News about The Quilt Project

THE QUILT PROJECT TO WIND UP OPERATIONS

After 11 years of service and raising over $1.8 for Support for People Living with Cancer, the Board of Directors of The Quilt Project has made the difficult decision to discontinue the project. The organization has begun winding up operations, in accordance with the registered charity requirements of Canada Revenue Agency.

WHY?

Discontinuing an organization dedicated to raising funds to support people living with cancer was not an easy decision. We have been challenged by the current economic situation and the budget shortfall arising from organizations and individuals reducing overall donation dollars to The Quilt Project. The Board was encouraged to make this difficult decision at this time because a number of organizations raising money for Cancer now provide funds for support programs.

We are justifiably proud to note that the early groundbreaking work done by The Quilt Project has translated into support being provided by many mainstream fundraisers.

WHAT ABOUT THE QUILTS THAT HAVE BEEN DONATED AND NOT YET SOLD?

The uniqueness of The Quilt has been the source of the funds – wonderful works of art lovingly made by so many contributing their time and talent to support this worthy cause.

Before the Board made the difficult decision to wind-down the project, The Quilt made a commitment to work with “Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada” on a fundraising initiative and auction, to be held in the summer of 2010. Willow is a unique breast cancer support organization that provides free information and emotional support for those impacted by breast cancer. We will use donated quilts for this committed initiative and others that are aligned to providing support for people living with cancer.

If we have your quilt from the 2009 collection with us, or you or your group have sent in a “call for entry” commitment or quilt for the 2010 fund raising season, and if you no longer wish to commit this quilt for our June 2010 initiatives, please contact us. Otherwise, we are thrilled you will be continuing to support people living with cancer. We have been quite heartened by the enthusiasm that has been expressed to continue our work in this way!

THANKS TO ALL

We want to thank all the quilt donors, sponsors, volunteers and staff who have been a part of our 11 year journey. Carol Miller - as founder and visionary - has been the single most significant contributor to the success of The Quilt. Her dedication and determination are an inspiration to many. We thank her on behalf of The Quilt Project for her years of service.

Again, we thank you for your support over the past 11 years. Should you have any questions or concerns, we invite you to contact our office at 519-272-2588 or via email to quiltinfo@thequilt.com.

Mark Wiltshire and Gail Johnson Morris, Co-chairs on Behalf of the Board of Directors

More Fabric Bowls

Here is a photo of the bowls I made on Friday. I still need to embellish them with beads so that I can give them as Christmas gifts. Now that they are made I need to get back to piecing more of the Stashbusters String Quilt so I can use up my stash! That will be January's project!

Hot Apple Cider recipe

Had a great time at Hole in the Closet class all day Friday at Quilts and Calicos. For all of those who would like my secret recipe for hot apple cider, here it is. I also thought of after the fact, that if I put all the spices into cheesecloth and tied that up with cotton string that would be a great way to keep all the "debris" together and out of our mugs. (right Nancy?)

1 jug of PC apple cider

2-3 cinnamon sticks

2 nutmeg balls

a pinch of ground nutmeg

a pinch of cloves

Heat it up and serve.

Jim Shore quilting figurines

I love the Santa figurines that Jim Shore makes. He has many different figurines such as snowmen, cats and angels or different themes like Hallowe'en, Easter and Christmas and they all have some sort of quilt block design on them. I try to get a new Santa each year to decorate my house. I have found a cute little sewing machine that I think will be my next purchase!

Here is a link to all his products- Jim Shore

And here is a link to many cute desk top images for your computer, all of them for free to download- images. I think I will use the snowman for winter!

Underground Railroad Quilts

A while back I stopped by the Lucan Museum to have a look at their quilt display. Only a few were quite old and many were made over the past 50 years. Here are some photos of the ones they had as part of their Underground Railroad quilts.

Batik fabric from Mexico

I have been really busy catching up after getting back from Mexico on a family vacation. Haven't been away like that since our honeymoon. Yikes that makes me feel old! One of our day trips while on vacation was to a Mayan ruin. I was too chicken to climb up to the top- I only made it a few steps. Dan went all the way to the top and back down again. His legs were like jello he said. Moments after climbing the Coba ruin our tour bus was about to leave. I spotted a vendor selling hand dyed batik panels so Dan offered to RUN down the street and get me one. Poor guy, after climbing all those steps I then made him run. What a sweetie.