Sweet Home Quilt Co.

It has been my experience that quilters are the most selfless, giving group of individuals ever, and once again, recent calls for help did not go unheeded. I’m often moved to help when a specific need arises, but limited time and resources limit the help I’m personally able to provide. I am thankful that I can use Sweet Home Quilt Co. as a means to facilitate help in those situations.

Just like everyone else, I was immensely shocked and saddened by the devastation left behind along the eastern seaboard by Hurricane Sandy in late October. What little I was able to do personally just didn’t seem to be enough; but then I learned of an effort spearheaded by Victoria Findlay Wolfe through Acacia Network in New York to collect quilts and blankets for those most seriously impacted by the storm and I realized I could facilitate the gathering and shipping of donated quilts from our quilting community.

One email later and the donated quilts began pouring in, along with monetary donations to help with the shipping costs! After 10 days, we had shipped 13 huge boxes filled with nearly 100 quilts and blankets to Acacia Network!

I recently received a warm thank you note from Victoria and the folks at Acacia Network that reads in part:

Thank you for the beautiful quilts donated to the Bumble Beans and Acacia Network Quilt Drive. These will go to individuals, families and children affected by the recent super storm.

It warms my heart to know that our quilting community rose to the occasion once again, and almost 100 people will have a beautiful quilt, at the least, to bring warmth and comfort as they recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. Thank you, thank you to all of you who answered our call to help!

Melisa

As if the devastation from Hurricane Sandy wasn’t enough, the hardest hit areas are now experiencing snow and really cold temps. Many people are still homeless or have no power. There are quite a few efforts in the works in the quilting community nationwide to gather quilts and blankets for these hard-hit areas, one of which is being spearheaded by Victoria Findlay Wolfe (read her blog post here.)

Victoria is a friend of a friend, and that connection makes me trust that this is a valid effort to help. Sweet Home Quilt Co. will begin collecting quilts and blankets immediately to support this effort. I have been going through the supply closet today and pulling out retired shop samples, and I will be digging into my quilt closet at home tonight. Several people who saw my post on Facebook earlier today have already dropped off quilts at the shop. These quilts and blankets don’t have to be new (but please…in good condition and freshly washed!) and can be handmade or store-bought, all sizes are needed.

I thought it would be helpful to send many quilts in one box, rather than have many individual boxes arriving at the distribution point. Our first box will go out tomorrow, and I will send as many boxes as necessary to get all the quilts collected to the distribution center. If you’d rather send quilts on your own, all of the information is in Victoria’s blog post. Time is of the essence…these folks are COLD!

I know I have far more quilts than I will ever use, and I can’t think of a better use than to send them off to keep someone warm…especially someone who has lost everything in the Hurricane Sandy catastrophe. I hope you feel the same and will help with this effort…many thanks!

Melisa

Remember the scraps left over from our Scrap Buffet back in May? We had about two small garbage bags full of leftovers, and while most were small pieces, I still couldn’t bear to throw them away. For the last couple of years, I’ve donated fabrics to a Guatemalan mission project through one of my customers, Miss Vivian. I called her with the offer of these scraps, knowing that she’d be off to Guatemala at some point this summer, and she gladly accepted. She had a week in Guatemala planned for early July, and needed supplies to take for the young girls and women to use.

This morning I received the most heartfelt Thank You card from the mission, expressing their appreciation for our fabric donation. Sewing has become an important activity at the Mission, both as a means of entertainment and a sustainable craft helping the ladies earn money.

The girls were able to complete one quilt during the week Miss Vivian was visiting, and had enough fabric scraps to be able to make a second quilt that they will be able to make themselves thanks to her helpful teaching.

It gives me tremendous satisfaction to have a small part in this effort. I can’t bear to waste fabric…even small scraps…and what most of us would relegate to the trash, these young women have been able to utilize to their best advantage. I commend people like Miss Vivian who give so unselfishly of themselves to travel to Guatemala several times a year with this mission effort, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to help in my own small way.

Melisa

It’s that time of the year when we are all reminded of our many blessings, and I always feel compelled to help those who are less fortunate. Last year we hosted our first Pantie Raid Weekend at Thanksgiving and collected over 300 pair of women’s and children’s undies, which were donated to Project ReNeWal Domestic Violence Intervention Program.

