Welcome to 2025!  A whole new year is ahead of us, providing plenty of opportunities to make beautiful sewn items that we can gift to others.  

This tidbit covers the topic of philanthropy, the heart of the Crazy Quilters Guild.  The Crazy Quilters philanthropy program provides me with an outlet for the quilts I make.  I love to create quilts, and I sew every day.   However, if I kept everything I sew, I would be up to my ears in quilts in my Laguna Woods Manor.  Not a good look!

The word philanthropy is defined by Meriam Webster as follows:         phi - lan - thro - py : pronounced : fe – lan – thre – pee    
        plural – philanthropies
 
The following 3 paragraphs are based on information found in the November and December 2024 Crazy Quilters Newsletters – “Sew On and Sew Forth”, and information updated and provided to me by the Crazy Quilters Philanthropy Chairperson:
At Laguna Woods Village, we have a bounty of sewing resources available to us.  In the Clubhouse 4 Quilt Room, the Laguna Woods Village generously provides and maintains 16 sewing stations, complete with Janome sewing machines.  Additionally, the Quilt Room provides us with a well-lighted space and 4 large tables that we can use to cut things out and lay out our projects as we decide final designs.  Remember to always use a rotary cutting mat on top of the 4 large tables when using a rotary cutter.  These tables are covered in cork.  When/if the cork is damaged, it will cost a minimum of $1,000 to repair.  Mats are available in the Quilt Room.  If you need assistance in selecting an appropriate sized mat, ask a supervisor for help. 

The Crazy Quilters Guild is continuously blessed by generous donations of funds, fabric, and sewing notions, all of which are periodically delivered to the Quilt Room by various people.  These donated items are sorted and folded and stored in the Quilt Room, supervised by Crazy Quilters Guild volunteers.  We use those donated raw materials to create and sew quilts and other items for our philanthropy projects. 

Anyone living in the Laguna Woods Village is welcome to come into the Quilt Room and use the sewing stations, and to use the donated materials to create items for our philanthropy projects.  Quilt Room supervisors will provide assistance in using Quilt Room tools, and retrieving fabrics and stored supplies as needed.  Otherwise, attendees are welcome to use the tools and sewing stations in the Quilt Room and can utilize their own fabrics and supplies for their own personal projects.  

All Laguna Woods Village residents are invited to come join us to sew together on the days the Quilt Room is open with a supervisor present.  

If residents want to learn to quilt or want help to solve a quilting issue, the supervisors are there to help and to provide advice.  We share the room with Emeritus classes, so you have to pay attention to when the Quilt Room is open for us to use with a supervisor present.  

Refer to the Calendar Tab on the Crazy Quilters website to see the current Quilt Room schedule and then come in and join us.  We have so much fun creating beautiful items together and would love to have more participants.

For your convenience, I have included a printable chart at the end of this tidbit, featuring a list of items you can create for our philanthropy projects.  The chart includes suggested sizes for each item.  You may contact our Philanthropy Chairperson, if you are interested in making something for philanthropy or you would like to volunteer to deliver completed items to recipients.  The philanthropy program depends on volunteers to succeed.

Blessings to you and your family for a wonderful 2025.  Thank you to our Philanthropy Chairperson who suggested the topic of Philanthropy for this tidbit.  If you have a suggested topic, please let me know.  I hope to have another tidbit ready for you in February.