A “thank you” morning tea - with a breakfast flavour

Our St Mark’s Quilters morning tea/breakfast on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago was an opportunity to say “thank you” to everyone who has supported us this year, both materially and with encouragement and prayer, and to show them what we’ve been up to. 

It was also the last time our Blankets of Love would be displayed before being handed over to Royal Prince Alfred Newborn Care, so we made the most of it, hanging them everywhere we could.

On the door of the church…

 

On the stone font and the pew ends inside the church…

And everywhere we could possibly peg them in the hall…

 

Where St Mark’s Quilters are involved you’ll know by now there’s usually a bountiful spread of delicious food, and since our morning tea was slotted into the Sunday morning program at church, between the 8.00am and 10.00am services we tried to keep it reasonably breakfast-friendly.

 

For the foodies who want to know, there were finger sandwiches filled with ham or egg, strawberry mini-muffins, a platter of fresh fruit (watermelon, honeydew, strawberries, apple, pineapple, rockmelon etc), olive and rosemary mini-muffins, smoked salmon tartlets, and sticky date and chocolate and macadamia cookies(for those who just couldn’t help help themselves!).

Di B and I are just a little proud of the fantastic work done by our St Mark’s Quilters. Does it show?

Di

I never imagined I’d wake to this news

“Mum, I just heard on the radio there’s been a shooting at Virginia Tech and two people are dead”. My son’s phone call shocked me wide awake this morning.

I wouldn’t ordinarily be writing here on a subject so very remote from quilting, but having just told you yesterday that Sarah is a Hokie (a member of the VT community), I felt it was OK to share my feelings as a concerned mum on the other side of the world.

I immediately turned on Facebook for the VT updates, and put in a Skype call to Sarah in Blacksburg. It went unanswered.

It wasn’t until I reached her on her cell phone some minutes later that I was reassured. I knew she wasn’t hurt, but having heard that the university was in lock-down, with everyone warned to stay indoors and away from windows while the police searched for an armed gunman, I imagined her anxious and frightened.

Nope. That was just her mum.

With the calmness I should have expected from my Sarah she explained that she had left the general area of the shootings just 20 minutes before it happened, and was now waiting to hear when it would be safe for her to return.

VT has an impressive array of up-to-the-minute media alert systems that not only keep students and academic staff abreast of what’s happening on campus, but are a God-send for parents at times like these – especially parents like us on the other side of the world.

Not long after this I was extremely relieved to view this media conference.

The healing still continues from the 2007 massacre when 32 people were shot on the VT campus, and incidents like today’s easily shake out those dreadful memories. My heart goes out to the college community.

How desperately sad for the policeman’s family, and the family of the unidentified, but clearly troubled, gunman. May they be conscious of God’s arms around them in the midst of this tragedy.

So many questions – and so much we may never be able to explain.

Di

A warm hug from home

It’s getting mighty cold in Virginia. *

As if my weather apps weren’t enough, the sight of a beanie-clad Sarah on my computer screen, snuggled under more and more layers of clothing each time we Skype, is a dead giveaway.

Though I‘m a little rusty on the knitting front, I’ve rummaged for my knitting needles and yarn and managed to knit up two cowls over the last month which I hope will keep her a little warmer.

This first one was my own design.

I’m new to circular needles, but it didn’t take long to master the technique. Don’t know why I’ve avoided them for so long really.

She’s currently living and working in Hokie territory, so maroon was a natural choice, but nothing could have induced me to include the other VT colour – orange! Sorry guys.

This cowl is quite versatile. It concertinas down to a sit comfortably around her neck, but can be pulled up over her head to keep her ears warm when she’s walking to and from the lab (or at a football game).

I made another one, too, using this easy free pattern from Revelry.

It’s not as wide and hugs the neck a little closer than the Hokie cowl.

That popcorn stitch adds style, and the crochet picot edging gives a nice finish.

I sent them off on their long journey in a “care package” last week, and I hear they’re already serving their purpose well

Di

*It’s getting mighty cold here in Sydney (Australia) too, when we should be basking in summer sun. But that’s another story…

Butterflies, bugs and sunshine

I had butterflies on my mind after admiring Lynette’s latest finish when Ruth dropped in three more Blankets of Love to me last week, two with butterflies (and a couple of cheeky bugs)!

 

Ruth has been with us ever since we kicked off our quilting group with a Stitchin’ Mission two years ago, but sadly she had to move to another city early this year and we miss her. Fortunately for us, she still makes time to create baby quilts for us to give RPA Newborn Care, and for that we’re very grateful.

 

The fabrics she’s used in this sweet blue and white one have a distinctly French flavour. Ooh la la

I’m off to “hang” these beauties in our virtual gallery (see the Blankets of Love tab).  Thank you very much, Ruth!

Di

Spoilt for choice–and just a little bit spoilt too!

For our final St Mark’s Quilters Saturday workshop of the year our industrious quilters arrived with sixteen stunning Blankets of Love to add to our collection. Sixteen more tiny quilts for parents to choose from for their babies needing special care in RPA’s Newborn Care nurseries, or tragically stillborn.

There was still more stitching to be done and fabric to choose from.

Then it was time for a Christmassy lunch in the garden, where once again we were spoilt for choice. The food our girls brought to share was amazing as everyone seemed to feel we wouldn’t have nearly enough sugar to keep our energy levels up for the day

Santa had obviously made a visit overnight because we discovered a mysterious box in the hall when we arrived.

