By popular demand, we have a counter!

19 Apr

Hi there, I’m one of Northcott’s graphics gnomes that hides away in a dark corner of the office and designs some of the bright and colorful things you may see throughout your adventures with Northcott. Patti was kind enough to let me make a post on her blog, related of course to the exciting new Quilts to Japan Counter. Until our shipment leaves, you will be able to find this icon on the sidebar and watch it grow as we receive more quilts. Our team will be updating this as often as we can – the more quilts you send in, the more this number climbs (funny how that works) and the more quilts we have to send to those who truly need them. Stay tuned for photo updates, we’ll try our best to dazzle you.

You may hear from me once in a while with some tidbits on graphic design, the fabric industry and shiny things that I find wonderfully entertaining. Thanks for staying tuned.

Aaron.

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Update on quilts to Japan

15 Apr

Fellow Quilters,
I am back at my desk after a week of skiing in Vail, CO to celebrate hubby’s 50th birthday.  How exciting and humbling it was to see that 2 boxes of quilts had arrived while I was away!  Thank you to Sew Creative in Strathroy , ON for these.  Thanks also goes to:
Laurentian Quilters Guild in St. Sauveur, QC
Leslie White of Deep River, ON
Companion Quilters
Robin Petty of Burlington, ON
Morag-Orr Stevens of Gabriola Island, BC
Quilters Dream in Burlington, ON
Helen Hubert and her guild in Caledonia, ON

There has been quite a bit of confusion in the past 2 weeks as to where these quilts are going, so here is the latest update.  Northcott is collecting and sending quilts to Patchwork Quilting Tsushin magazine in Japan, where editor Naomi Ichikawa is distributing them through Unicef and other organizations.  Northcott had also agreed to partner with Quilts for Japan, who is sending quilts to CRASH, however Quilts for Japan has decided that they no longer wish to partner with Northcott.   Quilters interested in sending quilts to CRASH through Quilts for Japan should visit www.quiltsforjapan.ca for size and shipping details.
Northcott is accepting NEW QUILTS OF ANY SIZE, though large lap/small twin is most needed.   Our initial deadline is end April to receive the quilts, and quilters are asked to forward their quilts to Northcott’s office in Vaughan, ON   (101 Courtland Ave.  Vaughan, ON   L4K 3T5) or to their local shop if the shop is collecting and forwarding the quilts to Northcott.  Canadian company Lapel Stick has posted a wonderful downloadable label that can be included on the quilts if desired (http://www.lapelstick.com/quilts-for-japan).  It is designed by Barb Round and includes inspiring words from one of Singing Quilter Cathy Miller’s songs.  Thank you to Barb, Cathy and Lapel Stick for providing this!  I will be putting the label on the 4 quilts that my little dynamo of a piecing assistant Susanne whipped up while I was on holidays.  Here is a picture of Susanne putting the borders on Quilt #3 made with the beautiful My Asian Garden collection.  And another picture of me basting Quilt #4 made with the brand spanking new Stonehenge Skins in the Colorado colourway – I love it!  I hope to quilt them this weekend if I get bored piecing another version of my king-size Stonehenge Beauty pattern for a show at the end of the month.
A final word of encouragement is from editor Naomi Ichikawa who reports “A family who escaped from the tsunami and is living temporarily at their relative’s house got a big size quilt to use as a big comforter because they want to sleep all together under the quilt.”  Please keep those quilts coming!

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1 Apr

Fellow Quilters,
So much has happened in the past few days that my head is spinning!  Shortly after my post on March 29, I was contacted by Bev Rogan, a fellow Canuck in Calgary, who is also collecting quilts for the victims in Japan.  Bev has set up a website www.quiltsforjapan.ca with lots of helpful information for quilters wanting to donate quilts.  She has managed to connect with Global Samaritan Resources, who will cover the cost of sending the quilts in their 40,000 square ft container – that’s a lot of quilts!  Bev would like Northcott to partner with her, and I think it’s a great idea – Northcott’s resources can go further now – perhaps toward a second or third shipment as well.  Any quilters in western Canada wishing to send a quilt could send their quilt to Bev in Calgary instead of Northcott in the Toronto area.  She has suggested Greyhound Express as a method of shipping, as they seem to be cheapest by far.  The address is:
Bev Rogan
38 Rockbluff Close NW
Calgary, AB T3G 5B1
(403)274-4193
As with all of the groups collecting and donating quilts, our goal is the same – get these “blankets of love” to those who so desperately need them.  I am in the process of attempting to connect some of those who have requested quilts with the aid organizations that have the resources to deliver the quilts.  In the meantime, my talented piecing assistant Susanne will be piecing a couple of large lap quilts (the most requested size) so that I can quilt them.  Susanne says it’s the least she can do to help.  I’ll keep you posted…

Cheers,
Patti

Canadian Quilts for Japan

29 Mar

Fellow Quilters,

In the past few days, I have had several pleas for help, asking if Northcott could possibly assist in getting quilts to the earthquake/tsunami victims in Japan.  I consulted with The Prez, and the answer is yes – Northcott will collect quilts sent from Canadian addresses and ship them to Japan at the end of April.  Interested Canadian residents should send their quilts by end April to:
Northcott – Quilts for Japan
101 Courtland Ave.
Vaughan, ON   L4K 3T5

Why only Canadian addresses, you ask?  Because getting quilts across the US/Canada border is a nightmare, and rather costly.  US residents, don’t despair!  Your quilts are wanted too.  Please send them to:

Mission of Love Foundation
2054 Hemlock Court
Youngstown, Ohio 44515 ~ U.S.A.

For more information, check out details at equilter.com. Our contact in Japan has requested NEW quilts only, please, up to a maximum size of 60″ x 70″.  This is a fabulous oppurtunity to use up some of those fat quarters that are languishing in my stash.  I think I may whip up a couple of super-quick quilts using Tricia Cribbs’ Turning Twenty… Again pattern and some of the new Stonehenge Skins fabrics (by Northcott, of course).  I’m going to use a polyester batt because it is much lighter for shipping, and I find that it is warmer than cotton.  I just purchased some new pantographs for my longarm machine, so this will be a great opportunity to try them out.  I’ll keep you posted.

Cheers,

Patti

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Chapter 1 of my very own blog…

25 Mar

This is my beginning statement to the great big world of the Blogosphere. To you I wish to say a very simple “hello!”.

Creating a blog is a wonderful experience. I will tell you more about my journey to get here in days to come, right now I’m just trying to figure out what all these little buttons do beside my cursor. I know one of them publishes my text and broadcasts it into the entire free world, and another supposedly sends tweets – any bird watchers out there? If I click the big red one I’m sure my computer will suddenly burst into flames and I will lose everything, but the inviting green one promises to make the sun come out and a bluejay to land on my shoulder.

Anyways, thanks for your patience in getting started. I am very excited to share with you all the stories that occupy a normal week here at Northcott and in my spare time as a quilter. More posts are sure to come, and my design team might be changing the look of our site until their creative minds are satisfied.

Looking forward to chatting soon!

Sincerely yours,
Patti.

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