Serving Joyfully

Sixteen volunteers from surrounding communities (and a far) came together for a community-service quilt-a-thon on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. 

Some brought quilts they had previously completed at home. Others brought in sandwiched quilts from the Veterans Day event, free-motion stitched them at home and bound the quilts with coordinating fabrics; two were Longarm-stitched by Creative Longarm Partners in Marlborough, Mass., (an at-home studio business that has generously offered to Longarm any of these charity quilts as an in-kind donation, because they want to support this worthwhile cause), most of the volunteers worked on or created new comfort quilts during their time onsite while others hand sewed labels or cut borders, bindings and fabric squares for kits.

All in all, a good day ...

• 18 quilts were finished with a newly-designed Power of the Quilt Project label (they will be blessed at Worship Service and distributed to individuals undergoing chemotherapy),
• 6 quilt tops were finished onsite,
• 2 volunteers learned how to hand tie a quilt, honoring the traditional technique of years past - and enjoyed working on a quilt top created with Civil War reproduction fabrics that incorporated 100-year-old block designs (see second picture below),
• 6 comfort quilts were sandwiched with batting material and cozy flannel backings, to be taken home to be stitched or dropped of at Creative Longarm Partners for pro bono stitching, and 
• several volunteers eagerly selected from the "take-home" quilt top kits to work on prior to the spring quilt-a-thon event.

Cris Crawford (far left, at table) works on a Log Cabin block while PQP Project Coordinator Diane McNamara and Sally Demler (at right) enjoy showing off many of the 18 comfort quilts Sally will take to the infusion unit of a Boston-based medical center. Demler noted that the nurses who hand out the quilts match the recipients with these colorful handmade creations based on the individual's color and design preferences and interests.

A beautiful example of a "sampler" quilt made with Civil War reproduction fabrics.

Susan Mogren of Holliston made this quilt and works with Diane to hand tie it.

Westwood resident Zelayna "Zee" Rauch enjoys putting together the coordinated blues and green fabric selections from a "take-home" quilt top kit.

Church member Sue Weaver of Hopkinton is a first-time volunteer at the Winter quilt-a-thon, but she hopes to participate at many more!

Join Us for the Spring Quilt-a-thon

Saturday, March 17, 2018

(10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)

UUAC, First Parish in Sherborn

11 Washington Street

RSVP to Diane McNamara at

dimcnamara@verizon.net

so we can make our delicious lunch plans!

These events offer fun, fellowship and an opportunity to put your love into action.