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CCQ members Donna Gilbo and Diane Campbell recently dropped off another 20 quilts to Kinship House, a Portland nonprofit that provides mental health services to kids in foster care. The Kinship House outpatient program offers ongoing consultation, therapy, and education to help parents develop skills to support their children’s unique needs. You can learn more about Kinship House on their website. In the Coffee Creek Quilters prison quilting program, our students each make three quilts. The first two are for donation to organizations like Kinship House while students get to keep their third quilts.

Two Coffee Creek Quilters members’ quilts were included in the recent Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. Peggy Gelbrich and Joan Budd had stitched the Magic of Winter quilt as part of a Grange Girls project. Who, you might ask, are the Grange Girls? Peggy explains: “I rent three granges and have monthly sew days teaching and helping ladies with their projects. We have lovingly become the ‘Grange Girls.’” The groups have been meeting for five years in McMinnville, three years in Canby, and started this year in Tigard. The calendar for future Grange Girl gatherings can be found on Peggy’s website. Thirteen Magic of Winter quilts were accepted by the Sisters Quilt Show as a special exhibit. The pattern was designed by Jason Yenter and is available as a pattern and/or kit at various quilt shops. You can learn more about the Sisters Quilt Show on their website.

The Coffee Creek Quilters program was featured on KATU’s AM Northwest morning show on July 15th. In the segment, host Helen Raptis interviewed CCQ instructor Dawn Yoshizumi and former student Angie Ptomey. Dawn explained how our program works and what our goals are. In addition to teaching technical and artistic quilting skills, “…our program teaches students self-esteem, confidence, and an ability to believe in themselves,” Dawn said. Angie talked about what she learned in the program, both in terms of learning a craft and life skills. “I was so blessed to be a part of the program when it started in 2002. I still quilt to this day. It’s one of those creative outlets I can use when I’m having a hard time,” Angie said. We invite you to view the segment on KATU’s website.

Best selling author Marie Bostwick has a new novel out called Hope on the Inside. It’s about Hope Carpenter, a woman who finds new purpose in a new phase of her life when she volunteers to teach crafts to women incarcerated at a local women’s prison. Marie’s research for the book included a visit to our Tuesday morning class at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility and sharing lunch with the Tuesday morning class instructors. In an acknowledgement, she dedicated the book to Coffee Creek Quilters, “who truly do bring hope to the inside and without whom this book likely would not have been written.” We invite you to read the full acknowledgement. You can learn more about Marie Bostwick and her books on her website and Facebook page.

CCQ has been teaching quilting classes at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility since 2002. Here’s a message we recently received from a student in our very first class: “I was sitting at my table this evening, finishing a quilt, and I thought of the first quilt I ever made. I learned to quilt in the very first cccf quilting class! I think my instructor’s name was Marge….but after this long, I can’t remember. I wanted to email and thank the women who generously donate their time to this program. Quilting has been an outlet for me over these last 17 years and helped me through tough times. Many times, those who work in corrections never hear the success stories, sometimes they are very few and far between. I released in 2003 and I started college. I now have my masters degree in education and work as a teacher at deer ridge correctional institution. Thank you for being a part of my journey and for giving of yourselves to people who many have given up on. I feel blessed for having been a part of your program.” Angie

Just in time for the holidays, CCQ members delivered 23 quilts to Kinship House, a Portland nonprofit that provides mental health services to kids in foster care. The Kinship House mission is to help minimize transitions and increase the chances of children settling into a stable, healthy, and permanent home. You can learn more about Kinship House on their website. In the Coffee Creek Quilters prison quilting program, our students each make three quilts. The first two are for donation to organizations like Kinship House while students get to keep their third quilts. We know that our quilts are much appreciated and look forward to continuing to provide quilts for donation.