January meeting 2009

Now that the holidays are over, we are ready to get back to work.

Some of our quilts have deadlines.... QOV (Quilts of Valor, going to wounded soldiers)- March, Happy Blocks/HeartstringQuiltProject-Jan-Feb.

We do have two QOV tops that need borders and backings. Then they can go off to the quilters (we'll try and make some bindings too-- I may be able to make some various R/W/B strips into binding for those). These need to be done so they are finished and sent to Alycia by May. Alycia C. is in charge of the No Soldier Forgotten Project, hoping to send 400 quilts to wounded soldiers sent home from the war.

We also have two quilts for needy children... one for a 4yr old girl, recently adopted by a parish member's daughter (has some health issues), and for a 6month old premmie who lost his twin shortly after birth. These quilts are being worked on by members who took them home over the holidays, and should be to the 'top' stages by the Jan mtg. We will make these into prayer quilts with a little quilting added. (Prayer quilts are tied quilts with slightly longer 'ties', since the ties are used to tie a prayer into each knot. Family members, doctors, nurses and visitors can tie prayers into the quilt as the child keeps it close for comfort.)

Meeting Dates and Times

As of this year, we will be meeting every First Monday of the month, in Anderson Hall, from 6:30pm to 9pm (although I've been known to stay until 9:30-10:00pm!). We may be meeting in Neill Hall (downstairs) for the winter, Jan-Mar to save on the heat.

Anyone is welcome to attend our meetings, once only, a few times or continually. It would be a good idea to call the church office to make sure there are no changes in mtg times, due to weather issues.

Even if you don't sew, we'll put you to work (ironing, matching fabrics to tops, pinning, etc)... even feeding us grapes (lol).

A New Year!

I decided our quilting group at St Mary's Episcopal Church needed a blog to keep the members and (future members) updated with our projects. It will also keep us focused on where we've been and where we are going. I hope to post progress on our charity quilts and post lots of pictures!

Some History...

I started this group in July 2007 as a way to minimize my stash of fabric at home. I know I'll never live long enough to use up all the fabric I love to buy (not as much buying going on here as in prior years), so I figured I'd enlist others and then share our gifts to those who need some comfort. At first, I thought it was rather selfish of me to have others help me rid my sewing room of excess, but I now know it was God's way of pointing me in the direction of serving others.

Our group's name came about during a meeting where we were making "Cool Ties" for the troops. I asked all those in attendance to come up with a name describing what we do... bring comfort and peace to others, let them know someone cares about them, and we'll do it mostly by piecing quilts and making other comfort items to send to them. One of our high school students, Jordan P., came up with the name, and it was PERFECT! Peace by Piece Quilters!!

Since the conception of this group, we have made many quilts and I hope to keep an accurate count (maybe on the sidebar) of our many projects and where they have gone.