Hello and welcome to 2013 at Hope and Joy Quilts
we are busy working on quilts for Hospice and enjoy getting them completed and delivered!
If you would like to join us, please let us know, we will meet again Saturday January 26th starting at 9:00am

Happy New Year

Quilting day in March

Hi everyone. We have picked March 10th for our next quilting date. We will be meeting at 10:30 -4:30 at my house. Bring your sewing machines and your lunches and be ready for a fun day sewing. If you are joining us for the first time send me an email and I will send you directions. I can’t wait to see what everyone has been working on. Quilting with friend always energizes my creative juices.
I dropped the last three quilts off on Thursday last week Feb 23, 2012.
Our quilts have been well received; in fact they are going faster than we can keep up. Our fabric supplies are holding up but we are down to our last bolt of batting.
See you in a few weeks.
Heidi B.

October Quilting

Quilters really are like a bunch of turkeys.

This REAL bunch of turkeys gave us a giggle as we were gearing up to put our sewing machines to work this week. When we first noticed them, they were walking downhill, and shortly after this photo was snapped, they broke out into an all out run. Apparently the neighbor was feeding them. 

  
Did you know that a bunch of turkeys is called a "Rafter"? 
Me either.

We never seem to run out of fabric. 
But, we also never turn away donations of fabric, quilt tops, squares, batting, thread, or other supplies, because every little bit helps us to love on one more person. Even one of those 40 or 50% off coupons for Joann's fabric helps us with a bigger purchase that we might not otherwise make. 

Putting together quilts for Benton Hospice is a true labor of love.  

 We make a variety of quilts each month. No two are ever the same, and no two quilters are the same either. 

Large pieces of fabric are very useful, and we could use more of them. But if we only have small pieces to work with, sometimes we end up with quilts like the one that Heidi finished this week. She does amazing work!

 Here's a view of most of the room. We are so grateful to Heidi for opening up this awesome area for us to spread out and make the most efficient use of our time. 


Janet is a die-hard quilter. She recently had surgery, but who says you can't quilt with one hand??

Cutting, and sometimes (in my case) re-cutting, is a necessity of quilting. Even if you don't know how to sew a lick, it would really be a big help to have someone cutting fabric for us to sew together. If you'd like to learn the basics of quilting, we would love to help you! Would you consider joining us next time? 

Three Dozen Smiles

Three dozen doesn't sound like much when you're talking about smiles. But when you're talking about smiles from people who may have lost their reason to smile, or whose family is going through either the early or late stages of a difficult grieving process, those smiles are priceless.

Over the last few months, our group has made 36 quilts. We aren't here to brag, or to pat our own backs, but we are here to share the joy we feel as each quilt gets finished. There's nothing quite like knowing that you put hours of thought, energy and love into something as simple as a bunch of fabric stitched together. And then that effort goes out the door to put a sparkle back into someone's eye, and a glimmer of joy into their hearts.

Thanks for supporting our efforts, and if you'd like to join us, or contribute in some way, please let us know!

May Quilting

Our group got together this weekend for another few hours of quilting. There was much work to do, and much conversation to be had. We have learned that the brighter colored quilts go fast, and smaller quilts are even ok to donate. This is good, because it's easier to make a few smaller quilts instead of a huge one. Here are just a few photos from the day. Someone who shall remain nameless forgot her camera, so the mobile phone pictures will have to do.

Finished quilts and tops

Multipurpose ping pong table 

Sewing table

I came home with some fabric strips, and got this far before bed!

We have so much fun, please consider joining us next month!

Invitation

You Are Invited! 

Our quilting group meets once each month to cut, sew and piece together quilts. 
Whether you are brand new to sewing or an experienced veteran, we'd love to have you join us.


We have chosen Hospice as the beneficiary of our creations, and we could really use your help. The demand is great, but the supply is... not quite as great. 


Saturday, May 15 from 9-2 we are meeting again to create more quilts.
If you have your own machine, go ahead and bring it. If not, we can always use help with cutting, ironing and sorting.


You do not need to bring your own fabric, but if you have some to contribute, we would sure appreciate it. Whatever donations we receive go right back into making more quilts for others. 


Make sure to bring a lunch!
See you there! 

Precious Gifts

Five quilts ready to wrap someone in love and warmth. 

Sometimes I find it hard to give away something that I spend so much time and effort on. But, here's a note we recently got from the local Hospice Service after a recent delivery of some quilts:

"I presented the quilts and pillow cases on Monday to our staff and they absolutely LOVED THEM.  So much so, that the quilts have all been given out to patients and they LOVE THEM too!  We have two pillow cases left.

Please be sure to thank your group of ladies for us, we SO APPRECIATE the time and care that went into each one!"

This seems to make our work all the more worthwhile. Keep on quilting! 


~If you'd like to join our efforts, or contribute to our supplies fund, please send an email and we will gladly let you know how you can help.