Sunday 21 December 2014

When Santa Came to Wickham

** Note:  Names have been altered in this post to protect the privacy of the individuals **

Over the past months we have been busy making quilts for the Wickham Student Accommodation facility in Newcastle, run by the Samaritans.  You can read more about that facility here, and a post about our last trip up there is here.

There were 4 quilts ready to take up, all of them quilted by the ever patient Robin.  Thank you Rob; so grateful you can do this for the SH.

Made by Dasha, this is for Karen.

 
This one was made for Neridah by Jan,

 
Nice swirl pattern in the quilting.

 
This one is for Katie, made by Jan.  It is a double Disappearing 9 Patch.


 
This one is for Linda, made by Jan and Dasha with a little help from Friday Quilter ladies Fiona and Cheryl.


 
One last one for Susan is still to be quilted.

Jan & Dasha made the trip up to Newcastle to deliver the quilts last Friday, just in time for Christmas.

It was an eventful day.  To start with, here is a photo of the building itself.

 
It used to be the Wickham Public School and was built at the turn of the last century.  The Samaritans have owned it now for a couple of years.
 
Next door is the Infants School - not part of the facility, but a lovely building, beautifully restored.  It is the older of the two, and was built in 1892.
 
 
Directly across the road is the Marina, and beyond that the Newcastle harbour.  I couldn't get the whole lot into the photo.

 
Besides the quilts, we took a pile of donations from Stitching Hearts members, and also quite a lot from Friday Quilters, a whole boot full in fact. (For those that haven't visited here before, Friday Quilters is the group Jan & I sew with locally.  Stitching Hearts are based in the Sydney suburb of Cabarita).

 
Once there, we met Glenda, who was filling in as Manager of the facility while Barbara is on leave.  We also met Amy, from the Samaritans Communications Department, who arrived to take some official photos to be included in the Samaritans newsletter with an article about Stitching Hearts & our involvement with the Wickham facility.
 
This year, as usual, Stitching Hearts ladies put in a donation instead of buying a Christmas gift for one another.  Jan & I gave this donation of $120 to Glenda for use at the facility as needed.  There were also Christmas gifts for the two children who live at the facility.
 
And then we met the girls!!  How wonderful it was to actually meet these girls!  When making a quilt as a donation you are generally sewing for a nameless, faceless person and you rarely get the chance to meet that person.  But that doesn't mean that you haven't spent a lot of time thinking about this person as you piece that quilt.  Meeting the recipient is really special, and made my day.
 
Jan gave the quilt she made for Katie to her in person.  Her face lit up when she saw it.

 
And then the one she made for Linda to her.  Linda was spied later walking around with the quilt wrapped around her shoulders.

 
And then we had a group photo.

 
Glenda phoned Karen who was out for the day.  She asked that her quilt be taken to her room and laid on her bed.  So we were taken to her room and I put it across the end of her bed.  Karen would have seen it as soon as she opened her door.


A big day, and for us, hugely satisfying.

2 comments:

  1. Isn't that wonderful you were able to meet some of the girls. Extra special and the boost you need to keep making them : )
    Well done ladies. Not sure who the Samaritans are but I am off to read about them

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful generous gifts and good that you could give the presents. Happy Christmas

    ReplyDelete