Filling the Quilt Cupboard and Hearts

Whew! It was a busy few weeks leading up to and through the 11 in 11 Challenge. It was a huge success. As you will recall, Kim Mullen of Eye Candy Custom Quilting, proposed a challenge: she was going to quilt one quilt a day for the first 11 days of November to mark the sacrifices made by our military in the days leading up to Remembrance Day. As the word spread, more quilters came on board. Just here in Ottawa, Robbie Chapman, Brigid Whitnall, Sharron Davies, Lynn Maillet and Sally Elgar all answered the challenge.

There was the rush to gather tops for those quilters — 11 quilts for five quilters, we needed 55 tops. Our wonderful team of stitchers came through in flying colours and we gathered those 55 tops and more! Leading into the challenge, we posted on Facebook and more quilters across the country joined in — some meeting the challenge of quilting, some making blocks, some making tops. It’s hard to know for sure, but my estimate is that approximately 110 quilts were completed. Now we are putting the final touches of binding and labels on those quilts and then presenting them to their deserving recipients.

Our first in-person sew-day took place on Saturday November 6 and it was delightful to see the smiling eyes (over the masks) and hear the laughter as fourteen stitchers gathered at the Orleans United Church to work on a Tilted Nine-Patch quilt. We also used that venue to send the first quilts from 11 in 11 off to the binders, to gather finished tops, and to sign out kits. We even had a journalism student from Carleton University join us as he prepared an audio report on Quilts of Valour. All the tables were cleaned before and after the sew-day, everyone remembered to mask up as we moved around, all the safety precautions were heeded. We are planning the next sew-day for Tuesday January 18 at Canna Connect. I am not ready to take registration yet, but attendance will be limited so that spacing can be maintained.

All of this stitching and challenging and gathering is all directed at presenting quilts to our wounded/ill military members. Every time I get to present a quilt, I am gifted with stories of compassion and intrigue. Every time, I present a quilt, I hear the gratitude for the recognition of service and sacrifice. In the past month, Jacquie, Chantal, Robbie and I have presented quilts to veterans who have served 12, 15, 30+ years, deploying to Egypt, Afghanistan, Korea, Bosnia. Sometimes they share the stories of their service. Sometimes it is more than they can put into words. Always, they ask me to convey to you the stitchers their immense gratitude for the gift of recognition that is represented by the hours of work that we stitch into the quilts.

So what is under your needle these days? Are you working on blocks, completing a kit, or stitching your free-motion magic across another work of art? If you need a kit to keep you going, drop me a line and we can work out a time for pick-up.

Happy Stitching,

Nancy

Upcoming Events (really!)

sew-day: January 18, 2022 Canna Connect, Menten Place

Quilt Bee: April (date to be confirmed)

Drop, Swap and Sew: October 2022

11 in 11: November 1 – 11, 2022

Longarmers for hire: (Quilts of Valour has no budget to pay for long-arm quilting. These quilters graciously volunteer their machines and hours to complete our quilts.)

Christine: GREELYQUILTER@qovottawa

Lynn Maillet: Piece of Mine Quilting pomq@live.ca

Heather:  heather.ann.derksen@gmail.com/www.redwillowquilts.ca

And They’re Off!

I reported earlier that Kim Mullen of EyeCandy Quilts had challenged herself to quilt 11 quilts in the first 11 days of November. Since then, four more quilters in the Ottawa area (Robbie, Lynn, Brigid and Sharon) have accepted the challenge, and so did Lisa in Carleton Place. And as we start the month, the Quilters’ Connect page of Facebook shows that other quilters have also taken on the challenge.

Now, not everyone has a long-arm and not everyone can carve out the time to quilt a quilt a day! Some quilters have challenged themselves to a hug block a day or two a day. Some have been cutting kits so that we can keep those projects growing. It’s all good. It is all moving us closer to wrapping every wounded military member in a big quilted hug.

There was also the challenge of preparing tops and backing to allow for all that quilting. Five quilters just in the Ottawa region, means that we need 55 quilt tops and you came through with stars. (I know 15 X 11 doesn’t have the same ring, but you know, we can keep them going! )

Day One is under the belt and I have heard that all five quilters are keeping pace and they were loading up for day two. By the time you read this, they’ll be loading up for day three. I heard Robbie was contemplating setting up a cot beside her long-arm machine. Keep them in your thoughts. Maybe we can organize some bikkies to fuel their fun.

If all this fun has you thinking that you’d like a long-arm for yourself, Suzie Hillier is selling her HQ Simply Sixteen with the HQ little foot frame. It comes with the HQ bobbin winder, the easy-fit ruler base and some Velcro clamps. She is asking $6000 which is quite the deal as the usually sell for $10,000. Contact me if you want more information and I will connect you with Suzie.

If you signed up for the November 6 Sew Day, I will be sending you an email shortly. If you were not available for the Sew-day, but you would like to drop off quilts, tops or pick-up a new kit, Robbie and I will be at the Orleans United Church (1111 Orleans Blvd) with lots of kits available. (Yup, Robbie is taking the day away from the Challenge to join us for the sew-day!)

The signs are looking promising, and if that is not the light at the end of tunnel, at least we are getting a glimpse of the tunnel. If conditions continue to improve, we will be able to have a second sew-day on January 18 at CannaConnect (215 Menten Place) in the west end. This is still in the concept stage so stand by for further news.

Remember that the Orleans United Church Christmas Bazaar is online with lots new product lines this year, and more of the food and crafts that are always so popular.

Happy Stitching,

Nancy

Longarmers for hire:

Christine: GREELYQUILTER@GMAIL.COM

Lynn: Piece of Mine Quilting, pomq@live.ca