This year, we’re hosting our Second Annual Pantie Raid, and I’m thrilled to be joined by 11 of my shop owner friends in this effort. We all want to make a difference and have joined forces to help those in need in our own communities and we’re asking you to help us out. Beginning Thanksgiving weekend, for each package of women’s and/or children’s underwear you donate, we’ll give you a free fat quarter. Each shop has 400 fat quarters to give away…just imagine the thousands of women and children we could help! So while you’re out shopping this weekend, pick up a couple of packages underwear (don’t forget the plus sizes and little boy’s!) and drop them off at Sweet Home.

Our quilt shops are spread out all over the country, and we’ve all arranged to give what we collect to various organizations within our own communities. Once again, we’ll be passing our collections on to Project ReNeWal.

If you’re in Atlanta, drop your donations by Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving, or any time through December 4th. If you live somewhere else or will be visiting in another state, here’s the list of participating quilt shops where you can drop your panties!

Batiks Etc and Sew What Fabrics … Wytheville VA

Rosebud’s Cottage … White Bear Lake MN

The Quilted Kitty … Lincoln NE

Quilting Possibilities … Forked River NJ

Wish Upon a Quilt … Raleigh NC

Keepsake Cottage Fabrics … Bothell WA

Kelly Ann’s Quilting … Warrenton VA

Cotton Patch Quilt Shop … University Park FL

Log Cabin Quilt Shop … La Vista NE

Shiisa Quilts … Bloomington IN

Clever Quilter … Newfield NY

I’ll be posting daily progress reports on our Sweet Home Quilt Co. fan page on Facebook as will the other shops. The competition between us shop owners is already heating up…and we want to collect the most! YOU can help me be on top of the heap, ok?

I appreciate your support whenever I ask you to help out with our community service projects. We all have so much to be thankful for … let’s pay it forward!

Melisa

All proceeds from the sale of tickets will be donated to the Brain Mahaffey Memorial Fund.

Butterfly Kisses Quilt

91 x 91

Machine pieced; custom quilted by Pooregirl’s Quilt Co., McDonough, GA

$1.00 donation per entry requested. Drawing will be held July 12, 2010. Need not be present to win. Tickets are available at the shop or by calling 678-413-1611. Cash or checks made payable to Brian Mahaffey Memorial Fund please.

Our local community suffered a terrible tragedy last month when Rockdale County Deputy Brian Mahaffey was shot and killed in the line of duty May 8, while executing an arrest warrant. Deputy Mahaffey had just celebrated his 28th birthday with family and friends the night before his death. He leaves behind his wife, Diana, two year old son, Trenton, and three month old daughter, Aniston, parents, brother and many, many friends.

Brian was the first Rockdale County deputy killed in the line of duty in our community since the early 1920s. This tragedy was particularly personal for us because he was a friend of my youngest son and we were acquainted with his parents through school and soccer activities the kids had been involved with through the years. Brian was also a co-worker of my daughter-in-law, who is also a Rockdale County Sheriff’s Deputy. Anyone who has a law enforcement officer in their family knows this tragedy could have just as easily happened to them!

The Conyers/Rockdale County community has come together to honor this young man and offer love and support to his family. A memorial fund has been established at Georgia Federal Credit Union, and we have put together an opportunity at Sweet Home Quilt Co. for the quilting community to help. Please participate in our Recycled Fabric Fundraiser to honor this fallen hero and help support the young family he left behind. There are three ways you can help:

1. Donate:
Raid your stash and donate your unwanted fabric in
fat quarters, 1/2 yards or full yard increments only.
Bring fabrics pre-cut into fat quarters, 1/2 yards or full yards.

We will accept only clean, quilt shop quality
100% cotton fabric.
No pet or smoke odors, please.

For each yard you donate you will receive a coupon for
$1.00 off a yard of new fabric – no limit! Share your
coupons with family & friends if you can’t use them!
Each coupon valid for one yard of regularly priced
fabric on the bolt, limit one coupon per yard. No other
discounts apply; not applicable for Sweet Rewards.
Coupons expire July 31, 2010.

Drop off your fabric during our normal business
hours Friday, June 4th through Wednesday, June 9th.

2.  Buy:
All donated fabric will be sold for $2.00 per yard with all proceeds donated to the Brian Mahaffey Memorial Fund.

Saturday, June 12th ONLY
10AM – 5PM
CASH ONLY – All Sales Final

3. Volunteer:
We need volunteers during the event to
measure and sell fabric. Please call the shop
at 678-413-1611 to sign up.

Thank you in advance for your support of this fundraising effort. Quilters are by nature generous, supportive people and I hope you will find this a win-win opportunity to do something important for a family in need while de-stashing and doing something good for yourself, too!

