December Luncheon and Gifts

Our December luncheon meeting featured great food, beautiful table decorations, and six agencies in attendance to receive the 152 quilts and tableful of gifts we had ready to give. Connie Hitt entertained us with a quilter's version of "My Favorite Things."

Betty Allen and Connie Hitt

Representatives from the Hattiesburg Fire Department were (right to left) Lt. Stephen Mooney, Ben Thompson, Guy Sanford, Eddie Broome, and Mason Pope. Lt. Mooney said their department worked to decrease home fires by education in schools and working with building code enforcement.

 

Annie Jackson and Sonya Felts from South Mississippi Children Services said they assist abused, neglected, and homeless children and youth ages 9-20. In addition to providing living arrangements, they advocate for the youths in schools and court cases.

Riley Herrin (right) and Mandy Baker (left) received quilts for the Shafer Center, describing that they work with victims of sexual assault and families of homicide and suicide. Riley has been in this job for 15 years. Mandy said volunteers were always needed to assist staff with their hotline and with accompanying victims to doctors' appointments.

Becky Sims (right) and Helen Matthews (left) of DAFS again received our heavily laden tables of gifts for mothers and children. DAFS serves 11 counties with two shelters. They have a staff of 19 and also work a 24-hour crisis line. Becky and Helen both expressed the satisfaction of going to work in these service positions. Becky, director, has been on the job 25 years; Helen, the shelter manager, has 22 years experience. They know their work is life-changing and life-saving, and they appreciate PBQ's help in these efforts.

Leigh Anne Leonard, manager of Forrest General NICU and pediatric unit, and Joan Harper, volunteer at Wesley Medical Center, shared stories of the joy and comfort patients and families had received through the donation of our quilts.

Representing the Veterans Home in Collins was Charles Register. He said their residents loved the colorful quilts, and eagerly looked forward to having one for their bed. Our goal is to provide a quilt for each resident.

Members turned in 70 pillows, nine blankets, three walker totes, and four catheter bag covers. These will be taken to area hospitals (Forrest General, Wesley, Columbia General) to be used on the rehab units, emergency rooms, and pediatric units.

Members who had participated in the Mystery Quilt project this year showed their finished quilts. Dianne McLendon announced plans for a 2014 Round Robin Challenge. More information will come later. 2013 was a very busy and productive year, and appreciation was expressed to our outgoing officers. Betty Allen handed the gavel over to Susie Jackson, who will preside in 2014-2015.

December Quilts at Visitors Center

Anne Hindmarch's quilts have been hung at the Hattiesburg Visitors Center for the month of December. These colorful quilts add to the colorful decorations already in place. Be sure to see these quilts at the

 

Hattiesburg Visitors Center Open House

December 11, 11:00-1:00

 

 

November Meeting

Our November program was presented by Donna Crager on Applique by Machine. Donna was assisted by Betty Allen and Faye Barlow, who showed many examples of machine appliqued quilts. The book Machine Applique: A Sampler of Techniques by Sue Nickels was highly recommended as the best source for instruction.

Betty Allen and Donna Crager (with Betty's cat quilt)



Faye Barlow describes her quilt, held by Donna Crager

We had guests present to receive a patriotic quilt made by Mary Nell Magee and quilted by Wanda Wallace. The quilt was donated to the Wounded Minutemen of Mississippi for raffle on March 17, 2014, in connection with a golf tournament at Pine Creek Golf Club in Purvis. All proceeds from this raffle will be used to meet the needs of area soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will have raffle tickets at our meetings, or contact Dianne Herrington, dherrington4578@comcast.net.

 

Mark Morales, Johnnie Sellers, Dianne Herrington

Our generous members turned in 105 pillows, 2 receiving blankets, and 12 walker totes at today's meeting. Members were encouraged to finish and bring in any children's quilts to be donated at our December luncheon meeting. We also will donate stocking stuffers for women and children. Representatives from several agencies will be invited to the December meeting to receive these gifts.

Why We Make Pillows

We received a letter from Vickie Istre saying: "My daughter recently had labs drawn at outpatient Forrest General Hospital, and after a rough morning, your pillow being given as prize was a comfort! Thanks for your thoughtfulness!"

Brenna Istre

Brenna chose the purple pillow with moon and stars. Then she thoughtfully picked the pink and white one for her baby sister who is due in March.




November Quilts by Joe and Betty Bingham



Our display at the Hattiesburg Visitors Center was changed for the month of November. Husband and wife team Joe and Betty Bingham hung their works for the public to enjoy. These are displayed around the banister of the second floor. We are told that visitors to the Center are always complimentary of the displays provided by Pine Belt Quilters.


Quilts by Joe Bingham



Quilts by Joe Bingham



Quilts by Betty Bingham

Quilts Displayed at Hattiesburg Visitors Center

We keep a display of quilts at the Hattiesburg Visitors Center for the enjoyment of the staff and visitors who stop in. VISITHATTIE sponsors a challenge at each of our quilt shows, and winners from these challenges are on permanent display along the railing of the second floor above the counter.

Upper row: Martha Ginn, Susan Baskin, Mildred Jenkins
Lower row: Jo-Ann Evans, Jo-Ann Evans, Martha Ginn

Each month a different quilter's quilts are displayed on the other three railings. These pictures were taken from the lobby, where the quilts offer a welcoming view and are high enough to be out of reach. Mary Nell Magee and Doris Dunn organize and hang the quilts monthly.

October quilts by Sally Henderson

October quilts by Sally Henderson

Brookhaven Piecemaker Quilters Present Trunk Show to PBQ

(front) Jan Luter, Betty Zehnder, Juanita Ashley, Jacque Coons, Theresa Wege
(back) Polly Thomasson, Ethel Talley, Loretta Hodge, Sue Thornton, Elizabeth Harris

We were treated to an inspiring trunk show by the Brookhaven Piecemaker Quilters at our October 16 meeting. Ten quilters came and shared their stories of making their beautiful quilts. The bargello quilt hanging was made by Juanita Ashley. Several of the quilts had won ribbons in various shows, and sisters Betty and Juanita admitted to being very competitive with each other.

Sue Thornton, Polly Thomasson, Ethel Talley, Betty Zehnder, Juanita Ashley

We voted to elect the nominating committee's slate of officers for 2014-2015. Appreciation was expressed to the committee for their work.

President - Susie Jackson
Vice President - Paula Jones
Secretary/Membership - Anne Esteve
Secretary/Newsletter - Linda Flanders
Treasurer - Margie Hancock

Special thanks to Linda Flanders and Margie Hancock for contining to serve for second two-year terms! Wanda Wallace will chair the 2014 show. The VisitHattie Challenge theme is THE HATTIESBURG ZOO. All other entry information will be posted on our website soon. (An announcement will appear on this blog when that information is available.)

Dues ($20) are being accepted for the upcoming year; it is important to pay early or on time to be listed in the published membership list in January.
Reports were given on workshops and other guild activities, and several people took home kits (top, backing, batting) to complete before our December quilts giveaway.

We received 123 pillows, 17 walker totes, 17 catheter bag covers, and 9 small blankets at the October meeting. Betty Allen read a touching thank-you note from a nurse/mother about how these gifts calm and comfort children, making us even more aware of why we do these activities!