Joan Alliston's Settings for Sampler Quilts

Joan Alliston of Brandon presented our program to kick off 2013 with the topic "Settings for Sampler Quilts." Joan and her sister and mother for many years made friendship blocks, challenges, new patterns, enjoying and encouraging each other through illnesses and losses. They made trips together, attended retreats and workshops, shared and swapped fabric and patterns, even completing works for one another, which adds special memories and meaning to the quilts.

Joan showed the many ways that friendship blocks or sampler blocks can be set, with various-sized blocks presenting more creative solutions. She showed examples of sashing and filler blocks and borders to get the quilts to a desired finished size.

Joan and Georgia Polk are co-chairs of the Mississippi Quilt Association committee to keep an ongoing exhibit of quilts at the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Museum in Jackson; they took down the red/green exhibit this week and hung Log Cabin quilts. Several PBQ quilts are in the current display, which will remain until June.

Locally, Mary Nell Magee arranges for quilts to hang at the Hattiesburg Visitors Center; the current theme is "winter blues," to be followed by "flowers" in April.

 Our members have found time to be charitable during their busy lives. At today's meeting we received donations of 67 pillows, 29 walker totes, 25 newborn burp shoulder cloths. Many others worked on quilts for children or the veterans home. A recap for 2012 is listed on last month's blog report. Forrest General's NICU has requested more isolette covers and furnished the gray fabric for the linings. Gloria Green will head up this activity in small groups.

Our membership director distributed copies of our plans for 2013; these meeting programs, boutique projects, and workshops will be listed on our website in Guild Activities. It should be a busy and productive year! The Sampler Quilt Challenge Reveal will be the June meeting, with monetary prizes awarded by viewers' choice balloting.

Pillows Bring Comfort

Members donated 60 pillows at the May meeting. These were divided between Forrest General Hospital and Wesley Medical Center. Once we deliver the pillows we don't often get to know where they went. But this letter from a happy family puts a smile on our faces!

"My 6 year old son had a procedure at Wesley hospital yesterday (doing great, recovering well). We were waiting for the anesthesiologist to come get him when the nurse popped in and surprised him with a pillow. He was overjoyed! He held onto it until the last minute and reclaimed it upon waking up. He has had it in his arms ever since.
Thank you for your thoughtful, generous donations. It's things like this that make stressful situations more relaxing for young children. It provides a sense of comfort.
Thankfully, The Hennes Family"

100 More Pillows

Betty and Joe Bingham have been on another pillow-making marathon. They completed 100 and bagged them up and delivered to Forrest General Hospital. Betty said this brings their total to 250 that they have made.

Betty Bingham with Stacy Lewis at Forrest General

100 pillows in bags ready for delivery