In Review

**I am reposting this because we have a whole new wave of visitors to our site who want to help with our Hope Squared quilt collection.**





I am literally bursting with excitement over MHC's fall project-HOPE SQUARED. We are partnering with Craft Hope to get the quilts made. Not familiar with Craft Hope? Click on their button on the side bar to see what they have been up to for the past few months and then take a few minutes and read what we are doing and consider helping us.

Margaret’s Hope Chest was born out of tragedy. Margaret Herrema was my spunky 81-year-old grandmother. She was also a wife, mother, great-grandmother, and volunteer quilter who was murdered in the parking lot of a grocery store in April of 2005. What prepared her family to walk the long and painful road of violent crime? Nothing. What guided them through the days and months of grieving and confusion? HOPE. Hope that there were people who cared. Hope that good would triumph of evil. Hope that her death was not an end but a beginning.
Margaret’s Hope Chest is a quilting non-profit organization that serves other people in seemingly hopeless situations. We strive to share with people around the world the HOPE that we have been given.
Over the past two years we have given over 100 quilts to children, adults, families, and organizations. Each quilt has joined a journey- a journey of sickness, death, abuse, fire, disease, disability, or new beginning.
This summer we stepped out in faith when we agreed to provide a quilt for each child in the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Public School system who is homeless during the Christmas season. The exact number will not be clear until November but considering the economic climate in Michigan it will more than likely be high (200+). Consider the journey of a homeless child. No house to walk into at the end of a long day, no couch to cuddle on and read books with mom or dad. No kitchen to walk into and help themselves to a snack. No bedroom to sleep in- nothing to give that child the security that a home brings.
What might a handmade quilt mean to a homeless child? It might bring warmth to a 5-year-old boy in a drafty room. It might give hope to a 12-year-boy who never had a handmade gift before. It might give comfort to an 8-year-old girl who wants something pretty to snuggle under.
This project is easy. We are calling this quilt pattern HOPE SQUARED. Make a quilt out of squares. Any size, any number, any color. Use up some scraps. Dig out your kid-themed fabrics and pair them with some bright solids. Please consider that all ages of children will be receiving these quilts-boys and girls. Base the size of your quilt on the size of the child you have in your mind as you create it. **If you are new to quilting and don’t know how to finish and bind a quilt or if you have limited time, you can construct the top of the quilt (the squares) and send that to us and we will gladly finish the rest for you.
The word excitement doesn’t even come close to describing how I feel about being this month’s project. I am hopeful that many of you read this and feel led to join Margaret’s Hope Chest as we bring hope to children, one quilt at a time.

We are collecting kid-themed quilts for students ages 5-17, boys and girls. The size should be dependent on who the quilt is geared toward-approximate size is 42x60.

You may send us quilt tops if you are unable to finish them-we will be happy to finish them off for you!
Quilts should be sent to:
Margaret's Hope Chest
630 Griswold SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49507

Deadline for this project is November 15, 2009

We have had an amazing response so far and I want to say thank you to those of you who have been spreading the word! My grandma would be SHOCKED that this many people from around the world were collecting quilts in her name!