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

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

SafeHouse ‘Quarantine Quilts’ made by our members

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.  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 since January (scroll down and you’ll see the photo’s with the donor’s name).

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 !!

Are you looking for MORE TIME with your sewing machine (and who isn’t?)?

Are you looking for relaxed and FUN time with your Quilting Machine?

Face Masks Needed for Health Care Workers and Other Charities

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.

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.

For the latest COVID-19 news, visit:

• State of Michigan  https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus
• Washtenaw County Health Department: https://www.washtenaw.org/3095/COVID-19
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html