New Totals

photo by Tracey


Look at the numbers of quilts we Sunnies donated in recent months! WTG!

AUGUST: WAS - 63 total; WTIL - 18 total

SEPTEMBER: WAS - 27 total; WTIL - 7 total

OCTOBER: WAS - 28 total; WTIL - 14 total

NOVEMBER: WAS - 66 total; WTIL - 11 total

Check out the new yearly totals in the sidebar. Thanks to everyone for being so generous!

The Kids & Quilts in Ukraine

What adorable little faces!

Quilts to the Ukraine

Our wonderful charity quilters from this Sunshine Quilt guild helped make and donate almost 50 quilts to send to a missionary in the Ukraine for an orphanage. She posted a picture of the kids with some of the quilts at her blog. http://www.fireleann.blogspot.com/ Check it out!

Back at it ~ Crumb Piecing

I've been awol pretty much for the last few months...haven't even had much stitching time. Things are going well with the new job and the remodeling is almost done...it's time to sew! All the talk about Crumb piecing and Crumb blocks has me itching to be stitching my own.

These were from the last batch of Crumbs...I love how the Crumbs add interest to pretty plain blocks. By throwing in a few scraps of bright, you can make child friendly blocks. My Crumb blocks are 2.5" in the Jacob's Ladder for a 6.5" block.

I use 3.5" Crumb blocks for centers of Friendship Stars and for 9 Patches...this will give you a great 9.5" block. If you haven't tried Crumb Piecing...dig out those scraps and make a few blocks. They're addictive and remember...this is mostly "found" fabric that you would normally trash.

Susan in TX ~ Patchkat

Some Kids Need Your Quilts!!

Wrap a Smile is an on-going project. They send cleft-palate mission teams around the world, about once a month, year-round. Each team needs about 100 quilts. So you see, you can never make too many quilts! This red/white one was made using some of the blocks our members generously donated for Carol's challenge.

Wrap Them in Love is also on-going. They send quilts to orphanages around the world when requests come in, and when people travel and can carry them along. That means they also can never get too many quilts.

If you love to make quilts all the time, and to think of your quilt warming a child somewhere far or near, Sunshine is the place for you!

Claire's Challenge

I sent these blocks to Claire. She wants 'em bright! I think these qualify.
--Carol E.

Challenge: Multiples of Three

Remember Claire's fun challenge:

Here is the challenge I have been dreaming up. End a long time away, maybe
November 30 or Dec 31. I want to experiment with layouts that involve
multiple size blocks. So you have lots of flexibility.

Make blocks (square, rectangle or long strips) any multiple of three, then
add 1/2 inch to the last measurement:3 1/2 x 3 1/2; 9 1/2 x 9 1/2; 12 1/2 x
12/1/2; 6 1/2 x 9 1/2; 6 1/2 x 12 1/2; 3/1/2 x 45 1/2...get the idea? So
long as their finished dimensions are a multiple of three, it should be
possible to make them fit together.

Try for some primary colors in each, but if you can't that is okay too,
i'll try to put it next to something bright. If anyone needs fabric (or just
wants to have a way to end, when the fabric sent is used up) send me a SASE
and I'll send a fat quarter of a dark fabric for you to brighten up.

Let's see how many bright and varied blocks we can send to Claire!

TOTALS for quilts July 2008

Here are the totals for quilts so far for July 2008. Looks like The Sunshine Ladies are doing great.

WAS--43

WTIL--13

PANAMA--3

YEAR TO DATE TOTALS:

WAS--268

WTIL--104

PANAMA--3

That is a great GRAND TOTAL OF 375.
Way to go Ladies.

Kids With Wrap-a-Smile Quilts

Every once in a while we are lucky to get pictures of the kids who receive our quilts. It is very heart-warming and inspiring to see these photos. We welcome any new members who would like to join this fun endeavor. Leave a comment and ask us how!


Baby in Vietnam


After surgery in Nepal


Keeping warm in Nepal


Thumbs up for life-altering surgery!


a child in Venezuela

Thank-You Letter

photo is from a previous WAS trip

We recently received this thank-you note for our quilts that went on a Rotaplast trip to El Salvador. Read and enjoy:
------
"Dear Terry and Fellow Wrap-A-Smile Quilters,

Thank you so much for your mission which is beyond words of gratitude. Your
dedication and work is wonderful, touches many lives and is appreciated by
so many. You affect more children and families than you can imagine. I know
because I have seen it in their faces and heard it in their words of thanks.

