Wrapping up the 2015 Challenge year!!

   My name is Kathy Kent and  since coming to Quilter’s Dream Batting, I have been the one to log in each and every quilt that we receive for the Hope and Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).  I am a hand quilter and have truly developed a love and appreciation for machine quilting.   The beauty in the stitches is incredible.   I never knew machine quilts were so gorgeous.   So much more goes in to making the quilts than you could ever imagine:  choosing the fabric, pattern, backing and the batting.  It is truly a gift of love.

Being a quilter myself, you can imagine my excitement when receiving quilts every day by mail!    These quilts are stitched with love in memory of a treasured one or simply just because. Whether machine quilted, hand quilted, tied, large or small, each quilt is unique and special.   My job is to open the packages, photograph each quilt, thank their owner then display the quilt on Facebook.  I then separate the quilts to either be distributed to ALS patients all over the country for comfort or set them aside to be sold with 100% of the proceeds going towards ALS research! 

Sometimes we get a little overloaded with quilts, the table behind my desk is piled high with quilts. 

 Quilters are so generous with their time and passion. We receive quilts from guilds, shops, individuals, professional quilters etc. Did you know that you could be a winner of fabulous prizes including Quilters Dream Batting, fabrics, notions and books by simply donating one quilt? The photo below explains each category and prizes that could be won. 

  

Click HERE to see exactly what our generous sponsors have donated!

The pictures and letters of ‘thank you’ we receive from PALS (patients with ALS), are so heartwarming. Truly touched by your quilts, these patients are so grateful for the gift of love that they receive!  

Teri received her quilt from the DC/MD/VA ALS Chapter

                                               

Bill was thrilled to receive his special quilt which will keep him nice & cozy in his favorite chair. 

Janet from Clenton, MS sent this pic along with a thank you note. She says it makes her feel so  warm :)

    

We will soon begin wrapping up the 2015 Hopes and Dreams Challenge. 

Please keep in mind quilts or creative items MUST be postmarked no later than July 31, 2015. Anything dated after that will be entered into the 2016 year challenge. 

We are still hoping to get many more quilts to pass along to our PALS.  Surpassing last year’s total would be wonderful.  

Thank you in advance for all of your donations and your generosity!!!   Hope to see your quilts in my office soon.    We love our quilters!

Kathy Kent
Hopes and Dreams Coordinator 

Sending quilts to ALS patients around the country.

One of the many rewarding parts of the Hopes & Dreams Challenge is sending quilts so generously donated to ALS Association chapters across the country. From there, those chapters will hand deliver the quilts to ALS patients (PALS).  Yesterday, we shipped 617 quilts totaling 67 boxes!! There are still a few more ALS chapters we are waiting to hear back from so that technically isn't the grand total. But who is really counting, right? The fact that one single quilt can bring joy and comfort to someone battling such a terrible disease is more than just numbers. 


Prior to shipping, one of our #battgirls here in the office, Neva, spent the day touching base with the ALS Association chapters to get an idea of how many quilts they needed. The response was great. Take a look at the warehouse with boxes of quilts piled up before and after!  Although we sent out 617 quilts, we could have used at least 500 more to cover all the requests we had from the ALS Association chapters! 

Ivanka and Kathy double checking each box before giving the "go" to ship.

Almost finished! Just keep sorting. Just keep sorting. 

Included in the boxes, was a letter from Kathy Thompson to each ALS chapter: 

On behalf of Quilters Dream Batting and the Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS, we are pleased to send you these quilts to share with your PALS. Each quilt was handcrafted with love from quilters across the country who have given their time and talents to bring warmth to the laps and lives of individuals diagnosed with ALS.

As the co-founder and owner of Quilters Dream Batting, a Virginia Beach based business that manufactures high quality quilt batting, I knew just how generous and caring the quilt community would be. What I didn't know was how willing these quilters were to embrace the challenge and not only touch my life, but those living with ALS, including my son.

The Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS was created in 2009, when I decided to raise awareness and research funds to help find a cure for ALS. In 2007, my now 40 year old son Josh, was diagnosed with ALS. The disease has taken Josh from a strong, happy, athletic young husband and father to being completely paralyzed. He is currently on life support.