Melisa

On Tuesday before I headed off to Minneapolis, I attended the annual Just for You Celebration meeting of Gwinnett Quilters Guild. I’m not always able to attend the guild meetings, but I try to never miss this particular event.

Just for You is a charitable program the guild sponsors to provide quilts to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Scottish Rite and Egleston Children’s hospitals) which are given throughout the year to sick children in these two hospitals. This program has been a mainstay of the guild for 9 years, and each year guild members outdo themselves in this area.

330+ quilts were made by guild members and donated for Just for You this year. The quilts are gathered up and displayed in the sanctuary of Cannon Methodist Church (where we meet) for everyone to enjoy and to be blessed by the minister.

The love and talent evident in this room is so awe-inspiring, and the wonderful stories that are shared by families who have received these comfort quilts are both heartwarming and heart-wrenching. This is what quilting is all about – using our God-given talents for the comfort of others. If you’ve ever doubted the love and generosity of quilters, I invite you to get involved in a charitable cause like Just for You and I guarantee you will be blessed many times over!

Melisa

We were happy to host this talented group of Girl Scouts and the Gwinnett Quilt Guild’s “Just 4 You” Committee on Saturday as they made donation quilts for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta-Scottish Rite Hospital. This is the second year this group has helped make quilts for this effort, and it is fun to watch their quilting skills evolve. Robin, the troop leader, is a friend through Batty Babes, and she does a terrific job mentoring these girls. The girls were tasked to use their teamwork skills as they paired off to complete their quilt tops. The group worked hard to finish their quilts, and were rightfully proud of them! They turned out great!

Debbie Frey (pictured here helping one of the girls pin her quilt rows together) is the committee chair of the guild’s “Just 4 You” program, and was the impetus for starting the community service project in 2001. The guild has made and donated hundreds of quilts to this effort over the years, and the three quilts made by this group will be added to the hundreds that will be donated again this year.

Debbie also brought along a surprise visitor on Saturday…someone we’ve never had the pleasure of seeing at SHQC.

Can you see him? It’s FLAT STANLEY! Debbie’s niece from Ohio sent him on his journey as part of a 1st grade class project. Flat Stanley has had quite an interesting visit with Debbie – he’s been to tennis matches, the dentist, shopping at Calvin Klein, the Cheesecake Factory (yum!), and to a guild meeting. Debbie’s husband took Flat Stanley to Italy and NYC, too! And now, he can add a visit to SHQC to his travel adventures! What fun!

Our thanks to Debbie for inviting us to host this event, and to the girls for their participation. It was a fun day for everyone, all for a great cause!

Melisa

Last week was the Batty Babes’ annual Christmas party, and as usual we shared many laughs and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. This is the one time of the year where we have a potluck meal (usually the host provides the meal for our gatherings), and we all have our specialties that show up on the menu year after year along with new favorites, too. We draw names for a gift exchange, and have a white elephant gift exchange that is always a hoot (more on that in a sec)!  A couple of years ago we decided that rather than give each person individual gifts, we would instead do a community service project. This year we each made kids’ pillowcases that will be donated to ConKerr Cancer through SHQC.  As luck would have it I had made arrangements to meet Lisa Rowell, our ConKerr Coordinator, the following morning to drop off the 171 pillowcases we collected during our Thanksgiving pillowcase drive at the shop, and I was able to add another 173 pillowcases made by the Batty Babes!  WOW! 334 pillowcases!  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — quilters have the most giving spirits and this group in particular!

Our Christmas gathering was hosted by Ardis this year, and her home was beautifully decorated for our party. Every nook and cranny held little Christmas surprises that made me smile. The table and buffet were beautifully set with china, candles and live greenery. We were ‘warned’ to watch out for little unwanted guests from the live greenery, which she had cut from her yard earlier in the day. Fortunately, none made an appearance during dinner!

I mentioned our white elephant gift exchange earlier, and it is absolutely one of the most fun things we do at Christmas.  There are a number of white elephant gifts that are truly dreaded — we’re talking hideous things, ya’ll — and we go to great lengths to disguise the packaging so the recipient won’t be able to “avoid” certain gifts. The rule is that whatever white elephant gift you get, it must be prominently displayed throughout the year whenever you host the Babes at your home.  Occasionally someone gets a white elephant gift that they actually like and in those cases they are allowed to introduce a “new” white elephant to the mix the following year.  Here are some of the highlights of this year’s white elephant gift exchange.

