PVQA Education Chairperson Pam Rocco is looking for a few good men/women to help spread the fun of quilting to school children within our community. Pam has kits available and experience galore, all you need is the ability to sew and the desire to help. Interested? Call Pam Rocco (831-713-5487) and she’ll fill you in on the details.

The Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study at the University of California, San Diego, is funded by the NIH to conduct Alzheimer’s research nationwide.

Since beginning their Alzheimer’s Study Quilt Project in January of 2010, over 1300 quilts have been received and distributed to the study participants following an ad placed in the AARP Bulletin. However, the group is now in need of additional quilts so they can continue to provide quilts to the study participants. PVQA has been asked to make a few quilts for them.

Quilts should be:

• New and lap sized, approximately 40” wide and 45” to 50” long. A little larger or smaller is fine.
• Made of 100% cotton.
• Any design, pattern, or batting. The study participants are both men and women so a variety of colors works best.
• Or a “themed” quilt specifically for a woman or a man.
• Quilts should be non-denominational; we don’t know the faiths of the patients.
• There is no deadline. Whenever you can make and send a quilt will be fine.
• Some quilters have put labels on the back with their name and city thanking the recipient for participating in Alzheimer’s research, but that is optional. No label is necessary or required.

As the quilts are received by UCSD, they are distributed to the research study sites located throughout the US and Canada when they are notified of newly enrolled participants.

Quilts can be mailed to:

Jeffree Itrich
Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study
UCSD
8950 Villa La Jolla Dr., Ste C-227
La Jolla, CA 92037-1712

The Annual Preview Party will be held from 7:00-9:00 PM on Friday, February 24, at the Fairgrounds. All PVQA members are invited, and may each bring one guest.  You will have a chance to preview the quilts and shop at many of the vendors. A light fare of appetizers, wine and punch, and desserts will be served. Don’t forget: pre-paid wristbands are required for this event, for both members and guests.

PVQA member Mac McNamara will be showing a quilt in a display sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum and in part funded by the Quilter’s Guild of Dallas Helena Hibbs Endowment Fund.  The show is an invitational exhibit of quilts made by men.  It is called Male Call: Quilts made by Men. The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum is in Golden, Colorado. It runs January 30 to April 28, 2012.  For more information please go to http://www.rmqm.org. Mac’s quilt is “Holy Scissors” which he first exhibited with Quilters’ Connection in 2009, then at Pacific International in Santa Clara in 2009, and in the annual Pajaro Valley Quilt Association show in 2010.  Photo attached is from the AQS exhibit in Des Moines..

Our current Web Manager is looking for someone knowledgeable in web design to join our crew of Web Managers at pvqa.org. This is a fun volunteer job that you can do at home in your jammies!  Anyone interested please contact .

We are excited to announce the organization of a new chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild, here in Santa Cruz County.

The Modern Quilt Guild was started over two years ago in Los Angeles by two quilting bloggers who met and decided to share their enthusiasm with others. The guild is now International, with nearly 100 local guilds across the country, and many more in Europe and Australia.

As their website, http://themodernquiltguild.com explains: “Modern Quilting is a new and rapidly growing movement in the quilting world. A group of quilters applied their current tastes and points of view to this traditional craft and shared their work online.  Their fresh approach and new designs attracted sewers and quilters and the modern quilting movement was born.”

American Quilter Magazine recently published a wonderful article by Iris Frank about the Modern Quilters, which you can access here.

The Modern Quilt Guild Santa Cruz Chapter meetings are the first Tuesday of the month, from 6:30 to 9 pm, at SueDee’s, 222 G, Mount Hermon Rd., Scotts Valley, CA.  For more information, contact SueDee’s:  831-439-2001 or http://www.suedees.com.

PVQA members and Quilt Show Committee, along with quilt maker and creator Diane Hoxeng, are proud to introduce next year’s opportunity quilt, entitled “Succotash”. This magnificent sampler quilt was conceived by PVQA member Diane Hoxeng. The eighty-three traditional blocks were pieced by members of PVQA, using cotton, batiks, upholstery, silk and linen fabrics. It was then assembled and hand quilted by Diane. The quilt measures 72” by 89”, and is 100% machine washable and dryable. The quilt can be viewed at the following venues: 

July 16 - La Selva Beach Art, Antique and Craft Faire
September 13-18 - Santa Cruz County Fair
September 24-25 - Harvest Quilt Show, Morgan Hill
October 13-16 - Pacific International Quilt Festival
November 19 - La Selva Beach Holiday Gift Faire
December - February - various guild meetings and/or quilt shops (to be announced)
February 25-26 - PVQA Quilt Show

Quilts for Kids, Inc. is a 501 (c)3 non-profit, which in the past eleven years has donated tens of thousands of hand-made patchwork quilts to seriously ill children and children of abuse.  If you already quilt for QFK, thank you!  If not, please consider visiting the website, www.quiltsforkids.org to learn more about what we do.

In our experience, quilters are the most generous people anywhere, always using their skills to help others, and we realize that you are all involved in charitable efforts, worthy causes, all.  But if you would like to help Quilts for Kids by making a comfort quilt (just approximately 38”x45”), you may visit our website to order a free kit or you can make a quilt from your own stash, which is particularly welcome!

We like to say we turn tears into smiles because that is literally what happens when a child receives a hand-made patchwork quilt from one of our volunteers.  Seriously ill children are comforted, and their families uplifted by the thought that someone cares enough to create a beautiful gift to help them through critical and difficult times.

Every day, we receive notes from patients’ families and from hospital personnel expressing their heartfelt thanks, and telling us how much the quilts mean to the kids.  So, please, when you can find the time, join the QFK staff, quilters one and all, in making a difference in a child’s life.

Thank you, Linda, Nancy, Cindi, Kristin, Sally and Pam
Quilts For Kids, inc.

As part of the Quilts Of Valor project, Moda Fabrics is sponsoring an effort to make 100 quilts in 100 days, to comfort our injured soldiers. All you have to do is make one Star block (or as many as you like) from the pattern provided, then send it to Moda before May 1. The blocks will then be sewn into the Flag Of Valor quilt, shown above. Click on the following link for details.

Latest Update: we have met our goal of 100 quilts in 100 days!

A HUGE thank you to the hundreds of quilters, sewers, binders, ironers, sorters and organizers that have all volunteered their time for Moda’s Just One Star Program. As of June 14th we have met our goal of 100 quilts in 100 days. The generosity has been overwhelming. I am personally moved by the generosity of quilting community. The notes and letters have touched us with the stories. I know that the soldiers that receive these quilts will also be moved by the time, talent and love that have gone into each of these quilts. We have received blocks from all over the world for this event totally at this point 12,000 blocks. This event has grown much bigger than we could have ever imagined and we owe each of you the participated a big thank you. We could not have done it without you.

modafabrics.blogspot.com/2011/03/just-one-star.html