This annual challenge has been an incredible success over the years and has received thousands of quilts! More than 4000 quilts have been given to PALS through ALS chapters across the U.S. More than $80,000 has been raised through the sale of select quilts donated to the challenge and 100% of the proceeds have been given in the form of grants to support ALS research.

We appreciate your chapter distributing these quilts to your PALS. Many quilters have attached stories with their quilts- others did not. We encourage you or your PALS to contact the quilter as most are anxious to learn who received their quilt.

We are hopeful that the gift of these quilts will let PALS know that there are many people who care and they are surrounded by love and concern.

Thank you for all that you do.

 Sincerely,

 Kathy Thompson (mother of Josh Thompson)



With the holidays just around the corner, consider the gift of a quilt to a family member or friend and help find a cure for ALS. 

Select donated quilts can be purchased by visiting our Storenvy shop and stopping into Richard Stravitz's art gallery located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Because Quilters Dream Batting takes care of all Hopes & Dreams expenses, 100% of the money received from quilt sales will go towards ALS research.

Are you a quilter and wish to donate a quilt? Head over to the Hopes & Dreams website for more information. There are plenty of categories you can enter and chances to win fabulous prizes from our generous sponsors. Click HERE to see what 2015 prizes have already been sent in!

A big thanks to the staff at Quilters Dream Batting, who worked hard moving and shipping all those boxes yesterday! It was an exhausting effort, but filled with great joy and excitement for those patients who will receive a quilt.

We'd also like to say thank you to EVERYONE who participated in the 2013-2014 challenge! Without your quilt donations and our generous sponsors, we wouldn't have had such a rewarding day! 

Meet Forever In Stitches- $1,000 Grand Sponsor

Meet the owners of Forever In Stitches, Ruth and Rick Grihalva. 

This photo captures the memory of Forever In Stitches's grand opening in 2004.
Ruth (with scissors), Rick (second from right) and son Peter (between both)

Forever In Stitches, LLC is a full service quilt shop located in northwest Ohio at the center of Bluffton. The 130 year old building houses 3,000 square feet of quilting delight. Forever In Stitches, LLC is the home of the Perfect Corner Ruler™ (which Ruth invented!)  and Raggedy Ruth Designs™. With products including more than 2,500 bolts of fabric displayed with their 5,000 fat quarters, wide backing, batting, notions, gifts, patterns, magazines, longarm services, and over 1,100 proprietary digitized quilting longarm designs...we are pretty sure their quilting customers, friends, and family can all find something to keep them busy in this shop! 

This is not the first year that Forever In Stitches have been Grand Sponsors of our quilt challenge but it wasn't until now we became aware of the personal connection Rick had with ALS. 

Twenty-four years ago I was talking to one of my best friends, Dave, and president of my company, Executive Insights. Dave Alderman asked me to raise my hands above my head. He wanted to see how difficult it was for me, which it was not. It turned out that he could not raise his left arm higher than his shoulder. Being a stout, strong man, the situation troubled him. Shortly thereafter he was diagnosed with ALS [Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - Lou Gehrig's disease]. He rapidly deteriorated physically into a wheelchair. He resigned his position to seek ways to make his mark on the world before he died. As Dave moved from one level to the next, always lower, his cheerful, gregarious nature remained. Dave was fortunate that his wife, Helen, was a nurse. When you have a friend with ALS, you do things you did not think you would normally do. This is because ALS "disconnects” all of the nerves from the muscles. This makes it almost impossible to function in a normal fashion. These disconnects also include the muscles needed for breathing. One basically suffocates. Fortunately for Helen, David died in his sleep, even though he was using a breathing machine. I pray that our donation will help others.   Forever In Stitches is proud to announce that we are a Grand Sponsor of "Hopes & Dreams: Quilt Challenge to ALS."

                   
We are touched that Rick chose to sharing his story. As part of their $1000 Grand Sponsorship in prizes, Forever In Stitches has graciously donated an assortment of their patterns which include the Perfect Corner Ruler and Intersection Indicator.

If you have a moment, please click here to tell Forever In Stitches

 THANK YOU for continuing as a member of the Hopes & Dreams 

sponsorship team.  

You can also follow them on Facebook and get updates on what's going on in their shop!  