This month I had the pleasure of being a part of a Rotaplast mission trip to
El Salvador. I am a member of the Rotary Club of Sacramento which in part
sponsored this mission. I was blessed to be the photographer and journalist
for this mission and my 19 year old college student daughter also attended
as the recreational therapist. It was our first mission and the experience
of our lives individually and together.

Your quilts brightened up every part of the process for the children from
the intake, through the surgery and recovery, to the follow up clinic and
finally to the journey out the hospital to return home. The children and
their families were surprised, delighted and grateful that they were able to
take your quilts home with them. Your gifts were truly appreciated.

I presented a photo slide show of our mission trip to our Rotary Club lunch
meeting (attended by 300-350) last week and many were in tears and greatly
moved by the work accomplished by Rotaplast and all those involved. A part
of my presentation included photographs of your patch and quilts and how
each brightened the process for all involved. I will email you the photos of
your patch and the quilts from my presentation.
----
Thank you again for your hard work and dedication. I truly hope that you
have fun, enjoy getting together and support each other in sharing your
mission. Please know that what you do is so very important to so many
involved in every aspect of each Rotaplast mission.

I look forward to hearing from you.
With warm regards,
Susan Sheridan "

Reminder - Carol's Challenge

Read the right hand column and scroll down far enough to read about about Carol's "double challenge." She has received some lovely red and white blocks! So far she has made these two pretty tops, and has one more almost ready to assemble.

Join the challenge if you can! It's fun, and look at the great quilts it produces! (Not to mention the quilts that result for kids with leukemia!) The challenge runs through August 31. If you need Carol's address, leave a comment here, and she will send it to you (be sure you are not set on "no reply").

Sew Everywhere!

We Sunshine members (Sunnies, as we affectionately call ourselves) like to go anywhere to meet face to face and to sew for Sunshine together. Here are a few of us who attended BrendaLou's retreat in California in Spring '08.


Bev from Oregon, Carol from Minnesota


Rita (with another of her bright Sunshine quilt tops) from CA, Susy from Montana


Tammy from Texas


BrendaLou, working on a Sunshine kit provided by Ann

We will go anywhere to keep the world warm... one quilt at a time! Please join us! We do it for the kids.

Quilt totals for June 2008

Here are the quilts finished for June 2008

WAS--43

WTIL--24

Great job Ladies! Keep up the good work.

Carol's blocks for her Double Challenge!

These are Carol's blocks for her Double Challenge! Very pretty!

Carol's Double Challenge!

CAROL'S DOUBLE CHALLENGE: 1) Make duplicate sets of blocks, in red and white. Must be 8.5" unfinished.2) Send the blocks to me.3) One set of blocks I will use to make quilts for Sunshine. The other set I will send to Clare for Quilts for Leukemia.4) You have all summer (northern hemisphere) to work on these blocks. On August 31 I will draw a name from those who participate, and will send a thank-you gift to the person whose name I draw.

Check out the Quilts for Leukemia project here:http://quilts4leukaemia.blogspot.com/

Wrap A Smile Quilt totals!!

As of today June 2, 2008 WAS has received 10,029 quilts............(since I havebeen keeping records)Thank you all...................You can all pat yourself on the back ! ! !Terry

These totals are awesome and include quilts from Sunshine and other groups or individuals that donate to Wrap A Smile!!! Sunshine quilt guild has been donating quilts since 2001.

TOTALS for quilts May 2008

Here are the totals for quilts finished and shipped out for the month of May.

WAS--52

WTIL--23

YEAR TO DATE TOTALS:

WAS--182

WTIL--67

PANAMA--3

Way to go Sunshine members for another great month of totals.

APRIL TOTALS FOR QUILTS

I have the totals for Aprils finished quilts to post. Looks like another great month for Sunshine.

April totals:

WAS--42
WTIL--11
PANAMA--1


YEAR TO DATE TOTALS:

WAS--130
WTIL--44
PANAMA--3

Way to go Sunshine Ladies.

Finished Quilts...

Here are some quilts finished by Rita and Pat, quilted by BevB. They all did a wonderful job! They are headed to WTIL to go to kids in orphanages overseas. I don't know why the pictures ended up so small. I took them offline so I am thinking I need to start with the original pictures instead.

2nd Sunday sewing

On the 2nd Sunday of the month we try to quilt for Sunshine as a group. Not everyone is able to every month but it is fun for those that can. We try to post pictures of projects finished during that sewing time.

Here is a quilt top finished by Carol E. during our 2nd Sunday sewing. She did a great job of putting together orphan blocks.

More Quilting Retreat....

