Community Quilting Day for Russ and Diana Williams

Hello Everyone,

Just a note to let all you locals know that we have decided to hold the community quilting bee for Russ and Diana Williams on Sunday, April 3rd from 12-5. The Williams are our friends and neighbors whose home was destroyed in a fire a week ago. The fire destroyed their master bedroom and spread to all of the rooms on the second floor, including their son's and daughter's bedrooms, so you can imagine that several homemade quilts were lost, either in the fire itself or to smoke and water damage.

Diana is a wonderful quilter and member of Clamshell Quilters, our local quilt guild. She has been a friend, neighbor and customer of Alewives Fabrics for the past 30 years. Just a couple of days before the fire she was in the shop purchasing fabrics for a new baby quilt. Russ and Diana are coping remarkably well: I can only imagine the pain that their family is going through right now. And although it is impossible for me to fully understand what they are feeling, one thing I can do is make a quilt.

If you want to put your skills to action, please join us on April 3rd. Alewives will provide fabric, tools and pizza. We are hoping to be able to piece together at least one quilt top, and will hold subsequent quilting bees until all of the Williams' quilts have been replaced. I have told Diana about the Community's intentions and she will be in on the selection of fabrics, etc. If you decide to come you will be put to work cutting fabric, piecing quilt blocks and stitching together the quilt tops. Our own Barbara Commeau has volunteered to machine-quilt the tops.

Please bring your sewing machine with a 1/4 inch foot, and if you have your own rotary cutter, ruler, scissors, pins, etc. that you are willing to bring, please do so (just make sure to label your tools so they don't get mixed up with anyone else's). Remember, you won't need to bring any fabric: Diana will be selecting from what we have here at the shop. Anything else you would like to bring (food, drinks, tools, etc.) would be most welcome!

And one last favor I will ask everyone who is coming: if you are able, please park either in the lower parking lot or along the road in front of my house as the Shop Hop will be in full swing. Since April 3rd will be the first full weekend of the Shop Hop we want to keep the front parking lot as open as possible for Hoppers who will be coming and going throughout the day.

Thanks so much to everyone who has already volunteered their time. I spoke with Diana yesterday and she and Russ are both overwhelmed and touched with the outpouring of support from the community.

Thanks in advance and we'll see some of you on April 3rd at 12:00 sharp!

XO,

Rhea

PS Thanks also to all of my friends from blogland who have volunteered to help Russ and Diana! As soon as we know what fabrics Diana would like, you can bet I will be putting you all to work as well!