Welcome 2016!

Welcome 2016! 

The ladies are so excited about all they were able to accomplish last year. Besides all the quilts that were sent off to Life Alliance in Miami, to be distributed to Donor families, they had an amazing fund raiser.

2015 brought in some newbies who proved to be dynamite in front of the sewing machine along with a few seasoned quilters. 

Please enjoy this collection of beautiful quilts, created by a group of wonderful hard working ladies.

Life Happens - Quilting Prevails

Soon after my last post on November 2012, I stepped down as the coordinator of By The Brook VWC Quilters. I was very fortunate that my mom, Eila was able to take over the leadership of the ministry. She is qualified, very able, and has done a remarkable job.

Also around that same time there were some changes at Life Alliance and our communication faded. However, the group of ladies never lost their beat! They continued to meet 2-3 times a month. Quilts were still sent down to Miami.

Fast forward to recent months....

Through social media, I was contacted about the quilts. The question was if we were still willing to continue this ministry. 

It was a serendipitous moment as all the hopes, goals and visions for the ministry came flooding through my mind. It was exciting to tell her that 10 quilts were just waiting on labels to be sent down to Miami. Needless to say - she was just as excited.

This blog may have laid dormant, but not the ladies as they have continued to work hard at this labor of love.

Before handing this blog onto the next blogger, I'll be updating and posting the stories waiting to be shared and the quilts they have made. Unfortunately these are a bit out of order, but you will see how the quilts have grown in variety. With the newest part being that most every quilt is finished by Eila on a quilting machine. And she loves doing it!

Great Job!!!

Close To Home

Several members of our church are familiar with all sides of Organ Donation. We have had some who have been on a waiting list for the life saving gift of an organ to save their lives for many, many years.

The heart wrenching anguish and anticipation of the unknown is  unbearably painful.

We also have some who without a moments notice - 

a loved one was gone.

This is the reason we do this. 

A heart of compassion.

Each quilt is a labor of love.

When two small children lost their Daddy, our hearts sank.

So many unanswered questions, so much hurt and pain. 

The unimaginable happened. 

Was there anything we could do

 to comfort these grieving children ?

There was something.

Using his tee shirts, shirts, swim trunks and shorts we set out to make very special quilts for each child.

This project took over a year to complete.

A presentation service was held to present the quilts to the grandparents and children as well as another woman in our church who recently lost her husband, who also was a donor.

Some of the quilters presenting of the quilts.

The Quilt for the little girl was dressed up with pink. 

The flowers were handmade and sewn on by hand after the quilt was machine quilted.

"Not a dry eye in the church"

The little boys quilt included a pocket.

Their name were sewn into their quilts.

The Grandparents quilt.

The children's quilts were created by every quilter. 

Normally we work independently on our own projects.

Everyone each had a part in this process.

Seeing the children with something of their daddy's brought both joy and comfort.

In closing this post I've included a link to the National Registry

There you can find information on organ donation.

Pictures Before The Journey To Miami

 Here's a group of lap quilts and prayer shawls.

When we first began this ministry all quilts were hand tied.

All quilts are finished with the same label.

No two quilts are ever identical.

We strive to make each one different and unique as each donor is.

The fabrics used are all 100% cotton. The batting used is also cotton batting.

The fun part about looking at the finished project is the memories we have. Our fabrics come from many places. In the above quilt  the baby animal print was purchased at a quilt shop in Massachusetts, the green and black and polka dot fabrics were purchased at Sunshine Sewing in Margate, Florida. The others were in our stash.

Several years ago we attended a huge quilt show and just had to have this fabric with the bugs! It was just too cute and colorful. This is what was created.

It's always fun to see what each quilter is working on. 

In the early years, we worked with donated fabrics. 

They were many shapes and sizes. Very much like a puzzle. Some had to wait a very long time before before they could be matched up - with enough fabric to make a full size lap quilt.

We had someone (who knew our plight) donate many yards of fabric. She purchased in lengths long enough to use for backing and binding for a dozen or more quilts. This was repeated over and over by many people who believed in what we were doing.

The next two prayer shawls were planned around fabric that was donated by Sunshine Sewing. 

The bright colorful pink print was in search of a match. Not sure where the hotter balloon fabric came from, but it formed a nice partnership. 

Here's a little secret....

When someone new to sewing joins us they begin with scraps. They are cut in assorted piles of colors and sizes and the sewer learns how to bond with her machine by joining them together in no random order. This is a great way to learn control as well as straight seams. These are then cut to a specific width and length. That's when the sewer gets to see the fabric come alive. 

Don't you think this was a great use of the colorful scraps? 

 The below quilt was created with blocks made during a mystery quilt class. They sat in a drawer for a while waiting for the right moment to be finished, and here it is. 

All of the above have blessed a family who's 

loved one was an Organ Donor.