Spring Quilt-A-Thon a Success!

In total, 17 volunteers from surrounding communities gathered together for the recent Power of the Quilt Project (PQP) all-day spring quilt-a-thon held at the Unitarian Universalist Area Church in Sherborn, Mass. 

Natick Girl Scout Leader Christine Schell arranged for several Scouts to participate. Pictured below (l to r) are Schell with Chelsea Eaton, Savannah Kaltofen and Z Peverill-Conti. (Not pictured: Scout Ellie Schelleng)

Natick Girl Scouts learn how to build quilt kits during the spring
quilt-a-thon as part of their Fiber Arts Merit Badge.

Each quilt - a unique work of art.

Each of 20 quilts was hand-finished with the cloth label that describes the project as a joint partnership between the UUAC and the Rhododendron Needlers Quilt Guild of Walpole. 

Afterwards, a sampling of the completed quilts was hung for a week’s display in the church sanctuary.

PQP Coordinator Cris Crawford gets in some machine time.

Since the Power of the Quilt Project’s inception in 2003, 2,120 colorful quilts have been assembled and disseminated to individuals undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

Donna Allen shows us this quilt's colorful design.

A quilt is a tangible connection from the giver to the recipient which says he or she is a person worth caring for. The power of this caring can provide hope during a scary and lonely time. Even quilt recipients who are part of a large community of friends and family members find peace and comfort snuggled up with a homemade quilt.

Thanks to everyone who shared the day with us! 

Quilt on!!

Most Recent Comfort Quilt Donation

Pictured below are Cris Crawford, coordinator of the Power of the Quilt Project at the Unitarian Universalist Area Church, First Parish in Sherborn, along with Sally Demler, holding two of the recently-finished comfort quilts. Twelve cheerful-looking cozy quilts were donated in early March to the Harvard Vanguard Cancer Treatment Center in Kenmore Square, Boston. 

We know these lovely quilts will be enjoyed by the men and women there who are undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

Sally is also the leader of the Yarn Spinners, a group of volunteers who meet monthly at the church to knit and crochet baby caps and blankets for children facing hardship. The unique items created by this group are distributed regularly through Project Linus.

Cris and Sally love showing off everyone's handiwork!

PQP March Quilt-a-thon - Rescheduled

If you're planning to join us for the next Power of the Quilt Quilt-a-thon, please know that it has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 2, 2016. It will still be held from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. in Alliance Hall at the Unitarian Universalist Area Church, First Parish in Sherborn.

We hope you will still be able to participate. Come for part of the day or for the full day.

Lunch and beverages will be provided for all volunteers joining in.

Sewing, pinning, ironing, and cutting stations are available.
If you plan to join us, please bring your own sewing machine.
Volunteers for handwork are also needed.

If you are unable to join us but have a quilt square to share, please drop it by the church or mail it to the following address, and we will incorporate your square into a community comfort quilt.

The Power of the Quilt Project

Unitarian Universalist Area Church

11 Washington Street

Sherborn, MA  01770

We look forward to seeing you then!

Fabric Squares to Share?

First off, we hope you're planning to join our next Power of the Quilt Project Quilt-a-thon on Saturday, March 19, 2016 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the UUAC, First Parish in Sherborn. Lunch is provided and all are welcome!

But, if you are unable to join us that day, might you consider donating a fabric square or two that volunteers might use in a community quilt? 

As you know, all squares should be 6.5 inches from edge to edge. Squares may be dropped off at the church or mailed to the address below.

U.U.A.C., First Parish

Power of the Quilt Project

11 Washington Street

Sherborn, Massachusetts 01770

We hope you'll extend this invitation to fellow quilters as well!

On behalf of everyone at the UUAC and the Rhododendron Needlers Quilt Guild, thank you for continuing to support the Power of the Quilt Project which has been donating cozy comfort quilts to men and women undergoing chemotherapy for more than a decade now!

SAVE THE DATE!

Saturday, March 19, 2016 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.)

The next quilt-a-thon sponsored by the UUAC, First Parish in Sherborn, and the Rhododendron Needlers Quilt Guild is set for Saturday, March 19th.

