This weekend I am distributing your donated comfort quilts to those affected by our King Soopers mass shooting in March. Many thanks to those of you who rushed quilts to us for this event – we received over 160 quilts in time for this weekend! I am attending a community support event at the CU Events Center, and several hundred families are expected to attend. For those of you who made and sent a comfort quilt – I promise to express your love and care to each and every person who receives your gifts.
We are still working with the Boulder Emergency Taskforce to reach those families and individuals who are dealing with PTS and loss. Our goal is go distribute a total of 500 quilts, so if you are still working on a quilt, yes we will make sure they are personally presented to someone who suffered a loss or trauma. Thank you.
My studio/classroom has sat empty for over a year now, and we have made the decision to downsize this space. We had someone begging us to lease half the space, and decided that is right thing to do at this time. So our classroom will be divided in half for my studio. It is going from 2000 sq ft to 1000 sq ft, and I am keeping the half with the giant stainless steel sink, and the kitchen! A girl’s got to have her priorities! I don’t know if we will have enough space to host smaller classes, until we get through the construction in August and I set up the new space. I will probably have a better idea in September, but for now we are not booking classes in there…yet.
Here in the US we just got the news that those who are fully vaccinated can remove their masks in most settings, but many people are saying they will still wear masks in public until the vaccination rate is higher. So it is difficult to make plans for the future now, even as we embrace this huge step which feels like progress but is also a bit scary. We are all in this together, and we are all going to find out how it goes…together. We all have to make our own decisions about what feels right. We are a major sponsor for Houston Quilt Festival, and I booked my hotel long ago, but I have not booked my flight…so that tells you where I am at! Hopeful, cautiously optimistic, but prepared for things to go either way.
As you know our charity program has raised almost $1.8 million for those in need, after 22 years of donating 2% of sales. Right now Doctors Without Borders is on the ground helping with the terrible situations in India and Gaza. All 7 of our charities are carefully chosen and each one has a story. I keep in touch with these non-profits because I want to know that our donations are being used directly for those in need. A couple weeks ago I learned that yet another friend in the quilt industry was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, so this month’s contribution will be in her honor. Every check we sign and mail off is a prayer…indeed it is all of our prayers that together we can make a difference. We are so grateful for your support which allows us to keep going….we’ve got our sights on that $2 million goal in a couple years. That accomplishment belongs to all of us…to all of you…who choose to support our efforts. We appreciate your love and your friendship over the years…even more so after this last year!
Paul and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary this week. 22 of those years have been running eQuilter together. We love our ‘Mom and Pop’ business and we know that we are blessed.
with hope for the future,
Luana and Paul
Calendar:
July 29 – Aug 1 – Festival of Quilts in Birmingham UK
“For the Love of Gaia” quilt gallery
Sept 27 – Anchorage Log Cabin Quilters Guild – Lecture.
Oct 23-30 – Houston Quilt Market & Festival
Jan 12 – Apr 9, 2022 – New England Quilt Museum (NEQM)
“For the Love of Gaia” quilt exhibit
Sat, March 19 – “International Quilt Trends” power point lecture – NEQM
