Children in Distress - Chris Diebel revisits Heritage Quilters Tri-annual Exhibition

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Chris Diebel revisits Heritage Quilters Tri-annual Exhibition

In January 2010, Janet Catton, CID’s longtime sponsor and supporter spoke to our “Heritage Quilters” group of the charity and its work, so we decided to make quilts and other items to send out to Romania. Our group has gone on to support other causes however I had been so moved by Janet’s stories of her trips to Romania that I carried on making quilts, smurfs, bags. In November 2011, I was privileged to take my latest batch over to St Margaret’s Hospice in Bucharest myself.

At the recent Heritage Quilters Tri-Annual exhibition, Janet and I were generously allowed to set up a stall selling items for CID. I set nose to sewing machine and made quilts etc. to sell.

Was I prepared; my mission was to talk to everyone about C.I.D and SELL, SELL, SELL! My husband kindly printed a load of flyers with my Romania story and the details of how to sponsor a child. We also printed some of my photos and these alongside publicity pictures were stuck up along a wall. Our flyer and a cheerful“please will you read about my trip to Romania” started each conversation.

To coin a phrase, “Simples”! Just about, everyone was interested and took a flyer. For these welcoming chats, we have gained a small group who make soft toys in shoe bags for CID. We have another contact, who will go and collect knitted and crocheted blankets and another who will ship our items out to Romania through their charity shop, getting us very favorable rates with UPS. Business was so brisk that on Saturday night, my husband had to print a load more flyers as they had all gone. The first person through the door on Sunday morning had taken a flyer the day before. She wanted more details about sponsoring as she and her husband had decided to sponsor a child and wanted to go on the next sponsor’s trip to Romania. - I wonder what will come out of the other 99.

Many People asked what I did with all my beautiful handcrafted quilts after the show. One quilt, “Out of Africa” attracted a deal of attention, this will be going to the Children in Distress stall at Ely Cathedral’s Christmas Gift & Food Fair on the 15 November 2012 to 17 November 2012 Hopefully, Alyth Hughes will accept it for raffle, while other beautiful handmade quilts will be there for sale or auctioned. Happily, after so many sales my stock of beautiful handcrafted gifts is now very low, so guess what I will be doing until November!

Janet and I certainly raised the profile of C.I.D. and the beautiful children that we have met and fallen in love with in Romania. Our tale ends with even better news since we raised a staggering £440.00, whilst 10% will be shared with EACH. but with Gift Aid some £500 is winging it’s way to help raise the roof on St Margaret’s therapy conservatory and to shelter Raffi, Darius, Florin and all the rest we met, it’s you we do it for and it comes with our love.