A wonderful quilt made with crumbs!
The Sunshine Quilt Guild gang in attendance
BrendaLou the esteemed hostess!
Ann and Nola....
Ritamary and Susy

They all look like they had so much fun. BrendaLou hosts these retreats twice a year and I hear that she does a fantastic job!

Quilting Retreat in CA

Some pictures of a quilting retreat that quite a few sunnies attented in Eureka, CA hosted by BrendaLou from Scottie Dog Quilts.

Sally and Suzanne. They look like they are having fun!
Hard at work.
Bev H. and Carol E.

TOTALS for quilts April 2-2008

Here is the new numbers for quilts from March post within the group.

TOTALS FOR MARCH:
WAS--9
WTIL--20
USA--1

YEAR TO DATE TOTALS:
WAS--88
WTIL--33
PANAMA--2
USA--1

I also want to post a total from the members that have made tops and sent them to Quilting Angels to be quilted for them. You might be surprise at this number for the month of March.

QUILT TOPS WAITING TO BE QUILTED: 69

Sunshine members have been really busy and these quilts will be given to some much needed children in the near future.

Way To Go Sunshine Members.

A finish for WTIL

Here is a quilt that Janet finished using some of the disappearing 9 patch blocks from a sunshine challenge and blocks that students in an elementary school colored in as a classroom activity. Janet has been going into the classrooms for 5 years and the teachers and students really enjoy the project. (So does she!) Before the project is done there will be a total of 9 quilts finished, all of them going to Wrap Them in Love

Gail's finish for National Quilters Day

Here is Gail's quilt she finished on National Quilters Day. What a lovely quilt. Great job Gail.

Gail's Quilts for WAS

Here is two quilts that Gail finished the weekend of the Online quilting retreat. The top one she calls Charlie III. The one to the right is her Bargello. Great job Gail for two lovely quilts.

Sunshine sewing

Did some sunshine sewing today and finished up two quilts. One is with the split 9 pacth blocks from my challenge and the other are some UFO blocks that I had around my sewing room. Both will be going to WTIL.

Carol E's quilts for National Quilting Day

Carol put together this fun 4-patch quilt with a little extra of her own. She wants to know if you see what she changed in the pattern.

On the above right is another great quilt she got together for our first National Quilters day and Online stitching retreat with WTIL.

Great job Carol E for the lovely quilts.

Linda K's Fun with Bricks Quilt

Great job Linda. She got the pattern from Quiltville.com.

National Quilt Day and On-Line Stitching Retreat

March 15,2008 was National Quilt Day. So there was lots going on with Sunshine memebers this weekend. The WTIL yahoo group also was having their first On-Line Stitching Retreat and Sunshine members joined with them for the fun of quilting and sharing.

I am going to post some photos of quilts made from the weekend and hope you will enjoy looking at what the members put together this weekend.

TOTALS for quilts March 12,2008

I am going to post the totals so far for 2008 of finished quilts from Sunshine members. I may be off just a few since we are just starting the blog and trying to get the totals in from the members. But hopefully by April it will be a correct total.

WAS--79 finished quilts sent in

WTIL--13 finished quilts sent in

PANAMA--2 quilts delivered by member

Only 3 months into the year and the members have done a great job and so many kids will get a quilt. I hope that we can contiune to reach the needs of each group through out the year.

Thanks to everyone who has helped so far and I look forward to Aprils totals from you. I will post totals at the beginning of each month if possible.

Pictures of quilts

I hope you have enjoyed some of the photos of quilts donated to WAS so far this year. This is only a few of them. There are so many beautiful quilts that it was hard to choose which ones to post. If you would like to see more of these gorgous quilts from the ladies at Sunshine please check out the links to their photo albums in the side bar.

I hope to post a few more that have been sent to WTIL soon.

A couple from Moira for WAS

Two great quilts from Moira that will show some child the love and warmth a quilt can bring. Great job Moira.

Lori's donation to WAS

Here is a lovely bright quilt from Lori. Great job Lori.

Quilts by Nancy

These quilts are awesome from Nancy. I am not a writer and don't know the names of the blocks but the left one reminds me of stain glass windows. The right one makes me want to go to the rain forrest. Great job Nancy.

Carol E's donation for WAS

This is one of Carol E's donation to WAS. She used several different blocks and the colors are gorgous together. Bev B did a lovely job quilting this one for Carol. Great job ladies.

Quilts by Michele's Mom

Michele's Mom did a lovely job on these two tops for WAS. Bev B also did a lovely job on the quilting. Great job ladies.