we had a slight glitch in our quilt deliveries and were somewhat disappointed in how things turned out but the Lord knows and as thomas says, He is not asleep at the switch:) only two days before we were ready to deliver the quilts to the orphanage we were told that we could not have a party for the children there nor could we hand out the quilts ourselves which both had been promised to us in previous conversations with the staff by our eva. they suddenly told us that it was not the policy for the children there to have contact with "benefactors" outside of the orphanage. we were all uncomfortable with just handing over 65 quilts and walking away without knowing anything more about how things would be handled. so we decided to wrap them all up in christmas paper with ribbons and label them according to age and gender to be passed out by the staff on christmas. we made every effort to change the rule but were just not successful. they said that they don't want the children to feel spoiled by being given gifts at christmas or to feel that they are more special which this event might relay to them. they also said they didn't want the children to think that we were feeling sorry for them. so we will see in the future how we might be able to contact the organization leadership which seems to be located in england. i would like to personally pursue this issue and i will let you know how it goes.
on another note, i have decided it is time for me to direct some of my time to giving quilting lessons for my community this year. something new for me. i want to branch out now that we have done some major projects and bring the idea of quilting to greece beginning with our fair city of thessaloniki. i have a long list of women and men who are interested so in a few weeks we will get started on that. the lessons will be free of course and will consist of learning by helping me with the new year's quilt project for the boy's orphanage. i will get them started on quilting techniques with kits we will learn to cut and then to sew them together and they will do boarders, bindings, and have time on the quilting machine to learn all of the steps and techniques one would learn in a make it and take format. we will just put a slight twist on the taking it part:) hahahahaha. looking forward to it and it will serve two purposes in one nicely i think.
i am very excited to share an exciting new turn of events for our quilters. a woman by the name of lisa new-freeland contacted me just before the christmas holiday to say she was coming to thessaloniki and wanted to stop by our studio. found me on a google search. it turns out that she is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Eastern Illinois University in the US. one of her research and teaching areas is gendered labor through quilting and she does a variety of teaching and service projects related to the topic. she is an amazing woman with a real passion for quilting and all that it involves. her vision for us is to partner her university students with our quilters and support us in real tangible ways like raising the funds we need to purchase new fabric for our quilt backings and batting as we may need it. they might pursue ways to help us get additional fabrics for our quilt making and raise the funds to ship it over to us. as well, they are interested in our efforts to help the women in katerini continue to build their quilting business as they attempt to use it as a means to support their families. i am excited to see how our partnership will develop over the course of this next year!! lisa brought not only a donation of fabric on her visit but some lovely fabric bags for our quilters to use in transporting our quilts and they really came in handy for our christmas deliveries this year!! thanks lisa. it is a privilege to have you on our team.
so thomas and i have had a very lovely and restful break from all of the craziness. i will be ready soon to begin again though. as i was finishing up the last of the quilts this year a funny poem just sort of tickled at my brain one night and i jotted it down as i sometimes do (i have a notebook of poems that have been written over the years very spontaneously and sporadically). i thought i would close with it today. i pray that you all are blessed in great measure in the coming year.
The Quiltmaker's Christmas
4 nights before christmas
and all through the house
the quilts were all folded
and snug on the shelf.
some quilts were hung
on the ladder with care
and the hum of the sewing machine
wasn't there.
thread and scraps still laying
all over the floor,
like a layer of new fallen snow
to be sure.
the quiltmaker crashed in a chair by the door
with her needle and thread
in her hand . . .
as she snored.
the tree was a glitter with lights and a star
and september (the fish) swam
round and round
in his jar
the children and old folks
are in for a surprise
when all the quilts
are handed out with pride.
another christmas under
santa's flight,
merry christmas to all
and to all a good night!!