look like now they have borders added.  Amazing what a difference borders can make.

Also, the top with yellow squares was made by Seiko.  She made this top while she and her husband lived here.  They have since returned to Japan.  She did a wonderful job in piecing this top.

These tops will be ready to go to some longarmers once I get them paired with backs.  I still have 4 more tops to bring up to size and then I’ll get all the tops paired with backs and let Carla know they are ready for longarmers.

Thanks Allison and Seiko.

Carolyn

Batik Beauty Received from Betty

Well, the weather is finally getting hot for the summer, and I’m spending every spare minute in my basement where I have my quilting studio set up. I’m trying to pull together about 50 quilts to take with me to Ethiopia in November.

Fortunately, I’m not doing it all alone. I often get help from my friends, Brenda and Cheryl. And my postman has been rather busy this month as well, bringing quilts and tops. I received one cute top from Lisa in Florida, which is on it’s way to a longarmer. Then I received 5 more wonderful tops from Donna in New York, which are in the process of being kitted up for sending to longarmers.

This week I received a very cute quilt from Betty in Missouri. Betty picked up some material for making it at the Houston International Quilt Festival in 2010, where we had a booth. Here’s a picture of that quilt:

Great thanks to Betty, Lisa and Donna for making my week! It’s so nice to open packages with the fruits of your labors and creativity! I know that the children who receive these lovely quilts will cherish them!

Readers, if there are some among you who have picked up kits from our booth in Houston to make tops, or if you’re among our longarmers and happen to have a pile of un-quilted tops waiting to be finished, or finished quilts hanging around waiting to be returned to us, take advantage of the opportunity to stay out of the summer heat and take the time to finish them up for us. We’d love to be able to take them with us when we go on our next trip to Ethiopia.

If you’re not sure where to send them, please contact me at ctriemer@yahoo.com and I’ll give you my address or the address of another volunteer who will be going with us.

Thanks very much!
Carla