Star House

Welcome Robin Koehler of Tarpon Springs, Florida, with her Star House

Flag detail - thread painted

A House Quilt Sew-In

I love it when I open an envelope and it has 4 patriotic house quilts inside!  A quilting store in Madison, Wisconsin - The Electric Needle hosted a sew-in to make house quilts for this project!  How great is that?

Classic blue house made by Katie Gray

Stripe house made by Katie Heberlein

Another by Katie Heberlein

Red house by Alex Sawyer

Sweet Purple House

Welcome Jenny Williams of Lexington, NC to The House Quilt Project

Detail of flag

A Letter from Furnishing Hope

Dear friends,

You have the opportunity to pick a child up off the floor.

Suzanne is an Air Force wounded warrior who served multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq moved from South Carolina to Orange County and rented an apartment. She and her son were sleeping on the floor when Furnishing Hope was called. We arrived at 9:00 and by 12:30 she had a completely furnished apartment. She burst into tears when she saw her son's room, "My baby has a bed! He doesn't have to sleep on the floor!"

Today I feel heavy hearted. I have nine wounded warriors waiting with homes to be furnished. I can so easily make them comfortable for the holidays but will I get the support? Will I be forced to turn down some requests?

Furnishing Hope has been furnishing homes and apartments for people in crisis since 2004. In 2011 we focused our efforts on returning wounded military. We have found that a comfortable place to live makes a monumental impact on their ability to heal and adjust to civilian life. We make a difference not only in their lives but the lives of their families, friends and neighbors.

A referral from the hospital starts the process. With the warrior's questionnaire in hand we shop at Living Spaces with the $2,500 gift card they donate. Then I order new mattresses, shop for incidentals and coordinate a volunteer team. Usually it takes about a week, and then the trucks are loaded and headed to the warrior's residence. My group of designers & volunteers immediately get to work unpacking and setting up the house. Within 3 hours an empty space is turned into a home. I know how desperately these men and women need this to be done quickly but it is definitely a challenge to our budget. I do as much as I can, depending on available funding.

Over the last year we have received donations of beautiful furniture, handmade quilts, food baskets, toys, appliances and art all thoughtfully given with our recipient's in mind. Today I am asking for funding, to pay the driver; rent a truck, buy the mattresses, bedding and kitchen supplies. I need approximately $2,000.00 for each home we furnish.

Fundraising has always been difficult for me. But somehow I have make it this far. Within 9 years we've furnished the homes of hundreds of families and made what I believe to be a substantial, positive impact in our community. But unless we have our communities support we will have to make drastic changes in the services we provide.

I would be overjoyed to see these nine wounded men and women comfortable before Christmas. No warrior should sleep on the floor or mother see her child sleeping on the floor; could you imagine waking up that way Christmas morning? Won't you help?

Please send your donation to Furnishing Hope, 3857 Birch Street, Newport Beach, CA 92660. You can also go onto the website and donate through PayPal.

I appreciate you taking the time to read this and hope you feel as passionate as do about helping the men and women who have given so much to protect our country.

Best Regards,

Beth

Founder - Executive Director

P.S. Every dollar counts! A small donation could buy a blanket while a large donation could impact the lives of hundreds.

Watch this video to See exactly what we do here at Furnishing Hope

3857 Birch Street, #503
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Phone: 949-640-8012 Fax 949-417-1845
www.FurnishingHope.org

Whimsical House

Whimsical house by Terry Pottmeyer of Mercer Island, WA - for a wounded service member.  This is Terry's first contribution to The House Quilt Project!

Detail.  I love the paper clip fabric!

All American Flag House

All American Flag house by Liz House of Theodosia, MO.  This is Liz's first contribution to The House Quilt Project.

Love these special details

In Loving Memory of Carolyn Kolzow

Welcome Karen S. Musgrave of Naperville, Illinois,  to The House Quilt Project.  She has made three patriotic house quilts in loving memory of her friend, Carolyn Kolzow  who died unexpectedly, her family requested we donate to our favorite charity in her honor. For me, that just did not seem enough. I needed something more to honor her and frankly to give myself a more positive way to grieve. The House Quilt Project came to mind. Carolyn loved our country, patriotic designs and while she wasn't a quilter, she did love quilts. She was an extremely caring and generous person. I know she would be happy knowing that I choose to honor her this way.

Lovely details

Stars and Stripes Forever!

Detail of the sky

Love Resides Here

Detail

House in the Woods

Patriotic house quilt by Beverly Nuckols of Gray, Tennessee; design by Laura Wasilowski.  Beverly is from California and thought it would be neat to have one of her pieces hanging in someone's house in CA.

Beautiful details in this piece

Lake House and Beach House

Two patriotic house quilts by Darlene Kihne of Sious Falls, South Dakota  This one is titled "Lake House"

Great details, with a woven sky

Beach House

Embellished with shells

Houses from New Hampshire

Pocketful of Peace made by Maryly Matthewman of New Hampshire

There are little peace signs sewn into the "house pocket" here. The roof is open to let all of the peace out unto the wind and for peace to come to all who have contact with this wind.

New Hampshire Log Cabin.  We have many log cabins here in New Hampshire.  the best setting is by a lake under some pines.

From the artist:  I loved making the house quilts, with my father-in-law in mind.  He was one of the first troops on Nagasaki, after the bomb was dropped.  He passed away looking out over Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire in 1997, due to Lymphoma.  Last year when my husband came home from his Agent Orange registration, he left a pamphlet on the table with all of the various exposure registrations.  We filed a claim on behalf of my 90 year old mother-in-law and this past May, the Army did recognize that my father-in-law's lymphoma was caused by his radiation exposure on Nagasake.  And my mother-in-law is receiving some benefits.  --The Matthewman Family of New Hampshire

Time to Cut the Grass

Fiber Artist, Susan Fletcher King of Houston, Texas, titled this patriotic house quilt "Time to Cut the Grass."  Love the American flag butterfly!

Detail

Tropical Houses

Tropical Houses by Jamie Fingal, Orange, CA, founder of The House Quilt Project

made for Wounded Service Members

Sunny and Bright House

Sunny and Bright House by Sue Bleiweiss of Upton, MA, for  a wounded service member

Detail;  To see more of Sue's work, visit her website at suebleiweiss.com

Shout Out for Patriotic House Quilts

The House Quilt Project is looking for more people to make patriotic house quilts for Wounded Service Members.

12" wide by 16" high - vertical format, and must have a house and an American flag on it.

It's a pretty easy size to create.

In the upper tool bar, there are instructions for making the wall quilts, pop tops for easy hanging, and label information, plus where to ship.  I hope you will consider making a patriotic house quilt for this project, and make a difference in the life of one of our wounded service members.

Country House

Country Welcome Home House quilt by Ann Pierce of Austin, TX.  

We don't usually talk about 'techniques' here on the blog, but I have to tell you, that this is her FIRST free motion quilting project ever!  Great job!

I invite you to make a patriotic house quilt for this project.  Information is in the upper tabs. 

Stars, Stripes and Polka Dots!

A charming and whimsical patriotic house quilt by Gillian Moss of La Jolla, California.  Visit her website to see her work

Detail.  Stars quilted on the entire piece!

A Bright and Wonderful 2013

Patriotic house quilt for a Wounded Service Member, by Linda Teddlie Minton of San Antonio, Texas.  A great way to begin the new year of 2013!