Happy Birthday Marie Webster and The Quilters Hall of Fame!

Marie's 150th Birthday Party!
TQHF's 30th Birthday Party!



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Dear Quilt Friends,

In 2009 The Quilters Hall of Fame turns 30 and Marie Webster turns 150 years old. What better time for a birthday party! We invite you to throw a TQHF/Marie Webster Birthday Party in honor of one or both of these auspicious events and to help raise funds for TQHF at the same time, if you like.

Ask your local Quilt Shop to order the new Windham Fabrics Marie Webster-inspired line! Then team up with your quilt shop to hold a Marie Webster/TQHF Fund Raiser Birthday Party. (See #7 below.) To see the whole new line of Marie Webster inspired fabrics by Windham Fabrics, click here.

But Marie Webster is not your only choice! You may choose a to salute another Honoree for a TQHF Birthday salutes all Honorees!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE: First - Email us your intention to throw a TQHF Birthday Party Fundraiser. Then plan a party with your guild or with your Bee.

Or maybe you would just like to do your own thing with a select group of friends because you love to celebrate special events together! Or really think outside the box and throw a party for a local scout group or a party about women's history at a local high school and feature Marie Webster and quilting!

FILM YOUR PARTY! Why not film your party and put it on You Tube to share with other quilters and TQHF party-goers around the world! And let us know when you post your party to ! ALSO, any group that holds a TQHF Birthday Party that raises money and sends us the 2 photos of their party will get their party's photo on the TQHF BLOG.

Windham Fabrics Marie Webster-inspired French Baskets.

WHAT’S A PARTY WITHOUT GIFTS! ANYONE who participates in a Marie Webster/TQHF Birthday Party that raises funds for TQHF will receive a 50%-off coupon for the TQHF Honoree book, which normally sells for $35.00, so make sure we have the names of those who attend your party!

PRIZES: Your TQHF Party has two chances to win a very special prize—the FIRST PRIZE goes to the party that raises the most funds. A SPECIAL PRIZE will also go to the Party the judges deem the most creative in addition to raising money. Also, your story and photo of each winning party will appear in the TQHF Fall/Winter newsletter.

Remember, E-MAIL your Party Plans and we’ll start listing them on the Blog! Meanwhile, share the TQHF Birthday Party news! Pass the Blog link http://quiltershalloffamebirthdayparty.blogspot.com/ to all those who love quilts and have them Email us! Help us get as many people celebrating as possible and raising funds to help us maintain the Honoree Collection and repair the front pillars of the Marie Webster House!

Review the list of suggestions in the post below and then come join the fun and help TQHF at the same time! Together we’ll give TQHF and Marie Webster a birthday to remember!

Keep those needles flying!

Karen Alexander
click here to Email me!

~~~

Karen B. Alexander
The Quilters Hall of Fame
Public Relations
Past President
926 South Washington Street
P.O. Box 681
Marion, IN 46953

TQHF Birthday Party Fund Raiser Suggestions

Just imagine your Birthday Party Brick in the Commemorative Brick Walkway that meanders through Marie's beautifully restored gardens!



In sharing my idea to hold Marie Webster/TQHF Birthday Parties across the quilt world, I have had several friends offer suggestions. Here is the first batch of suggestions:

1. Throw a spaghetti dinner and ask for a donation at the door.

2. Throw a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, sell tickets and get a local quilt shop to donate a prize for the cleverest hat.

3. Bake and decorate cupcakes or cookies and sell slices at your guild meeting.



4. Throw a party and hold a mini silent Auction of items each participant brings that day. No fuss, no muss. Just need space and bidding sheets available. (My guild here on the Island did this for the first time in 2005 with approximately 30 in attendance. Members brought or offered everything from handmade items to bundles of fabric to home-baked breads to promised dinner parties for 6. We shocked ourselves by raising more than $1,000!)

5. Hold a box lunch social at the guild or in your home and auction off the boxed luncheons.

6. Hold a Fund Raiser Birthday Challenge within your Guild or personal circle of friends and tell them you’ll match every $ raised up to X number of dollars.

7. Ask your local Quilt Shop to order the new Windham Fabrics Marie Webster-inspired line! Then team up with your quilt shop to hold a Marie Webster/TQHF Fund Raiser Birthday Party.

8. Lead or get someone to lead a nature walk, an architectural tour, a historic tour, a garden tour. Charge $15-$25 or charge $35 and provide a light lunch.

9. Hold a quilt design piggybank/box contest and ask people to save all their change for 3 months.

10. Hold a quilt-in and make small items for the TQHF Museum Shop (doll quilts, baby quilts, quilted postcards, journal covers. Other?)

11. Ask friends who belong to service clubs, sororities, antique collecting groups, support groups, bridge clubs, women’s church group, scouting, 4-H, youth groups, etc. to hold a once-in-a-life-time fund raising event on behalf of TQHF. If theya re not quilters, sell them on the idea of preserving women's history!



Flowers from Marie's beautifully restored garden.


12. Or ask this same group to let you discuss the significance of quilts and TQHF’s Birthday Celebration to their group and then pass the hat for a donation. They may not be quilters but once in a life-time your friends or group just might respond to your special request.

13. Host a wine and cheese party. Don’t charge admission but do invite as many people as you can. Give a short talk about the significance of TQHF and its 30th Birthday Party and ask everyone to consider a gift of $25, $50 or $100 depending upon the crowd. Ask for door prizes from your local quilt shop.

14. Throw a Quilted Style Show where everyone wears a quilted item that they have made or borrowed, sell tickets; have attendees vote for their favorite outfit and get a local quilt shop to donate a prize.

15. With the help of a friend, hold one fundraising event every other month that nets at least $75. This might look like this:
Quilt Bingo Party - raise $50-100
-Like to cook? Fancy Dinner or Lunch (6-8 people at $25) - raise $200
-Sell 50 raffle tickets for the Marie Webster Opportunity Quilt @ $1 each.
-Ask for donations of Used quilt books & hold a sale - raise $50-$100.

Email your Party Pledge soon!

Karen Alexander
Click here to Email me!

~
Karen B. Alexander
The Quilters Hall of Fame
Public Relations
Past President
926 South Washington Street
P.O. Box 681
Marion, IN 46952



PS: Remember the photo of the Marie Webster House at the top of my first TQHF Birthday post? Ever see what it looked like before we began the restoration work? Be ready for a shock! This is the "before" version of what the donated dollars of quilters around the world rescued and what your dollars continue to do today -- help us keep the Marie Webster House in tip-top shape!