Look what we found inside – cupcake potholders! (Yes, there seems to be a recurring food “thread” here)

More choices. Blue, pink, aqua…?

Barb and Moo were uncharacteristically camera shy. Were they checking out Santa’s workmanship? Or planning their next quilt?

Michaela was happy with her choice.

And Margaret’s sure to put hers to good use when she bakes her next batch of scones.

Barb had little gifts for everyone too – goats’ milk soaps that she had handmade herself. She told us she’d even milked the goat! There was a choice of rose or lemon myrtle scent, and each was presented in a Christmassy fabric bag.

A little bit of luxury – they looked so pretty on the table, and oh the delicious aroma!

Di B and I feel incredibly blessed by God to be part of such a wonderful group of friends, and look forward to more creative fun next year!

Di

Show and Tell from Di B and Liz

By now you must know how much I love to share my clever quilty friends’ finished projects.

(Is it wrong to hope that by doing this you won’t notice how few finishes I have?)

Di B’s niece recently gave her this beautiful framed photo of the wedding quilt Di made for her and her husband.

She started it in a Sue Ross class last year and although we’ve raved about her wonderful fabric choices and meticulous machine applique, but this quilt never really set her heart aflutter.

That is, until it was finished and professionally machine quilted by our friend Linda Billett of Artisan Quilting. Her quilting really was the icing on the cake!

Stunning quilt! Stunning couple! Don’t you agree? Those colours just zing, perfect for its new home in Holland where those sunshine-yellow hand-dyes will brighten up the dreariest winter day.

Liz has been busy too, making a New Life quilt bursting with colour.

All those scraps of fabric could very easily have been consigned to the rubbish bin if it wasn’t for Linda Hungerford’s easy and clever pattern. Now those old scraps can live again!

Liz practiced her free motion machine quilting on this one, after attending a class with Amanda Daly recently. Go to the top of the class, Liz!

Another friend, Lyn, recently gave me a bunch of angel blocks she’s had in her cupboard from a swap some years ago, and I took them along to St Mark’s Quilters.

Some of us scratched our heads but Liz knew immediately how to use them, took them home and made this angelic quilt, complete with Christmas buttons stitched onto the plain squares.

Waste not, want not (as they say in the classics!)

Di

Tiny toes, a tour … and a few tears

November was a HUGE month for St Mark’s Quilters, and I have lots to tell you. It’s going to take me a few blog posts to cover it all, so please stay with me.

Photo by Teresia on Flickr

Dahlia Brigham, the Fundraising (and “Friend”raising!) Manager for RPA Newborn Care invited us to go and see the nurseries where some of our tiny quilt recipients spend their first days, weeks, or even months of life, and with an armful of Blankets of Love to deliver, a few of us were very excited to accept.

All year we’ve been stitching these mini-quilts to be given to grieving Mums and Dads of little bubs who sadly pass away during or after being born at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital here in Sydney.

However Dahlia showed us another side to the story – the three levels of care for babies who survive their passage into the world but are born early, or with serious medical problems, such as respiratory distress, needing extra care.

Out of respect we didn’t take photos of the babies we saw, but this photo below (from the front cover of their 2006-7 Review) will give you some idea.

Photo by Ray Riley for SSWAHS-RPAH Audiovisual Services

Most of the humidicribs in the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery had a doting Mummy (and sometimes a Daddy too) sitting by. The skin-on-skin sensation is supposed to be very therapeutic for all newborns and the sight of a big burly man tenderly cradling his tiny daughter against his bare chest under a t-shirt was something I’ll never forget.

Some gently stroked a sleepy head, some just gazed in wonder and love at the tiny miracle that is a newborn and some, I’m sure, prayed fervently that God would continue to breathe life into their little one, making him or her stronger with every passing day.

Our enthusiastic knitter, Margaret, took along some beanies she’d made, and handed some of these to the parents who so kindly allowed us to intrude on this very private experience. There were tears all round – happy ones – as we had the privilege of actually meeting the bubs whose little heads will be warmed by Margaret’s beanies, and the parents were touched by the kindness of a stranger.

We’re not the only patchworkers who’ve given quilts to RPA Newborn Care. We saw these cheerful coverings keeping some of the bubs cosy in the Special Care Nursery, the final level of care before they go home. 

Not only will our quilts be used in the nursery, but we’ve asked that the babies be allowed to take one home. So not only will our Blankets of Love help parents in their loss, but for parents celebrating the triumph of their baby’s survival after a rocky start in life they will become a reminder of the dedication of the RPA Newborn Care team (and its volunteers!).

But wait, there’s more! We just couldn’t help ourselves.

For all sorts of reasons (keeping the light out, keeping the warmth in) the medical team like to cover these humidicribs a lot of the time.

Some of the covers we saw were purpose-made, but there simply aren’t enough, so flannelette throw-overs are being used. We thought it would be nice to make some quilted covers like this for the nursery, but in fun baby fabrics, with flaps that can be lifted up for easy access to the armholes.

So watch this space!

These are just a few of the Blankets of Love which we gave Dahlia as a “down-payment” on the day of our visit. Our wonderful quilters have made more than 70, which we’ll deliver in the next few weeks.

Yes, this photo is slightly different from the first one.

(L to R – Margaret, Michelle, Di J, Di B, Liz and Dahlia Brigham. Di C was there on the tour too.)

Di