Volunteers usually arrive around 9 a.m., enjoy coffee, water, refreshments and a lunch hosted by the church, work hard on the projects at hand, enjoy one another's company, catch up with friends and make new acquaintances, and wrap up activities around 4 p.m. 

There will be tasks needing the talents of those who like to hand stitch, measure and cut fabric squares, pin quilts to backings, machine stitch or hand tie quilt tops, and add labels by hand. If you don't know how ... we'll teach you!

The efforts of the 22 volunteers who gathered at the Jan. 18 event resulted in work on more than 20 quilts. 12 beautiful quilts were completed. Those were either finished that day or had been dropped off by volunteers who finished a quilt or two at home. Several volunteers took quilts home to put on bindings and the like.

Our youngest quilter that day was young Sage Lafleur who would be celebrating her 11th birthday in a few days. What a great experience to kick-start what might become a lifelong passion!

Sage learns how to lay out the
side pieces to her quilt top.
Cris had her select the light and
dark fabric squares for her first
quilt project. Nice job!

Here's young Sage at her mom's
machine. Sage turned 11 this month!
She'd been to sewing camp, but this was the first time
she tried her hand at learning the art of quilting, with
guidance from coordinator Cris Crawford.

Whatever your skill or talent, please be sure to join in on the fun. It's all for a wonderful cause.


SPECIAL NOTE: There may be one more quilt-a-thon for this church year which will be held in Easton, Mass., so keep checking back here for updates about that event.

The Sunday After ...

In the image below you'll see five of the latest comfort quilts - completed by devoted volunteers from The Power of the Quilt Project - which are hung from the church's balcony in time for today's service at the UUAC First Parish in Sherborn.

Colorful quilt patterns warm up the UUAC's
sanctuary on a cold winter morning.

Some quilts were completed at the Quilt-a-thon (sponsored by the UUAC and the Rhododendron Needlers Quilt Guild) on the MLK, Jr. holiday, Jan. 18, and others were completed by volunteers in their homes and dropped off at the church during the day-long quilt-making event.

Thanks to coordinator, Cris Crawford, for hanging the quilts and taking such a great picture for use in this blog.

These quilts will most likely bring wonderful smiles and happy hearts to those who receive them.

Post MLK Day Quilt-a-thon News

Fun Fact: The 22 volunteers who participated in the recent quilt-a-thon held in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., came from 11 surrounding towns! 

That, in itself, is a lovely demonstration of the power of unity, coupled with a commitment to service.

At the end of the quilt-a-thon, Cris Crawford, coordinator of The Power of the Quilt Project, tallied up all the efforts of our 22 volunteers, and more than 20 quilts were worked on! Congratulations to all!

As mentioned in the previous blog, a dozen comfort quilts were completed that day and are now ready for distribution to those in need.

These finished quilts will bring joy and comfort
to those who receive them.

Vickie Karian, longtime volunteer, finished two quilts with machine stitching during the quilt-a-thon. She kindly took several quilts home that will need her finishing touch -- either by machine stitching or hand-tying the quilts. 

Then, she'll bring those completed quilts to the church where other volunteers will sew on a special label by hand. It is at this point that the quilts are truly "finished" and ready for distribution.

Vickie's 30 years' experience quilting came in handy
to complete two comfort quilts during the Jan. 18 quilt-a-thon.

Barbie Breer, a UUAC newcomer,
enjoys affixing the final label by hand.

MLK Jr Community Service Project

Today, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. and a commitment to serving others, 22 volunteers came together at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Sherborn, MA, blending their talents of hand sewing, machine stitching, cutting and piecing fabric squares, pinning, backing and quilting comfort quilts. 

A dozen beautiful quilts were worked on and finished. These will be given to women and men undergoing chemotherapy and for the Linus Project which provides comforting quilts and blankets for children facing hardship.

Many thanks to Cris Crawford, member of the UUAC, First Parish in Sherborn, and part of the Rhododendron Needlers Quilt Guild in Walpole, who has coordinated the Power of the Quilt Project for the past three years.

