News

CCQ featured by Wilsonville Spokesman

CCQ classCCQ was featured in a Wilsonville Spokesman newspaper article this week. “Two for you and one for me” tells how our program, started 14 years ago by Koko Sutton, has grown from a small experiment to a successful program that teaches life skills along with quilting to women incarcerated at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility.

The article’s title references the fact that each student makes three quilts. Two are donated to various organizations including Emanuel Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital, Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, Meridian Park Hospital, Providence Elder Place, Salud Medical Center, and Camp Erin. Students keep their third quilt, or give it to a loved one.

The Spokesman article offers a peak inside our Tuesday morning class, including pictures and interviews with students and instructors. “Thank you for your time and for believing in me,” one student said.

“This is two hours a week that they feel like they’re regular people. That’s special,” said lead instructor Peggy Gelbrich.

CCQ to exhibit at Old Aurora quilt show

Old Aurora MuseumCoffee Creek Quilters will exhibit during two days of Old Aurora Colony Museum’s 44th Annual Quilt Show, “Home at Last — An Aurora Sampler.” CCQ members will be at the show with examples of our students’ quilts on October 14 and 15. The quilt show runs October 14-23, 2016, 10 am to 4 pm daily.

The Old Aurora Quilt Show celebrates the 160th anniversary of the founding of the Aurora Colony in 1856 AND the 50th anniversary of the Old Aurora Colony Museum. Nearly 100 traditional and contemporary quilts will be exhibited throughout the Museum and the historical Kraus House adjacent to the Museum, augmented by antique historical quilts from the Museum’s extensive collection.

There will be other special exhibits during the quilt show including Quilts of Valor, a presentation by fiber artist and quilter Isaac Yoder, a display of 1800’s quilted skirts, petticoats, and bonnets collected by Cathy Harper, a quilt block contest, and more. Please visit the Museum’s website for details.

The Old Aurora Colony Museum is located at 15018 Second Street NE, Aurora, OR.

CCQ member helps quilters in Kenya

Kenyan quiltersMary Ann McCammon is an instructor in CCQ’s Thursday class. She also travels to Eldoret, Kenya to teach quilting to women recovering from obstetric fistula surgery. Mary Ann works with Beyond Fistula, a small non-profit that supports women after surgery to reintegrate with their families and gain financial independence.

In her most recent trip, Mary Ann learned that some of the Kenyan quilters prefer cutting fabric with scissors rather than rotary cutters. Ann (pictured at left/top), the production supervisor favors the type of scissors that Mary Ann brought to the class last November. CCQ’s Betty DeHaven located three of these from CCQ donations and Mary Ann shipped them to Ann in Kenya last month. “She’s thrilled,” Mary Ann said. “It’s another example of CCQ helping women.”

Mary Ann also meets with the Eldoret Quilt Guild (pictured at left/center) when she travels to Kenya. “On my most recent trip I brought them a bunch of books, rulers and patterns that had been CCQ donations that our women couldn’t use. They couldn’t get their heads out of the books; they were delighted. In return, they are machine sewing the cloth pockets we hand sew on the back of the story quilts (pictured at left/bottom).”

There will be a fundraiser to support the Beyond Fistula quilting program on Sunday, November 20th. Contact Mary Ann for details.