Jo Beth got the dreaded “head” this year. This is a ceramic Victorian Lady bust that has made the rounds of the Babes for years! No one wants to end up with this!

Liz was the proud recipient of the hideous felt Christmas card table runner this year. I had it last year, and in an attempt to disguise it I put it into a (new) pizza box tied up with a big red ribbon knowing that someone would be curious enough to have to see what was in the pizza box! It proved irresistible to Liz! This thing is hard to describe. It was made by Ardis’ mother years and years ago as a Garden Club project, I think. The backing is green felt and it has cut outs from Christmas cards glued onto it with some bling here and there, topped by white tulle netting and bound with gold braid and tassels. And it is BIG! It stretches down my dining room table end to end … ugh!

Everyone thought they were safe after Liz picked the dreaded felt table runner, but Ardis threw us a curve ball by introducing a matching bell pull!!! Lucky Deanna was the recipient as you can see. Oh Joy! Can’t wait to have my turn with this monstrosity!

Robin was the lucky one when it came to the Elvis Liquor Decantor! Remember these??? I’m a HUGE Elvis fan, but I draw the line at these – no way do I want this thing at my house! Robin actually seems quite pleased, doesn’t she? Maybe because that thing is still filled with liquor???

How many Babes does it take to untie a bow???

There are a few Babes who should have been politicians – they are masters at “appropriating” gifts for themselves! Here Deanna attempts to steal Ardis’ gift by hiding it under her sweater! And it actually took Ardis a minute to notice the “square” tummy – all she knew was that her gift was missing!

Shared laughter, good food, good friends and the sights and sounds of the season – Christmas memories in the making!

Sweet Home Quilt Co. sponsored two charity events during the Thanksgiving holidays, and I am happy to report that once again, our faithful and giving customers came through in a BIG way!

We recently partnered with ConKerr Cancer to make pillowcases for sick children, and to serve as a drop-off site for other individual and group participants.  I knew there were lots of people interested in this cause since I’d been getting inquiries for a while. So I put the word out that SHQC would provide pillowcase kits for a $5.00 tax-deductible contribution, and I scheduled our first Pillowcase Stitch-in for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I set a goal to collect 150 pillowcases even though I had a number of nay-sayers who thought that goal was too lofty; I was determined though (I’m stubborn that way!)

Donna and Nancy brought in 94 pillowcases made by the Crossroads Quilters at Crossroads UMC here in Conyers.  Wooo Hooo! We were on our way!

We had a number of individuals who couldn’t attend the stitch-in but came by and purchased kits to make on their own time. And we had 8 ladies come to the stitch-in on Saturday after Thanksgiving, where we added another 41 pillowcases to our count!

Page, Ruthanne, Jane and Frances are shown here with some of the pillowcases completed at the stitch-in.  Nancy, Dee and Anne had already left by the time I remembered to drag out the camera!

I took home 47 pillowcases to wash and iron over the weekend. Ordinarily, ironing is not a favorite past-time for me, but in this case, I enjoyed each pillowcase so much that it really wasn’t a chore. I could just see the delight in each child’s eyes when they received a bright, fun pillowcase to add a little cheer to their hospital stay.

Our final tally for the event was … drumroll, please … 163 pillowcases!!!  My heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in this event. We’ll be scheduling regular Pillowcase Stitch-ins in 2010 for this ongoing effort.

In years past, we’ve sponsored food drives and toy drives as a charitable event, but this year I wanted to do something different. I remembered reading last year about another shop that sponsored a Panty Raid Weekend to collect new packages of womens and childrens underwear to donate to a local shelter. I contacted the battered women’s shelter here to run the idea by the Director, and she was thrilled with the idea. So once again, I designated the weekend after Thanksgiving as ‘Panty Raid Weekend’ at SHQC, and put the word out to our faithful customers.

The response was overwhelming! We’ve even gotten donations from within the community – people who are not quilters, but heard about our effort from a quilter and wanted to participate.

Today, I’ll be meeting up with the Director of the battered women’s shelter to deliver … are you ready?  Fifty-four packages (317 pair!!!) of new women’s and children’s underwear!!! Holey Moley! Needless to say, the shelter administration was thrilled when I called and so appreciative of  the effort.

I am a firm believer in giving back to the communities who support Sweet Home Quilt Co., and so appreciative of the giving nature of our customers. I know that I can always count on you to come through with flying colors for our charitable efforts!  Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to you!

Oh, I almost forgot!  Congratulations to Penny who won the Panty Raid gift basket. Penny is a new quilter and she was very excited to have won the goodies!