Depends On How You Look At It

I see a quilt block--he sees a race track--it's all depends on how you look at it.

I am creating these bright blocks out of the boy-themed squares that I received recently from an I-Spy 4 inch block swap hosted by Katie. 200 went out and 200 came in. I am always surprised and delighted to see the variety of prints ladies send.

Grandpa Herrema--1924-2010

It wouldn't feel right not to share with the Margaret's Hope Chest blogging community the death of Margaret's husband--my grandpa--Harv Herrema. As you can imagine, he was one of MHC's largest fans. He would proudly carry around newspaper clippings that featured MHC for all to read. He even had one of our bumper stickers on the back of his car. I will miss seeing the pleasure on his face when he would pull me aside and say, "That's a great thing you are doing Carin"-in my mind, even if he was the only person in the whole world who understood what and why we do what we do--it would be worth every minute spent.
Understandably, my grandpa was never the same after my grandma's murder. He lacked the flair and drive he had possessed when my grandma was by his side. I would guess that there were many times that he lie awake and long to join his Savior and be reunited with her. And so, his funeral was a celebration of a life well lived. 85 years of putting his family first and doing what he loved most--playing the organ and singing--that is a lot to be thankful for. Most of all, I am grateful for the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ that my grandpa accepted many years ago--it gives me HOPE. And so now we will do our work here at MHC to honor the life and legacy of both of my grandparent's. TO GOD BE THE GLORY.

75 Quilts + a Prison=HOPE

A little more than a week ago, I entered the Huron Valley Women's Correctional Facility with 75 kid-themed quilts. Many of the quilts were made by generous volunteer quilters from all over the country. The quilts pictured below have been finished off recently and were given away that day.
Maybe you are wondering how I came to the point of entering a prison with 75 quilts....well, it is a story only God could orchestrate. Using his infinite wisdom and love he connected me with two ladies--Mary Engle who is the Executive Director of Prison Fellowship in Michigan and Scottie Barnes who is the director of Forgiven Ministries. To make a long story short, Forgiven Ministries enters into prisons and puts on a two day workshop called Great Dads/Marvelous Moms (depending on whether it is in a men's or women's prison). On the first day the dads/moms are encouraged in their relationships with their kids and God. On the second day the children of the dads/moms come into the prison for a day of fun and love and relationship building.
Margaret's Hope Chest agreed to provide quilts for the 3 camps that are running in the state of Michigan in 2010. Each mom/dad has the opportunity to pick a quilt for their child to take home with them. We mean for the quilts to be a tangible symbol of HOPE, comfort and love.
So back to the day last week when we lugged 5 bulging bags of quilts through 2 sets of heavy metal doors and the lives of 20 precious mothers.....
as of this moment I am still unable to sit down and write out exactly what I experienced that day but I can tell you this much
*God was present
*God has given Forgiven Ministries a wonderful group of staff and volunteers--each with a unique story of forgiveness and love to share with these men and women.
*I felt as if I belonged there.
*The quilts were a HUGE hit! The mothers carefully chose a quilt that their child would like--thankfully we have a wonderful selection for them to chose from.
*My grandma's love and forgiveness was present in that room among those quilts.
*I can hardly wait to do it again at the end of this month!

I am anxiously waiting for more pictures from that weekend to be e-mailed to me so you can see the joy on those mother's faces and the faces of their precious children.

In the meantime I have a question for you.....Do you have a child themed quilt that you could send to us to share with these families? Do you have time to make a child-themed quilt over the next 2 months?
We need about 50 more quilts to cover the next 2 giveaways--one at the end of this month and one in early November.
****EDIT****Quilts can be any size but a good size is 40X60 inches--the kids are ages 4-17.
Leave a comment or e-mail if you can help--Thanks!







My son Josiah was very interested in the John Deere themed quilt!

First Prison Quilt Give-Away

Tomorrow morning I will be entering the Huron Valley Women's Correctional Facility with over 60 kid-themed quilts. When I leave I hope to have 45 less quilts and 20 more HOPEful moms and children. We have been collecting these quilts for the past 9 months--thanks to all who have donated fabric, quilt tops, finished quilts, or have quilted quilts for us!! I am really hoping to take pictures--we'll see. If you are reading this before Friday please pray for safe travels and a GOOD day filled with HOPE and COMFORT at the prison.

