We had a party yesterday because we had lots to celebrate! The quilters ate lunch together and presented each of the representatives from the Religious Nurture Center and the TV Ministry a check for $11,000. We are so proud of ourselves, and so thankful for all those that contributed to this year’s success.
See how happy we are….but we know there are scores of folks who are also responsible for this gift to our Church.
(I was so excited, I didn’t take very good photos–but these are some of the people that made this happen.). But there are so many others we don’t have photos of to share.
So here goes–
To every quilter that made a quilt, table runner, set of placemat or book mark and used her own supplies and paid for the materials needed and the long arm quilting out of own budget with no reimbursement; all this happened because of you!!!
To every friend of FUMC that donated quilts, vintage and brand new, thank you! We sold almost every “gently and not so gently used” quilt you gave us. The new quilts added a flavor we didn’t have before.
To the “husbands of quilters” who moved tables, strung twinkle lights and banners and stayed through the three day sale collecting the cash and credit card sales, thank you! And most of all, to these men who know what it is like to live with a quilter..occasional late dinners due to “just one more seam”, threads on almost everything, and detouring to quilt shops on trips.. we give our love and thanks.
To the Church Class Friends who made items for us and helped set up in Meredith Hall, thank you! Meredith Hall was a new location for us and we might have changed our minds a few times about the location of tables and racks! Marty made a beautiful quilt rack that will find its owner soon and George took a photo from a 4-H fair and made two large display racks for smaller items.
To the Church Staff who promoted the Sale on Sunday mornings and in electronic communications, a huge thanks! Rev. Jeff and Kane were super sports and gave us 2.5 hours of their time to be filmed making a quilt–that Nathan then boiled down to 3+ minutes to share on a Sunday morning. Our graphics were designed by Evan who was new to FUMC but helped us get the word out to the general public. And thanks to Noah and Cy, we were able to participate in Wichita’s Art Crawl –on a Friday evening and to extend our sale hours past their regular hours.
To the Coffee Shop women who created a cozy place in Meredith Hall to enjoy coffee and a homemade sweets. This added touch helps make the Sale special.
To our supportive fellow members of FUMC–they came out on a rainy Friday evening to attend our first time participating in the Wichita Art Crawl, you are so appreciated! They came to our Quilt Sale and bought graduation quilts, holiday table runners, stuffed toys for their grandchildren and rag rugs for their porches. They brought their friends who are not members of First to see what we had to offer.
To our new friends that read about the sale or saw a flyer and came to Meredith Hall; we enjoyed visiting with you and hope to see you again.
To the many personal friends of each quilters–you came and supported our efforts and you have remained our friends even though some times we bore you with our quilting adventures!
To anyone who has purchased something from Quilters at First this entire year, you are greatly appreciated! We are delighted that shopping with Quilters at First is not just a three day sale–it is a year around opportunity to buy quality items that catch your fancy via Facebook, the showcase on 1B or on the blog.
We are so grateful that we can use our talents or passions or interests to help our Church. And we are in awe how it has become a church-wide effort.
But what is most gratifying to me personally is that real, live people read what I write! Blows my mind. So to all of you, from my heart, thank you, thank you!
Now we have a new goal! We are a rather competitive group, so this year’s total is a challenge. We will do our best to top these numbers in 2026!! Hang on tight for the ride.
Quilts, Etc. 