To Ruth & Rick, 

Quilters Dream Batting and the Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS are incredibly thankful for your tremendous support!

Colorado Quilts of Valor- BIG BLOWOUT BLOCK DRIVE

When Alycia Quilts approached us to be a sponsor for the Quilts of Valor (QOV) Big Blowout Block Drive, owner of Quilters Dream Batting, Kathy Thompson couldn't resist. Having a personal story of her own about the special meaning of receiving the gift of a quilt:

At just 32 years old, my beautiful son, Josh was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease)...(a)cruel, fatal untreatable disease...Josh's life completely depends on life-support. To help raise awareness of ALS, we started the annual Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS... the generosity of quilters donating quilts for the benefit of ALS patients has been truly amazing.

...one day, about two years ago, UPS delivered a small package to Josh's home... Inside this package was a small brown and green lap quilt... The quilt is tied, it is not pieced. The quilt front is a single piece of fabric with imprinted verses of religious hymns. Attached to the quilt was this handwritten note: "Dear Josh, I am 88 years old and I wanted so much for you to have this quilt. This quilt comes (with) prayers of love, courage and hope... and I want you to know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. I will think of you every day".
When Josh read the note--he cried.

Head over to Alycia Quilts to participate in the QOV block drive.

There is still time to participate in the Quilts of Valor Big Blowout Block Drive!
Remember for every 5 blocks sent in, you get 1 chance to win a variety of prizes. Quilters Dream is offering 2 different prizes. the first is 3 twin size batts, and the second in 2 twin size batts. You will love them all - I promise!!

Fabric Postcards for ALS research

Fabric postcards for the Hopes and Dreams for a Cure art and quilt exhibit are starting to come in! In our last blog we shared exciting news that a Virginia Beach, Virginia art gallery will feature the Hopes and Dreams quilts and fabric postcards sent in from all over the United States to benefit those living with ALS and raise funds for research. We are hoping to have a wonderful selection of fabric postcards to sell at the exhibit. 100% of sales from quilts and fabric postcards, and a portion of art and jewelry sales will go toward ALS research.

Month-long Celebration of Moms!

We have some exciting news to share with you, and while it is quick notice, we think you might want to participate.  The Hopes & Dreams for a Cure for ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/ Lou Gehrig’s Disease), has been given the opportunity to have a month-long Celebration of Moms and the special women in our lives beginning the first weekend in May – just in time for Mother’s Day .

The Richard Stravitz 30^th Street Gallery on Pacific Avenue in Virginia Beach, VA, will be hosting an event that features quilts sent in from all over the United States to benefit those living with ALS, as well as raise much needed funds for ALS Research. The Hopes & Dreams for a Cure for ALS art and quilt exhibit opens Saturday, May 4, will be open Mother's Day, Sunday, May 12 and runs through Saturday, June 1st.

 In addition to the quilts, there will be artwork capturing the loving essence of women in the form of oil paintings, watercolors and inks, jewelry, mixed media, hand blown glass and bronzed sculptures.

 

"The Quilt Ninja"

Hello Quilters Dream extended "Dream Team" family members! We are always thrilled when someone uses and promotes our batting AND even better, includes tutorials for your (okay, our) enjoyment. Well, today is a bonus day for all of us!

Jackie O'Brien, affectionately known as "The Quilt Ninja" to those of us in the Virginia Beach, VA area, is a master quilter. Her specialty is the "One Block Wonder" quilt and her classes on this quilt sell out locally. We were fortunate to have Jackie as part of our working "Dream Team" at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, VA a few weeks ago.

Jackie has her own blog titled; "If These Threads Could Talk" and we are sharing a link to her blog below. Why? Well, two reasons. Jackie has created mini You Tube videos of the process of making a One Block Wonder. (CLICK HERE TO SEE YOUTUBE TURTORIALS)

 If that isn’t fabulous on its own – Jackie’s latest One Block Wonder she is currently working on (pictured below) will be graciously donated to the Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS!

OBW “Soho Sunflowers”.

We are way beyond thrilled to receive this beauty and equally thrilled that Jackie is a friend of Quilters Dream Batting. You might want to become a follower of Jackie's blog as she always surprises us with happiness. THANKS, JACKIE!

