PVQA Quilting Bee. Whatever quilting project you’re working on, make progress toward its completion while working and having fun in the company of friends. There will be door prizes, and I’ll make scones.  Bring your own food and beverages for the day. I will bring my iron and ironing board; one more would be helpful. No charge to join in the fun.

To sign up, contact Cara Lamb  

The community quilt group, Apple Piecers, will be hosting the Silent Auction at the 2013 Quilt Show.  We are looking for dozens of unique items for this fun auction!  Items such as gift certificates to your favorite day spa or restaurant, new (preferred) or like-new re-gifted wonderful household or decorative items, quilting supplies and fabrics, books and DVD’s, baskets filled with chocolate and fabrics—you get the idea. Please bring your items to the November, December, or January PVQA General Membership meetings and give to any member of Apple Piecers—Cathy Colson, Sue Costa, Heidi Sandkuhle, Pam Noma, Pam Harris, Linda Fleck, or Shirley Jackson. We ask that no garments be donated, and Apple Piecers reserves the right to decide if a donation may be better suited to the Bargain Garden. THANK YOU.

Students Help Make Quilts for Veterans

Quilters in the photo are:Sue Costa, Cathy Colson, Pam Harris and Linda Fleck (left to right)

Local elementary students pitch in to make quilt blocks at the Santa Cruz County Fair. Unless you have school-age kids at home, you may not know that many schools take a field trip to the Fair. Participating in many activities not offered to the general public during two days of special early hour admittance to the Fair, students were able to help make quilt blocks that the members of Apple Piecers (one of PVQA’s community quilt groups) sewed into quilts that will be donated to Veterans at our local Veterans Hospitals.
The kids really light up when they learn that they are helping to make quilts for veterans.

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.

I am thrilled beyond words to announce PVQA has been selected by Cowles California Media Company, to receive a media grant as part of their 1 Million Dollar Community Investment! This means they will create a thirty second promotion to advertise our 35th Annual Quilt Show on February 23-24 2013. This promotion will run from approximately January 22nd, 2013 through the date of the event, airing at least 20 times per week on KION/CBS 46 & KCBA/Fox 35! Our event will also be included on their websites.

According to Cowles President, Paul Dughi, the initiative is designed to help the communities they serve. He explains, “I’m convinced the only way we are all going to be successful long-term is if we have a healthy, vibrant community and economy in the markets we operate.  This program is designed to help bolster the community, bring awareness to groups which are already doing great things, and expand our community service beyond the typical things we have done in the past.”
Cowles California Medial Company, representing KION/CBS 46 | KCBA/FOX 35 | KMUV/TELEMUNDO 23 | CENTRAL COAST CW 46.2| KCOY/CBS 12 and KKFX/FOX 11, serves Monterey, Salinas, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and San Luis Obispo. 

So how did this come about? I was talking with Ruth DeBord, a PVQA member from Salinas, at a general meeting several months ago, and she said, “Iris, PVQA needs to apply for a KION Media Grant,” My immediate reaction was ‘Oh yeah right, Ruth, as if we have a chance of getting it!” which I thought, but of course didn’t say.  Soon afterward, Ruth emailed with the link. I checked it out and thinking, “Well, all they can do is say no,” filled out the application and submitted it. Last week I received a wonderful email beginning, “Thank you for your submission for a media grant as part of $1 Million Dollar Community Investment. We are replying to let you know the team received and reviewed your application and we would like to offer you one of our media grants.” 

I’m sure a main factor in receiving the grant is our outreach—the Veteran’s Quilts and the activities of All Stars and Apple Piecers—which I covered in detail, you can be sure. SO, thank you to these wonderful groups and to all who help them. And a special thanks to you, Ruth, for telling us about this amazing opportunity to publicize our 2013 Quilt Show!

Iris Frank, PVQA President

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.

Two PVQA members—Helen Klee and Iris Frank—who helped with the creation of this attractive handprint quilt by the Moreland Notre Dame (MND) First Grade class, Watsonville received the following note from Angel Cozzens who spearheaded the project: “I’m pleased to say our beautiful quilt was finished and handed over to the MND auction committee yesterday. On behalf of the school, I would like to thank you both for your generosity and creativity in producing a really lovely work of art that can be used as a lap quilt or as a display. “ And later Angel reported the winner bidder was the school principal. The quilt is currently on display in the 1st grade class. The principal plans to display it again at their 8th grade graduation and enjoy it upon retirement as a memento of her years at MND.”

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.

At long last we are seeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down. However there are many troops still deployed, and many more coming home with injuries, be they physical, mental or emotional. The VA hospital in Palo Alto accommodates many of these soldiers with the hope of rehabilitation. The folks at the VA continue to request lap quilts for the recovering soldiers, many in wheelchairs, which is where we quilters come in.

You can help by making a small quilt, 36"x48” (slightly larger OK), patriotic if you wish, suitable for either gender. Please use quality fabric and employ quality workmanship. Quilts may be tied, or moderately quilted so that it will still drape nicely. Finished quilts can be brought to the PVQA general meeting, or contact at Sandy Helin for more information.

Also requested: adult size knit or crocheted caps, books such as mysteries and popular novels, and crossword or puzzle books.

The Palo Alto Veteran’s Hospital in association with Stanford University is conducting two clinical studies for Alzheimer’s Disease research in 2012, and they would like to give a quilt to each participant in the studies as a way to thank them. The participants don’t receive any money for being in the study. These studies are focused on ways to help patients suffering from symptoms of sleep deprivation and agitation that are associated with memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease.

The researcher in charge of these studies says that most of his participants are male veterans, 55 years and older, and he thinks that they would appreciate patriotic themed quilts, but any type of new quilt would be much appreciated.

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.

The PVQA contact for these quilts is Sue Costa. She can be reached via e-mail at suecosta@verizon.net. You can also bring a quilt to any PVQA meeting and give it to any Apple Piecers group member. Sue will deliver them to Palo Alto for you. There is no specific deadline, but please contact Sue if you would like to donate a quilt for this project.

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.

In addition to the Stanford study, quilts may also be distributed to the research study sites located throughout the US and Canada when they are notified of newly enrolled participants. If you wish your quilt to go to one of these other locations, they 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

Thank you to everyone who participated in making the 2014 Opportunity Quilt!

From the members who let me rifle through their stash (Iris, Libby, Brenda) to all the appliquers (especially those who made extras - Kristine, Jeannie and others) and the piecers - thanks for all your work! I will be putting the top together this week and then it still needs quilting and binding. This is truly a group effort and I think it is going to be a fabulous opportunity quilt when it is finished.