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'Houses of Hope' quilt raises money for shelter
(by Sue Hoffman - December 23, 2009)
'Houses of Hope' quilt raises money for shelter
By SUE HOFFMAN
Hope for a brighter tomorrow is the dream of the many victims of domestic abuse who receive emergency shelter at Women Safe in Chardon. That dream is reflected in the quilt titled, "Houses of Hope," which has brought in over $16,000 for Women Safe.
The colorful quilt -- featuring houses individually decorated with children, curtains, flowers and shrubs -- represents the dedicated handiwork of the 40-member Chagrin Valley Quilt Guild. Over the years, the guild has produced quilts to support Women Safe, a shelter and resource center in its 30th year of service to victims of domestic violence.
Friends of Women Safe, the not-for-profit organization's fund-raising arm, held over 50 raffles for the "Houses of Hope" quilt during the last year. In total, the Friends group sold $17,340 in raffle tickets, netting $16,458 after expenses.
At its monthly meeting at the Chagrin Falls Public Library last week, Lin McQuiston, of Solon, pulled the winning raffle ticket for the "Houses of Hope" quilt, which went to Peggy Johnson, of Chardon.
"That was the first time one of our quilts went full circle and was brought back to the guild for display," said Mrs. McQuiston, who coordinated the two-year "Houses of Hope" project with the late Sue Scheff, of Chagrin Falls. "It was quite exciting for everyone." She thanked Nancy Zamrzla, of the Friends group, for bringing it to the meeting.
Mrs. Zamrzla said she took the quilt to Mrs. Johnson the day following the meeting and "she was thrilled."
Passing on the quilt concludes a busy year of fund-raising, Mrs. Zamrzla said. Along with some of the Friends' 32 volunteers, Mrs. Zamrzla had taken the quilt to Blossom Time and the Art Walk in Chagrin Falls and the Cleveland By Hand exhibit at the I-X Center, among other places, to sell raffle tickets. They set up a tent at festivals and other events in Geauga, Cuyahoga and Lake counties.
"We try to do justice to the amount of work put into the quilts," Mrs. Zamrzla said.
The guild had presented the Friends group with the single-bed size "Houses of Hope" and two quilts suitable for wall hangings last March. Mrs. Zamrzla said next year, the Friends will raffle one of the other two quilts: a 16-block batik entitled, "Out of the Darkness into the Light."
"I think it's a wonderful way for women to help women," Mrs. McQuiston said. "The project takes what we do and turns it into money to help Women Safe."
Mrs. McQuiston recalled the excitement involved in completing the quilts. She said the "Houses of Hope" quilt was inspired by one made by member Mary Huey, of Willoughby, on the same theme a few years ago.
"All of the members were very excited about the pattern and suggested that we adopt it for the next Women Safe donation quilt. Our guild had made a house quilt once before for Women Safe," she said, which is hanging at Women Safe's Green House shelter.
Mrs. McQuiston and Mrs. Scheff volunteered to coordinate the project and went shopping for material. "Sue thought that something bright and bold and fun would work well. I was a little more reflective and wanted to portray the feeling of coming out of the darkness into the light. And we both tossed around the idea of a seasonal theme. Once we walked into the store, everything started coming together."
While at the store, Mrs. McQuiston received a cell phone call. "Not wanting everyone to overhear my conversation, I went to the far corner of the store. There, on the bookshelf, far away from all the other fabric, was a full bolt of the most wonderful fabric of little children standing in a row, all holding hands.
"Sue and I were sure that fabric was just waiting for us to find it. In the end, we decided to make three quilts: a four-block wall hanging, depicting the four seasons, a 16-block batik quilt reflective of life's struggles and the hope and faith in a brighter tomorrow, and a 20-block twin-size quilt ("Houses of Hope") showing unity, diversity, acceptance and friendship."
The two coordinators cut the fabrics for the backgrounds and Mrs. Huey held a workshop to demonstrate her fusing technique in making the blocks.
"All the guild members were encouraged to bring in embellishments to decorate the blocks," Mrs. McQuiston said. "We had such great fun dressing up our 'neighborhoods.'"
"Shortly after we began sewing the blocks together, Sue lost her battle with breast cancer and passed away," Mrs. McQuiston said. "I will always cherish the time I spent with her working on this project. Each of these quilts holds a special meaning for me as well as the guild members because of Sue."
In addition to quilts for Women Safe, the Chagrin Valley Quilt Guild has presented quilts to the Metzenbaum Center in Chester and "all kinds of charities," she said.
For more information about the guild, call President Shirley Tchou at (216) 464-5403.
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