Some participants experienced their very first quilt-a-thon today, and others have been quilting for 20 or more years!

You can see the love being put into these incredible creations, as witnessed in the faces of those involved.

The label lovingly hand sewn to each completed quilt.

Margaret May
A part of The Power of the Quilt Project
for 10 years.

Tobi Hoffman at work on a "Jelly Roll" quilt.

11-year-old Sage LaFleur is making her first-ever quilt today!

Sally, Sue, Jeanne and Sandy pitch in 

to pin Margaret's quilt to "batting" and a fabric backing. 

See one of the quilt squares close up, below.

Margaret and Cris display the finished quilt.

Beautiful Quilt

This beautiful quilt was donated by Louise Murphy, along with 11 others that she artfully crafted over the summer. Today it will go to someone who needs it. Thanks Louise and all the volunteers who make this project a reality!

Our next Quilt-a-thon will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Area Church in Sherborn, 11 Washington Street, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 24th. All are welcome regardless of skill level. There is something to do for everyone. Lunch will be provided.

October Quiltathon at the UU Area Church in Sherborn

This Saturday October 25th there will be a quilt-a-thon hosted by the Power of the Quilt Project at the Unitarian Universalist Area Church in Sherborn, from 9:15 to 4:00 in Alliance Hall in the lower level. Lunch will be provided. We have kits to make quilt tops and sandwiched quilts to quilt. Quilters of all experience levels are invited to join us.

Pictured on the left is a quilt that was just finished over the summer. The fabric squares were chosen by a young man in one of the Sunday school classes and organized and quilted by a member of the Power of the Quilt Project. Join us for a fun, productive and worthwhile day of quilting activity!

January 20, 2014 Quiltathon at the UUAC

We had another great quiltathon today. I took an inventory of the quilts in the works before today, so I could track our progress. I haven't counted what I brought home yet, but I know there are at least five finished quilts that people brought in, several tops that people brought to the quiltathon, many tops that were sandwiched, many more tops that were made during the day, two quilts with bindings attached ready to finish, one quilt tied, kits assembled, and more. I am so grateful for the support that this project has received, today and this year, from all the people who have come to work, who have helped promote the project, and the many friends who stop by to see how we are doing. It's a rare treat to be able to spend a whole day together, and to be working together on this worthy cause.

I was busy so I didn't take many pictures, but here are three illustrating excellent work by Carline, Tobi and Margaret. Carline and Tobi are holding quilt tops that they finished today, and Margaret completely finished this child's quilt (in the afternoon, after finishing more than one top in the morning!), which will go to Project Linus, an organization that provides blankets to children in need of comfort.

–Cris

Columbus Day Quiltathon at the UUAC

We accomplished quite a bit this year at our first quiltathon of the season. Two tops were completely quilted and are ready to be bound, five and 9/10 tops were constructed, four quilts were sandwiched, labels were sewn on several quilts that can now be donated, and fabric was selected and kits were made for the next round of quiltmaking. Best of all we enjoyed a day together and had a great lunch procured by Jill Carroll. I really appreciated getting to know some people that I hadn't had a chance to talk to much before. Thanks for participating, Alice, Rebecca, Beth, Sarah, Jill, Cathie, Margaret, Gloria, Tobi, Polly, Peter and probably a couple of other supportive husbands too, the volunteers that have pledged to continue this work at home, and the rest....Really thinking about it, there are so many more people to thank that I would fail in trying. But special thanks to the church for supporting our project, and all the people who spread the word about the availability of these quilts for people undergoing cancer treatment and other travails, for whom such a humble object as a quilt can be a source of comfort. Enjoy the pictures! -Cris

Sandwiched quilt being released from the roll of batting by Cris

 Beth quilting an entire top

 Alice sewing all the labels on a bunch of finished quilts

 Cathie Healey making more kits

 Some of the possibilities for new quilt tops

 Margaret's "1200" top - done by lunch!

 Tobi's "Comfort by the nines" top from start to finish!

 Gloria's "800" quilt with a lovely border.

 Margaret and the sixth top - probably finished by now!

Sarah holding a stunning quilt top in beautiful fall colors