Spreading Joy

by Mary Beth Krapil

Handi Quilter has the honor and privilege to sponsor events that inspire and enrich quilters. In September, Quilt Alliance hosted their annual fund raiser, Quilters Take Manhattan.

QTM is a weekend of lectures, museum tours, gallery tours, trunk shows, vendors, even a scavenger hunt. Quilt Alliance calls it their annual party. It sure sounds like fun!

Quilt Alliance is an organization with a mission to document, preserve, and share our American quilt heritage by collecting the rich stories of historic and contemporary quilts and their makers. They promote quilts as an art form and educate us about the importance of documenting quilts. Learn more about the Quilt Alliance here.

At Quilter’s Take Manhattan there are opportunities for the attendees to win door prizes and participate in auctions and raffles. Handi Quilter was pleased to donate a HQ Stitch 210 machine, which was the prize for one of the raffles.

Lisa Mason, of Darien, CT attended QTM this year and entered the raffle for the Handi Quilter machine with hopes of being able to give it to her daughter, Caroline. Caroline runs an art therapy program at the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center in Yonkers, NY. One of the programs is for the mothers of the full time residents of the Pediatric Care center. They meet twice a week and learn how to sew and quilt. This gives them a place to be creative, to bond with one another, share their experiences and find support in each other. The profession of art therapy believes that the creative process involved in the making of art is healing and life enhancing. We quilters know that very well! If you’d like to know more about the Elizabeth Seton art therapy program visit their website.

Guess who won the raffle!

Before the Stitch machine went to Elizabeth Seton, Lisa was able to use the machine to teach a class for 9 and 10 year olds at her local library. She and her friend, Alison Graham, conducted a two day sewing workshop and all the kids went home with a finished pillow or doll quilt. The children loved learning how to sew with a machine!

Lisa is an accomplished quilter. Here she is with her double wedding ring quilt. It won 4 ribbons this past April at the Empire Quilt Guild show; best in show, best use of color, viewers choice and first place. The quilt also hung in Houston, in the juried section for traditional piecing!

Thanks Lisa for your generous spirit! It’s amazing how far kindness and the love of quilts can take you.