Happy Quilting!

~The Dream Team

 

Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS

 

Every day is Christmas here at Quilters Dream Batting because every day Fed Ex, UPS and our postal carriers bring in packages that pile up in the office, blocking doors, and creating a wonderful labyrinth of gifts!  It is so exciting – just imagine, Christmas every day, with gifts of quilts arriving from all over for ALS patients through Quilters Dream’s Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS.


We love Mark! He brings the best goodies!



 



What makes Neva smile? Bright & cheery florals.

We are in the fifth year of Hopes & Dreams, and, once again, we have been made aware that quilters are the most thoughtful, generous, and loving people around.  As Jennifer opens each box, it is a new surprise of colors and wonder.  Even though these quilts will not end up on our own beds, we rejoice in the unpacking, admiring, and coveting of these beautiful quilts that have been lovingly made for ALS patients and ALS research.  Although all the quilts are appreciated, each of us in the office is drawn toward a different style.   Kathy’s favorites are always the batiks and the hand-stitched lovelies.  Gina, our beachcomber, enjoys the peaches and teals of sea-themed quilts.  The pastels are Pat’s favorites, who feels the soft feminine teals, pinks, and blues are warm and calming.  Neva, an avid gardener, is immediately drawn to the bright and cheery florals.  Personally, I like the funky modern piecing designs and unique machine quilted patterns that accent them. 

 Jennifer, our photographer, is fortunate to be able to see each and every quilt unfolded, and enjoys posting the pictures on Facebook for an admiring audience of over 5,000 fans!

 

Look at all these jewels we get to open!!!!

 
 

Every day is Christmas at Quilters Dream because every day we are reminded of how blessed we are to be a part of the caring, generous community of quilters who have made Hopes & Dreams a success.

 

 

Check out all the quilts that have been donated by visiting http://www.facebook.com/pages/Quilters-Dream-Batting-sponsoring-Hopes-and-Dreams-Quilt-Challenge-for-ALS/150913912237?ref=ts&fref=ts

 

 

For more information about the Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS, click the link below.

http://quiltersdreambatting.com/HD/ALS.htm

Happy Quilting!

 ~The Dream Team

 

 

Pennsylvania Quilting Friends Travel 300+ Miles

Pennsylvania Quilting Friends Travel 300+ Miles

Delivering 108 Quilts for ALS

When Virginia Beach resident Kathy Thompson decided to raise awareness and research funds to help find a cure for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, she knew quilters would embrace the challenge.  As the co-founder and owner of Quilter’s Dream BattingÒ, a Virginia Beach based business that manufactures high quality quilt batting; Kathy knows how generous and caring the quilt community is.  What she didn’t know was how much they would touch her life and the lives of thousands of individuals living with ALS, including her own son.

 In early 2007, Kathy’s 32-year old son Josh was diagnosed with ALS.  The disease has taken Josh from a strong, happy, athletic young husband and new father to being completely paralyzed – unable to eat, speak, or move.  He is on life support.

 “To say his diagnosis and this experience have been devastating is a true understatement,” Kathy says.  “It was shocking to learn that a disease that was discovered well over 100 years ago has absolutely no treatment or help available.”

 So Thompson and the staff at Quilter’s Dream BattingÒ created a unique way to raise awareness about ALS and raise much needed funds to support research.  The HOPES & DREAMSÔ Quilt Challenge for ALS was born.  The challenge encourages quilters to design, sew and donate lap or bed quilts that are given to individuals with ALS.  In addition, select quilts are sold to raise funds for ALS Research.  Each individual donating a quilt is eligible to win great prizes.

 “Each day is a mixed blessing of joy and sadness,” Thompson says. “I watch this most horrific disease take over my son Josh’s life, an then meet people like Pat, Diane and Debbie who drive here from Pennsylvania to hand-deliver over a hundred quilts.  It’s their willingness to serve others in this way that truly makes hopes and dreams come to life.”

For 46 years Pat Matthews has been quilting with the last six years focused on using her sewing machine as a way to help others.  Pat and her quilting buddies, Diane Wilson and Debbie Weaver, made the 314 mile journey from Dover, Pennsylvania to Virginia Beach just to deliver 108 quilts.

