COVID-19 is keeping us at home…but we can meet here!

To all our Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild members and friends, this special page helps us stay connected to GAAQG during the COVID-19 crisis while we’re staying at home to keep ourselves and our families safe.  This page will be updated frequently, so please visit often. If there’s something you would like to see here, please send your recommendation to:   webmaster@gaaqg.com .

It was a hard but necessary decision for us to cancel our March and May activities, but we will carry on individually making quilts for  SafeHouse Center (dubbed ‘Quarantine Quilts’) and masks for healthcare workers, charities, families and friends. Our Guild has supported SafeHouse from our earliest days to make quilts for domestic abuse victims. Requirements and other information, including free patterns, are on our  Quilt for SafeHouse page.

 

Messages from our President, Susan Schwandt – click on the links below

President’s Message – SafeHouse Quilts Needed       IMPORTANT:  Read instructions in this message carefully about preparing your quilts for delivery. 

President’s Message – May Meeting Cancelled

Blog post:  SafeHouse Center Updates – April 11, 2020

President’s Message – Quilt Show 2020 Cancelled; Fabric Sale postponed to Sept. 19; Garage Sale postponed to Nov. 21

President’s Message – Online “Celebrate the Quilt From Home ” 2020 Virtual Quilt Show Announcement

 

SafeHouse ‘Quarantine Quilts’ made by our members

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We have set a goal of 300 quilts for our guild to make and donate to SafeHouse by December, 2020.  Now that we are home with not as much to do, it’s a good time to get out your stash and make some.  As we’ve heard, in times of crisis like this, there is often an increase in domestic violence associated with the increased stress on families.  We are including this ‘thermometer’ to record the number of quilts delivered to SafeHouse since January.

Go to our Quilt for SafeHouse page and scroll down to ‘Construction Guidelines’ for the requirements.  Be sure to wash your quilt first and package it in a plastic bag before delivery (see instructions in President’s Message above).  Further down the page, you will also find a formatted page of labels that you can print on any inkjet fabric sheet.  If you need pattern ideas, there are several free ones further down on that page.  Members:  if you need batting for your SafeHouse quilt, see instructions under ‘Batting’ on the same page.

Since we can’t show our SafeHouse quilts at our Quilt Day meetings, we’ve created photos of all quilts sent to webmaster@gaaqg.com which are posted below.  If you’ve made one or more and they’re not included, please send photos to:  webmaster@gaaqg.com  and they will be added to a later file.

Click here to see photos of SafeHouse quilts delivered from January 2 through May 8, 2020 (scroll down and you’ll see the photo’s with the donor’s name).

CLICK HERE to see photos of new SafeHouse quilts delivered from May 9 through June 20, 2020

 

SafeHouse staff members sent this thank you card to our guild members who have donated quilts.

 

Request from Jan Kosko – May 14, 2020 – safehousequiltkits@gaaqg.com

LET’S SHARE A SPARE !!
I have some ‘spare parts’ and I want to SHARE!!
Do you need GAAQG Labels for your SafeHouse bound quilts?
Email me with your name and address and number of labels you need and I will send them to you by USPS.  5 – 15 labels fit into the weight limit for one envelope.  If you plan to use the batting GAAQG provides through Ruth Mieras, she is supplying one label per batting.
Are you looking for MORE TIME with your sewing machine (and who isn’t?)?
There are 11 partially completed quilt tops which need completion.
4 tops have some fabric for completion.
6 tops need fabric for completion.
1 partial blue jean quilt top which needs more blue jean fabric for completion.
Email me with your interest.  You may do a ‘Porch Pickup’ or I MAY be able to deliver.
Are you looking for relaxed and FUN time with your Quilting Machine?
Well I have a solution for YOU!!
I have 16 Quilt Packs (which includes one top and one backing) which need quilting, binding and delivery to Anne Rapundalo’s porch (Anne will deliver them to SafeHouse).
5 Quilt Packs have a child theme
11 Quilt Packs are geared towards women.
Email me with your interest.  You may do a ‘Porch Pickup’ or I MAY be able to deliver.
For any interest in the Quilt Packs or Partially Completed Tops I can email or text you a pic of my current assortment and then YOU can choose the one (or two or THREE) that makes your sewing heart sing.  Or I am happy to choose for you.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Jan Kosko

 

 

Face Masks Needed for Health Care Workers and Other Charities

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Our members are making face masks for area healthcare workers in the Ann Arbor area, as well as other charities in metro Detroit.  Ann Arbor Sewing is collecting and delivering them where needed.  If you’re donating them to SafeHouse, deliver them with your SafeHouse quilts.  We want to track how many face masks have been contributed by our members (not including those made for family, friends and neighbors). so please send us your count to:  webmaster@gaaqg.com.

Michigan Medicine Now Accepts Cloth Face Masks

Michigan Medicine will now accept donations of hand-made cloth masks for staff working in non-patient care settings. Anyone can drive up and donate face masks in sealed plastic bags from 12-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday at Dock 90 of the U-M North Campus Research Complex, at 2800 Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor. Shipments may also be directed to that address. Washable cloth masks help conserve medical-grade masks for teams working in patient care areas.

Click here for directions and information on where to deliver the masks.  If you’re donating them to SafeHouse, deliver them with your quilts.

 

Who would like to help sew masks for young people in Ypsilanti?

This is a collaborative pilot project with folks from the Grizzly Center YCHS, My Brothers Keeper, the WCSO, Mentor2Youth, and others to help keep our young men and their families safe during Covid-19.  These masks are afrocentric utilizing Kente cloth fabric.  They are handmade.  All masks will be given away free through partner organizations.  The project could use more people who know how to sew to help.  Please contact Sharon Held from the YCHS Grizzly Center grannyheld@gmail.com or me at wyattk@washtenaw.org.

 

YouTube Video Series on How to Make a Mask: Click Here

Mask Pattern with Elastic Ties: Click Here

Mask Pattern with Fabric Ties (no elastic): Click Here

 

Surgical Caps Needed

The Ann Arbor VA Medical Center sent our guild an urgent request asking GAAQG members to make surgical/OR scrub caps, which are in short supply.  Either the tie style or bouffant style with elastic is acceptable.

To find a pattern, just Google the key words “scrub caps.” Here’s a sample link to download a free pattern.

The Ann Arbor Sewing Center has graciously agreed to serve as a drop-off/collection point for the scrub caps. You can bring your caps to the Sewing Center and place them in a specially marked bin at the back of the store along with face masks, which are still much needed.

 

 

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