Summer Work Party With Amanda Jean From Crazy Mom Quilts!!

How Amanda Jean from Crazy Mom Quilts came to be at the MHC Summer Work Party at the end of July may very well be one of those mysteries I never figure out. Our relationship started over a random e-mail request about a year ago--it was me asking for one of her quilts for our quilt collection--she sent 3 :) and then blogged about us and BOOM! She still continues to amaze me with her generosity and willingness to help and support what we do. And so, as I planned our Summer Work Party the first person I asked to join us was Amanda. She agreed-again :) and even went as far as to design a quilt pattern called 'Fair and Square' for our use-more on that later in the post.

On Friday night we met for an evening of food, fellowship, and quilting at the Lasting Impressions Bed and Breakfast in Grand Rapids. Doesn't it look inviting?



Some ladies enjoyed the evening breezes on the front porch while sewing on labels....


...while others got busy sewing inside.


We played games...


...some required skill and others were just plain silly. This game was "See how many quilts you can pile on top of one person in a minute or until she passes out--whichever one came first. That's my mom under this pile....


...and this is Amanda Jean :) Yes, we like to torture our guests of honor!



There was a prize table FULL of treasures....



and TREASURES in the form of quilts made by Amanda Jean. This is her unveiling her quilt "Fair and Square" to the group. MHC was looking for a quilt pattern that was 'manly' looking, easy to cut and piece, could be varied, had no borders and was big enough for an older boy or man. Amanda Jean delivered!! This quilt is easy to cut and assemble, has countless variations, no borders and is the perfect size. We love it!


Saturday morning we met at my mom's church for 5 hours of quilting fun!


Amanda did a little teaching on her quilt pattern....


...and by the end of the day she was officially welcomed into the family--that's Amanda, my real sister Amy, my mom and me!
We expect her and the kids and hubby to come around at Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.





Overall, the weekend went well (in my opinion). It was a first for us, and a near first for Amanda Jean so I guess we all probably learned a few things. Personally, I learned you can never be TOO organized. I want to thank all of the ladies who came out to meet Amanda Jean and help out MHC. We came as strangers and left as friends :)
Thanks to Carol F., Kelli, Kate, Pam, Rebekah, Lorrie, Sharon, Arliss, Carrie, Nancy, Elaine, Jennifer, Pat, Marcia, Joan, Sara, Amy, and April--blessings to you all!

***If you would like a copy of the "Fair and Square" quilt pattern e-mail me your address and I will send you one--or I can send it to you over e-mail.***

Where to Begin?

Two months ago, when I left for my summer vacation I never thought it would be this hard to be away from the blog. I missed showing off quilts and telling the stories of HOPE and comfort that our quilts can bring....I have missed some opportunities to spread the word about Margaret's Hope Chest and our mission....but, I am back now and I have so much to tell I hardly know where to begin.
Well, I will begin with sharing a picture of just a FRACTION of the fabric that we received from a generous donor! We have already started using it in our quilts....AMAZING generosity--thank you!




I was able to finish off some tops that I made this spring. I forgot to bring my free motion foot with me and so I was able to perfect the straight-line quilting technique :)



Maybe some returning readers remember me asking for help finding little custom made labels....well, though the help of one of you, I found a Joan on Etsy who made just what I was looking for. When she read our website and blog, she donated 200 labels to Margaret's Hope Chest!!! Wow, that was a surprise blessing. Thanks Joan!!! If you would like your own custom labels, visit BitsyCreations on Etsy. I used the first 30 labels to customize these pin cushions--how fun!

It's Times Like This I Miss My Computer

Hello again friends! I am at my local library here in Michigan using the free internet service. I miss my home computer right now because I really want to tell you about our fantastic summer work party this past weekend. I want to show you pictures of the fun we had and the quilt tops we created. I am excited to tell you how wonderful it was to meet Amanda Jean from Crazy Mom Quilts. But alas, I only have 9 computer minutes left here and that is not nearly enough time to tell my tales. I did want to thank all 22 ladies who spent a beautiful summer weekend quilting with us. Can't wait to be at my home computer in a couple of weeks. Please come back around August 20 and check it out!