 “We just can’t stop quilting,” laughs Matthews.  “All of our children, families and friends have plenty of our quilts, so we now focus on sharing our passion with others who can use these quilts. Individuals with ALS often find their bodies get cold as they fight this disease and these quilts warm them and let them know they are loved.”

 Pat, Diane and Debbie are part of a quilting group called the “Sew Happy Together Quilters.”  The 13 women who make up this quilting group meet the second and fourth Wednesday of each month and sew together.  They meet at the “barn” and many in the Dover area know this is the place unused fabric turns into creations of love.

 
“This barn is fabulous,” cheers Debbie Weaver.  “Pat and her husband renovated an old barn into a two story place of beauty.  The bottom floor is fitted with 10 sewing machines and all the comforts of home.  Because we sew lots of quilts and walker bags for veterans and nursing homes, people in the community stop by the barn and drop off yard and yard of fabric knowing we will turn it into something good for someone else.”

 “This is a magic barn,” says Matthews. “Our friends and other quilters drop off their pieced quilt tops and they suddenly become quilts,” she adds through laughter.

It’s this laughter and the genuine love of quilting that contributed to these ladies winning first place in the “Sew Generous Guild” category of the 2011 HOPES & DREAMSÔ Quilt Challenge for ALS that and her team at Quilter’s Dream BattingÒ coordinate annually.



“The staff here is incredible,” says Thompson.  “They, along with each individual that makes and submits a quilt, embrace this challenge and the vision of supporting ALS research as if my son Josh were their own son, grandson or brother.  It makes the heartache of this excruciating disease a little less painful.”

The 2012 HOPES & DREAMSÔ Quilt Challenge accepts quilts through July 30. Quilts received after this date will be accepted for the 2013 challenge year.  All quilts are eligible for prizes with additional winners selected for the quilt best selecting the HOPES & DREAMSÔ theme, the quilt voted the “people chose,” and the individual, teacher and quilt group donating the most quilts.  To see the entry form and learn how to participate visit the Quilter’s Dream BattingÒ website at www.QuiltersDreamBatting.com. You can also view photos of the quilts submitted for the challenge on the “Quilter’s DreamÒ Batting sponsoring Hopes & DreamsÔ Quilt Challenge for ALS” page on Facebook.

The HOPES & DREAMSÔ Quilt Challenge for ALS has received more than 2,000 quilts and raised more than $50,000 for ALS research from the ongoing sale of these quilts.  If you are interested in purchasing a quilt for a family member, friend or even as a corporate gift, contact Kathy Thompson, Jane Kinzie or Jennifer Griffin at (757)-463-3264 or QuiltersDreamBatting@juno.com.

Happy Quilting!

 ~The Dream Team

I love when the mailman comes!

The mailman has come today and brought yet another box that I just know is for the 3rd annual “Hopes & Dreams” Quilt Challenge for ALS. Those packages, all small, medium and large are very exciting to receive! It’s like a birthday every day here at Quilters Dream!!

You should see us when the box is about to be opened. We all stand around it huddled anxiously waiting for the tape to be removed. You would think there was an unheard of species or a magical treasure inside!

Sometimes the quilts are inside a plastic bag or pillow case to ensure they are protected inside the box and when removed all you hear is………….

 “OOOOH!!”

“I love the colors on this one.”

“Feel how soft this quilt is.”

“That is all hand stitched? WOW!! What amazing talent.”

Every quilt we have received has its own personality and uniqueness to it. Not to mention how touching some of the stories that have been attached to these quilts are. That is just as much a treat as it is to see the quilt.

Some stories are about a connection that someone had with ALS patient and how happy they were to make a quilt to be donated. Sometimes they are personal reasons why they chose a specific pattern, color scheme or technique to be associated with the quilt. And sometimes it’s just a simple “I hope you enjoy this quilt as much as I did making it!”

I am personally touched that quilters have come together and worked so hard on their quilts to be donated. It feels good to know that people do care and don’t expect anything back and are willing to share out of the goodness of their hearts!!

So thanks to all that have already sent in their quilts to the “Hopes and Dreams” challenge. Speaking for all of us here….we are certainly looking forward to when the mailman comes tomorrow !

Happy Quilting!

 ~The Dream Team