Opportunities to Stitch and Admire

Spring is still playing hide-and-seek here in the Ottawa area, but the dwindling snow-pack is one reassuring sign that winter is retreating. The other positive sign is the invitations to real, live quilt shows and sew-days!

First of all, my apologies for not including the location of April’s sew day. As many of you correctly divined, the April 9th sew-day will be held at the Orleans United Church (1111 Orleans Blvd). You can drop off your finished blocks, tops, and quilts; swap for new kits; and stay and sew for the day. I have found a new pattern that should give us a chance to complete a couple of tops that day. If you are planning to sew, registration will be essential. Please send an email to nancy.arbogast@quiltsofvalour.ca so that I can add you to my list. By April, the kitchen might be open so we will have access to tea/coffee-making and the refrigerator for keeping your lunch ready. Masks will be required while moving around the space, tables will be limited and double-vaccination is required.

West-enders, rejoice! We will also have a sew-day on Wednesday May 11 from 9:30 to 3:30 at CannaConnect (215 Menten Place, Nepean). As a bonus, our host, Scott is so excited to have us return that he is going to organize a barbeque for us for lunch! Again, please drop me a line to register and the standard protocols apply.

So with all the stitching that you have done, what has been happening with all those quilts? January and February may have been very quiet with only two presentations per month, March has been very busy. The presentation team have presented quilts at the Orleans Legion, the Kanata Cenotaph, CannaConnect, the Perley-Rideau Health Centre, and a few private homes, approximately 30 on record just in March!

I presented a quilt to a World War Two veteran, who landed in Normandy 30 days after the D-Day landings, and was part of the push from the beaches to Paris going through the Falaise Gap. He could still tell me in gruesome details some of what he saw and experienced 76 years ago. I presented a quilt to a more recent veteran who had five tours in Afghanistan, two to Bosnia, and one to Haiti. I have spoken to veterans from Navy, Army and Air Force, in trades from engineering, logistics, intelligence and maintenance. They all share fond memories of a military career despite the challenges and hardships and they all express incredible gratitude for the generous gift they receive from you.

Common Threads Quilt Guild will be hosting the Spring Quilt Show on May 6 – 8 at the Cityview Curling Club on Capilano Drive. Quilts of Valour will have a table at the quilt show and we will need volunteers to staff the table. We need volunteers for a four-hour shift (or two) to answer questions about Quilts of Valour and promote awareness of our organization. Please send me an email to let me know what day/time you are available. I haven’t been given the specific hours yet, but I will share that with you as soon as I can.

The International Plowing Match and Rural Expo is hosting a Quilt Show on August 19 and 20 in Kemptville. Quilts of Valour will have a table at this show as well and I will be looking for volunteers to staff the table. I know that is a few months away, but if you can add it to your calendar and find time to volunteer, I would appreciate it.

In between all the presentations, I have tried to do a little of my own quilting. Here is one of the two tops that I completed. I have sent these off to someone else for the quilting. Sometimes it’s nice to have multiple names on the label to remind the recipients that there are many hands that are wishing them good health, good healing.

What is under your needle?

I hope all is going well in your corner and I hope I get a chance to see you at one of the upcoming sew-days or quilt shows.

Happy Stitching!

Nancy

Upcoming Events

April 9: Drop, Swap and Sew; Orleans United Church, 9:30 – 3:30

May 6 – 8: Common Threads Quilt Show, Cityview Curling Club, Capilano Drive

May 11: West End Sew Day, CannaConnect, 9:30 – 3:30

Aug 19/20: International Plowing Match Quilt Show, Kemptville

Quilters for Hire

Christine: GREELYQUILTER@qovottawa

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

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

Spring Drop, Swap and Sew

Welcome to Spring! I know we just had another snow fall, but it’s melting and it won’t stay long. I’m sure of it.

Let’s celebrate by having a Drop Swap and Sew Day on April 9th from 10:00am to 3:00 pm. You can drop off your finished blocks, tops, and quilts; swap for new kits; and stay and sew for the day (I am putting together the fabric for another collective top). If you are planning to sew, registration will be essential. Please send an email to nancy.arbogast@quiltsofvalour.ca so that I can add you to my list. By April, the kitchen might be open so we will have access to tea/coffee-making and the refrigerator for keeping your lunch ready. Masks will be required while moving around the space, tables will be limited and double-vaccination is required.

January and February were quiet with only a few presentations taking place. We are ramping up and March is giving us opportunities for catching up with our recipients. This coming week I will be presenting to three veterans from World War Two! It’s interesting, but there are phases when every recipient is very familiar with Quilts of Valour and lists the friends who have received their quilts already. Then, there are periods, where the recipients have never heard of the organization before. Whichever camp they are in, they all ask me to pass along one message: Thank you. The work you do reassures them that the work they did, the sacrifices they made, are valued and appreciated.

Are you ready for mid-week sew-days in the west end? Scott at CannaConnect is eager to have us back. If you are ready, let me know and I can book a sew-day for May and June.

Happy Stitching,

Nancy