More quilts. . .

Janet Abbott and Sally Gaugler, both co-workers of mine, looking at one of the quilts I made. Both of these women have contributed ALOT to the Project!


Travis' aunt, Lynette BeMiller with the quilt top she pieced for the Project.


Travis' aunt, Mary BeMiller with the quilt top she pieced for the Project also.



Myself, working on a quilt.

Nineteen!

Jeanette Prenkert with the
quilt she made and donated.
Thank-you,
Jeanette for allowing us to use the store
for so much of the Project!!!


We have nineteen quilts now!! Not all are completely finished but they will be by next week.
Thank you to all who have helped see this first phase come to be!
Now...can we keep this project alive? I certainly hope so. There are so many more I'd like to reach.


Enjoy a few pictures of some of the recent quilts.




Michaela Abbott, one of my co-workers,
who has done alot of the machine quilting on the
the donated quilt tops. Thanks Michaela for all your
time!!!

Counting down. . .

Well, the first phase is nearing completion and it is amazing! I have 11 completed quilts, 2 that need the binding, 3 at the quilters, and one quilt top still out. That makes seventeen. We need nineteen. I have three cut out and am working on them, plus we had a Quilt Guild from Nappanee in the store this evening and three of the ladies took fabric with them to do 4 more quilt tops/complete quilts. I'd really like everything wrapped up by December 9th. It looks like it's going to happen!! Did I doubt it would? At times. . . but not really. A few donations have come in and that will help with the remaining expenses, although more is still needed. My digital camera is not working, but as soon as I can, I will post pictures of the newest quilts. They are wonderful and I want to share them with you! I apologize for the short length of this post, but I have been burning the candle at both ends and really need to call it a night, but knew I needed to give an update. Many thanks for all the support and encouraging words!!
God bless you all! And...
GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

Quilters have huge hearts!

Women who quilt and sew are a unique breed. It's a sisterhood of sorts, hard to explain, but if you're a part of it, you know what I mean. Let me explain. . . I'm trying desperately not to let the events of the past month get "in the way" so to speak, but it's hard not to be affected. Someone I loved dearly is gone from this life, and while I know Lisa is in the presence of God, my heart still aches. I won't "get over this" in a few weeks, or months, this has had a profound effect on our whole family. I'd be lying to say I haven't asked "why?" Why Lisa? Why now? But I'm straying a bit. . . today I went into the store on my day off to work on some of the quilts for the project. There were three waiting for the binding to be put on. A task that would take about an hour for each one, maybe more. Some of our "regulars" were there for monthly club and offered their sympathies and asked what they could do to help me. I told them why I was there and immediately two spoke up and said, send them home with us, we'll do it. One of them has already given a monetary donation and the other has already donated a finished quilt, but they saw my need, and were there for me. Thank-you, thank-you, Carolyn & RoseAnn, you blessed me so much today. Two of my nieces and I started putting together a memorial quilt the day before Lisa's viewing, we were pushed for time, Janet, a dear co-worker, volunteered to take it home with her that night and finish the piecing so it would be ready in time. I just got it back from Sara, who quilted it for me, free of charge, as a gift to me. Jeanette had already donated the fabric as her gift. I was struggling with having to finish it so. . . Janet took it home tonight to bind it for me. Incredible friends, incredible people. People I may not have met if it were not for our love of quilting. I was interviewed this week by a gentleman from the Elkhart Truth, he asked "why quilts for the soldiers?" Well, what better way to show care, concern, and love. It's what we know, it's what we do. My hope and prayer is that every time they use one of our quilts, they will be reminded that someone cares, someone supports them. . . just like my quilter family has done for me in these past few weeks. God bless you all!