Parade of Children's Quilts

Pine Belt Quilters had a large turnout for our annual July luncheon and Parade of Children's Quilts. We had 34 new quilts brought in for the Parade, and members voted for their favorite by ballot. Makers completely encircled the room to give everyone a good look at the quilts.

The tables were decorated with red, white and blue streamers and flags, and we had a full table of delicious summer foods. In addition to the quilts brought in, members turned in 63 pillows, 15 walker totes, and 23 catheter bag covers. These will be donated to Forrest General Hospital and Marion County General Hospital. We have received thank-you letters describing how happy these gifts make the patients who receive them.

 

 



Winners  3rd - Otha Mae Edwards, 2nd - Dianne McLendon, 1st - Kathy Houseal



Representatives from five agencies were present to receive quilts. We gave each agency approximately 17 quilts, for a total of 85 quilts. Teressa Ellzey and Riley Herrin represented the Shafer Center for Crisis Intervention; Annie Jackson for South Mississippi Children's Center; Joan Harper, from the "Chain Gang" volunteers at Wesley Medical Center; and Leigh Ann Leonard from Forrest General Hospital.

Teressa Ellzey and Riley Herrin , Annie Jackson, Joan Harper, Leigh Ann Leonard



Geraldine Simmons and Betty Herring (pictured above) head up the walker totes and catheter bag covers. They write up instructions for the making of these and deliver them to hospitals. Betty and Joe Bingham look after the pillows and deliver them after each meeting.

Parade of Children's Quilts

 At our July Luncheon meeting we encourage members to bring in children's quilts they have made to donate. We have a "parade" of these quilts and vote for viewers' choice. These quilts are in addition to ones that have been made in our monthly Children's Quilt Workdays.

Destiny Golden is shown (right) holding an "I Spy" quilt. Below is the lineup of quilts to be walked around the room for a close-up view for voting.
(Our raffle quilt, Life On Our Planet is shown in the background below.)

Parade of Quilts 

And the winner is . . . Ellen Cox, shown below. Second place is the orange rabbit quilt shown in the lineup above, made by Doris Dunn.

It is such a pleasure to see the joy of the people receiving the quilts! At this meeting we gave about 100 quilts divided among the Hattiesburg Fire Department, Forrest General Hospital, Wesley Medical Center, Shafer Center for Crisis Invervention, and South Mississippi Children's Services. We let them pick out their quilts and then helped them fold and bag them. You can see the long tables in the background covered with the quilts.

Also in the picture below are Joan Harper, volunteer representing Wesley Medical Center, and Geneva Morgan of the Hattiesburg Fire Department.

Leigh Ann Leonard (Forrest General Pediatrics), Sam Caldwell, Jeff Williamson, (HFD), Kim Newell (Shafer Center), Rodney Anders (HFD), Joanna Chandler, Natisha Polk (SMCC)

 

Anders, Williamson, Caldwell, Geneva Morgan (partially hidden), with Mary Nell Magee

We have a delicious luncheon provided by our members at this July meeting each year, which  the representatives receiving the quilts were happy to be invited to.

December & Quilts Given

At our November meeting our members presented a great program on tips and tools every quilter needs. We heard reports on the newest products available plus handy gadgets and every-day items that can make our work go easier. Sorry, no pictures!

Wanda Wallace, Clara Oakes, Sharon Harris, part of our CQ team

We encourage each member to make at least one children's quilt each year, and we were proud to have 74 quilts to give this month. Added to our 83 we had given in July, this brings our children's quilts to 157 for 2010 PLUS 21 isolet covers for the NICU at Forrest General PLUS 9 full-sized quilts to soldiers or their families.

A stack of quilts ready to be given to children

Riley Rouse and Kim Newell accepting quilts for Shafer Center for Crisis Intervention

We were privileged to have several military families and children's service agencies with us at our December meeting. We always make and donate stockings to Domestic Abuse Family Services along with a table full of gifts for children and mothers. We donated quilts to Wesley Medical Center, Forrest General, South Mississippi Regional Medical Center (Laurel), Shafer Center for Crisis Intervention, South Mississippi Children's Services, Lamar County DHS, and DAFS.

Marilyn Howell holding an armful of stockings; gifts to stuff them fill the table behind her

Sha Polk, Sonya Duncan, and Annie Jackson receiving quilts for South Mississippi Children's Center

Sharon Nobles and her son Robert, who is leaving for basic training

John and Sarah Odom accepting the quilt for their daughter, CPT Rachel Odom, who is serving in Alaska

Debbie Davis' son serves in the Air Force and his wife serves in the Army, as shown by their quilt label

More about the soldiers' quilts: earlier in the year our member Betty Bingham asked for donations of patriotic blocks using a pattern she provided. She also asked for names of military personnel to receive quilts. These patriotic squares were used to decorate our tables in July, then taken home by members to assemble, quilt, and bind. Some quilts were completed by one person, some were by group cooperation. Betty and her husband made pieced heart labels for each of the quilts, personalized for the intended recipient. One quilt was for a fallen soldier's family; eight were for serving military personnel. Two soldiers were there to receive their quilts; two sets of parents and grandparents received theirs. Many had touching stories to tell, and our members applauded and stood to express our deep respect and thankfulness for the sacrifices of these brave men and women.

Parade of Children's Quilts; Christmas in July

We encourage all our members to make at least one children's quilt during the year, and these are paraded around the room for a viewers' choice vote at the July meeting. Thirty new quilts were brought in.
Many of these quiltmakers also participate in the monthly meetings to work on quilts all year long, and we could not comfort as many children without this help. We were given ballots to vote for our choice. There were so many charming quilts that it was difficult to choose, but Sally Henderson's teddy bear quilt was the winner. Two prizes were awarded--hand-dyed fabric furnished by Kelley's Pins & Needles (dyed by Mary Nell Magee). The names of each quilter who brought in quilts were put in a hat and Elaine Magee's name was drawn to receive the second prize.

Sally Henderson's teddy bear quilt, also Vivian Plummer holding Paula Jones' cowboy quilt

Kelley McKenzie of Kelley's Pins & Needles was our vendor, and we were treated to shopping time before and after our potluck lunch. We gave lots of door prizes, many patterns furnished by Lucy A. Fazely. We had a hundred members and guests at this meeting, so the food was a real feast.

We gave away 80 completed quilts at this meeting. Pictured above receiving quilts are Cherie Wright from Wesley Medical Center, who will deliver the quilts to Angie Stringer, director of Women's Services. Natisha Polk from South Mississippi Children's Services and Lisa Mann from Shafer Center for Crisis Intervention each received 20 quilts for children their agencies serve.

Forrest General's representative, Tangela Boutwell (not pictured) picked up her 20 quilts later. She also received 11 more isolette covers for the Forrest General new NICU. We had previously given Tangela 10 isolette covers, and this completes our 20 covers we promised, plus an extra! These covers had to be made in so many odd-shaped pieces that we lost count and overshot our goal. We are proud to have this interaction with FGH and be able to share our talents in ways that minister to children.

Bonnie Bolt showed us several of her Christmas decorative projects that she will be teaching at the Christmas in July workshop. She will have three patterns from which to choose. What a good way to get an early start on Christmas gifts!