The finish line’s in sight

With less than 24 hours to go, Linda is way out in front and looks set to win a $1000 grant so she can make a DVD of her Stitchin’ Mission classes.  Thank you so very much for getting her there!
It hasn’t been easy.  Many comments critical of Linda have been left on both her entry, and that of her nearest competitor, by folk who feel she should not be there (in spite of the fact that her entry was accepted by the organisers and falls fairly and squarely within their rules and regulations).
We all know what wonderful work Linda does through her Stitchin’ Mission - you’ve heard me chattering on about it often enough <grin> – so I’m asking you to please cast your final vote for her right now.
You have until 2.59pm Wednesday (Sydney, Australian time) or 11.59pm Tuesday(Iowa time)  but there’s no time like the present!
Just click here -    (And while you’re there you might send her some love by leaving an encouraging comment. )

I voted ... TWICE!

Once in our Australian Federal Election today.

And once for Linda, so she can win a grant of $1,000 with which to make a DVD of her inspirational Stitchin' Mission beginner quiltmaking lessons.

Please join the hundreds of quilters getting behind our wonderful friend, and vote by clicking on the button in the top right hand corner of this blog - once every day for the rest of the month.

Thanks a million!

Stunning finishes

There was progress aplenty to be seen when the English Quilt girls gathered at Gail’s today.  Whether crossing the finish line, breasting the tape or just sprinting steadily towards the end of a quilting journey, everyone has been incredibly creative over the past month. Remember Robbie’s scrappy applique quilt?  It’s finished!  Doesn’t it look as fresh as a Sydney spring day.   She’s already made a start on her next quilt using these gorgeous Liberty fabrics, and I can’t wait to see it.

More happy endings

Gail decided that although her Frederika Josephson hexagon quilt  was all but finished it needed a little extra flair.  So she’s added these pretty pieced and scalloped borders to two sides.  Nice! Gail’s new project is this delicate confection featuring the palest pink roses on an ivory background. Fresh from taking in the “wagga” display at the Hunters Hill Quilt Show last week we were pleased to see that Lynne was on the home stretch with hers, stitching the binding on today. I’ve hand quilted half my Candied Hexagon quilt.  Gosh, I’ll be pleased to have this one finished and put to good use as a TV rug.  I’m not at all sure I like it any more. Anne’s beautifully planned Frederika Josephson quilt is almost there!  Don’t you just love her fussy cutting?

Finally, Jill spent the day designing and embroidering a label for the first  quilt she ever made – and yes, there is a story behind the quilt’s name :-))

… and Whirligig work in progress

Rae’s stunning Whirligig quilt centre is waiting for the naive floral applique borders she’s been working on. More fussy cutting here too, and Rae’s using our preferred method of preparing her applique pieces using a glue stick and Floriani Stitch and Wash. So now you’ve seen what my inspirational quilting buddies have been up to this month!

Stitchin’ Mission - Voting starts now!

You’ve possibly gathered from my blog posts that I'm passionate about my friend Linda Hungerford's Stitchin' Mission <grin>
Now Linda has the opportunity to win a grant of $1000 which would enable her to produce a DVD of her lessons.  Up until now she’s been limited to leading Stitchin' Misssions at churches she could travel to within her home town (Des Moines, Iowa).  We were fortunate indeed to have her lead ours while she was here in Sydney on holiday.   A DVD, with Linda herself doing the on-screen teaching, would enable others anywhere in the world, like Di B and me, to lead Stitchin’ Missions encouraging beginner quiltmakers (and others) to use their talents to help others. Linda explains it here.
The quilts St Mark's Quilters handed over at the official opening of the KU Marcia Burgess Autism Specific Early Learning & Care Centre on the weekend are just a small part of the harvest of 895 children's quilts made by Stitchin' Mission quilters and sent worldwide over the last 5 years.
Please vote for Linda once every day for the next 2 weeks.
Voting opens 3.00am Tuesday 17th August (Sydney time) and finishes 3.00pm Wednesday 1st September (Sydney time).
Click on this image below, or on the Stitchin’ Mission voting widget in the top right hand corner of my blog.

Better still, get the widget from Linda’s blog and  spread the word by blogging, Tweeting, Facebooking, or whatever.
Cast your first vote HERE NOW!

It’s officially open!

The sparkling new, state-of-the-art KU Marcia Burgess Autism Specific Early Learning & Care Centre at Liverpool was officially opened yesterday morning, and look who was there.L to R – Margaret, Marjorie, Di, Di, and Di (no, my keys aren’t sticking – there really are three of us!)

           We were joined by Ruth (far left), Louise (4th from the left) and Cath (far right)

Marcia Burgess was a friend of ours, a dear lady very much involved in our church family, who worked for more than 50 years with KU Children’s Services ensuring that allchildren, particularly those with special needs, were able to access high quality childhood education and care. She died three years ago, and her work has been honoured by KU naming this new kindy after her.

It’s been a whole year since Di B and I first dreamed of continuing Marcia’s legacy by providing a quilt for every child who would be enrolled at the kindy.

With a grand total of TWO quilters in our congregation (us) it seemed like an impossible dream last August, but with much prayer and the help of Linda Hungerford and her wonderful Stitchin’ Mission – 5 weekly beginner quiltmaking classes – St Mark’s now has 23 more quilters and a new group, St Mark’s Quilters.

We’ve held two huge quilt displays in the church, at Christmas and Pentecost, and our stash of quilts now numbers almost 90!

In addition, one of our quilters, Averil, facilitated a train of events resulting in Westfield donating $50,000 to the kindy.  
There were a few happy tears shed yesterday when Di B and I officially handed over the quilts and were surprised by a beautiful, framed certificate of appreciation from the kindy staff and children.


We hope the children love all their quilts, but especially this one.  Little Chloe made this miniature quilt at Stitchin’ Mission classes with her mummy, Debbie, and next week as they play in dolly’s corner the children will have a bright new quilt to keep their dolly warm :-))

 
It’s our prayer that, as each child snuggles into the softness of our quilts, they will feel all the love that has gone into them.