CHAPTER 2 - SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING TRIANGLES (cont'd)

[Maryjo K.]

I have already visited Chapter 3 but we can't close this chapter until the wind blows our way but I feel a big wind blowing beautiful HST's around. I did get Good Vibrations today and it wasn't the Beach Boys so I think they may have been coming from Texas and swirling all over the world. This has been an incredible journey meeting so many wonderful people from all over the world. Maryjo

[Maryjo K.]

I second that emotion o- o- o- o- m - O - m -o- -o- o- o- o

[Maryjo K.]

We can close this chapter if we are talking about sorting.... Clara

[Maryjo K.]

Besides, we've overshot the page numbers from Chapter 1 :lol:

Rosemary

How about we start a thread for Sottts bios.? and anyone else who didn't manage to get Sottted.

[Debbie W.]

I have already visited Chapter 3 but we can't close this chapter until the wind blows our way but I feel a big wind blowing beautiful HST's around. I did get Good Vibrations today and it wasn't the Beach Boys so I think they may have been coming from Texas and swirling all over the world. This has been an incredible journey meeting so many wonderful people from all over the world. Maryjo

We won't be closing the Chapter 2 thread for a while, if ever...just keep checking both Forums for updates from members. Feel free to copy & past your comments from one post to the other. I'll continue to make updates on the 1st Forum post on both for a while, so please refer to that post on a regular basis. I will eventually move only to the Chapter 3 thread and follow everyone from there.

[Debbie W.]

Another point to Clara's post about asking if your package has been mailed yet...I promise, we will mail them out as they are completed, but we WILL NOT be keeping track of the packages that have been returned. If you sent HSTs and a return envelope (with sufficent postage) or charged on Paypal, you will get it back eventually. The sorting process was absolutely unbelievable and monumental, even getting everything unloaded out of our vans and into the church hall, as all theTQS helpers who were there can attest to. My main focus, other than my day job which I still have to do, for the next few weeks, yes probably weeks, will be getting them mailed back to you. Probably no quilting projects in my future for a while :P .

Also, because of the massive numbers of HSTs, you may be short a few or may have a few extras. If you do come up a little short, we apologize, but we will not have any extras to send to you as replacements. If you're over, consider yourself lucky and enjoy the extras. There was absolutely no way to make this a fool-proof operation.

Most assuredly you will receive duplicate HSTs from one or more members or even some of your own, you had to have been there to understand why that would happen. It was absolutely impossible to handle each HST as its own individual unit and make sure that on one received more than one from each member.

My incredible Bee (most of whom are NOT TQS members) will be helping me with more sorting tomorrow and we should be able to get quite a few more packages in the mail after that, but not ALL of them. It's not just a matter of counting the correct numbers of HSTs, it's also a matter of putting them back into the return evelopes (many of which were too actually small for the return quantities), getting them taped, and then taking them to the post office to mail. I was hoping to get the larger counts finished first, but that was not to be, so the majority of the packages left to distribute are the large counts, 700, 616, even 300s, etc. which will obviously take the most time and manpower.

Several members sent in packages for multiple members together on one envelope that were were all to be returned in one envelope. That only worked to confuse the sorting process so we had to adjust. When you get those back, it will be a total of the HSTs you sent and they will not be packaged individually, so you can have fun going through them with each other and taking turns picking out the ones you want.

There are also quite a few that were pressed open...those were equally distributed amongst all the others, so you'll have those in your mix too. I believe we successfully fumigated the 'smoker' HSTs, so hopefully you won't even notice if you receive one of those. TQS member DebbieK, who came to help me a couple of weeks before the sorting took those 'smoker' HSTs home and pressed them (because of using the Febreze and putting them in the dryer with dryer sheets, they did tend to curl up). There are also quite a few members who didn't write anything on there HSTs so you'd know where they came from...so you can be creative in your own mind and imagine they came from some far away exotic location :lol: !

Since Clara has all the Paypal funds, she will be taking the International packages back home with her to finish sorting and mailing.

It was a fun ride, but it's not over yet..in fact, it's probably only about half-way there. Your patience and understanding will be greatly appreciated. Please remember that everything that was done for this exchange was on a volunteer basis including all of our wonderful helpers on sorting day.

To All of our TQS Helpers: A great big thank you and huge hugs to the TQS members for helping yesterday, and especially for those who drove from as far as San Antonio, Fredericksburg, Vernon, Spring...did I miss any other cities?? We couldn't have done it without you and I hope everyone else will appreciate you as much as we did. I was hoping to have the chance to visit with each of you more than I did yesterday, but there was just too much on our plates to make that happen. I am hopeful that we will all get to see each other again at Quilt Festival in the fall....if we can get a reunion together at the TQS booth. Keep the cute namebadges that DebbieK made for you and wear them for the reunion so everyone else who is there can also say thanks.

TQS member, NancyW, made 30 wonderful tissues holders so I could hand them out to all of our helpers yesterday. Everyone was thrilled with them and so appreciative of the time you spent on them. Nancy even overnighted them through UPS so they would get here in time for Sorting Day.

And to all of you who sent CHOCOLATES...you can bet your bottom dollar that every bit of chocolate was thoroughly enjoyed!

And, Rosemary, what can we say but 'WOW' for the job you did on our Sorting Hats. Clara and my DH both took pictures, so we'll be posting more soon.

[Katie G.]

You are truly amazing women. I wait patiently for my package.
Katie Gomez Ashland OR

[Katie G.]

I'd like to give my thanks to all the people that helped with the sort. Just the small exchange I was in at one of the shops here was crazy, can't imagine your.

Thanks again
Nan Fell (aka Charm)

[Debbie W.]

You are truly amazing women. I wait patiently for my package.
Katie Gomez Ashland OR

Thanks, dear friend Katie. Your patience will be greatly appreciated . A Texas sized hug is being sent your way!

[Patti P.]

You girls are doing a great job, thank you so much.

Patti

[Debbie W.]

I have one more tidbit to add about sorting day. My DH, named Pat, spent the whole day helping us, as did Clara's Mother.

We had one member who sent in 504 HST's that had not been cut completely and were still in sets of fours :shock: . I didn't have time to rotary cut them before sorting day, so we were going to have to send them out in strips of fours to recipients. My DH decided he would cut them apart himself and he spent quite a while using a pair on 'non-fabric kitchen type' scissors...not sharp at all. Fortunately someone in my Bee saw what he was doing and 'just happened' to have a good pair of fabric scissors with her and gave them to him. He now totally understands why keeping fabric scissors only in the sewing studio is so critical. Once he started using those, he finished them up in no time and he couldn't believe the difference they made. Unfortuantely this morning, the arthritis in his thumb was letting him know it had been severly abused though.

He has been such an incredible support throughout this process and has been completely understanding of the disaster our house has become. And after yesterday, he is even more understanding of what our remarkable 'sisterhood' of quilters is all about and how supportive & protective we are of each other. He is a blessing to me!

[Debbie W.]

Dear Counting Clara,

Thank U, Thank U, for taking your "under the pressure time" to post the little story of your helpful DH.

With that I will hold it in my bright spot of the day. This exchange, forum, posts is all a first for me.

It is so interesting reading about the TALENT, creativity and time that US quilters share.

Never enough words to say THANKS to the organizers and sorters.

Terry
Dillon, Montana

[Terry L.]

The excitement mounts as we await our HSTs. Thank you all for your hard work and good humor through it all.

Terry
Carbondale, Colorado

[Debbie W.]

Dear Counting Clara,

Thank U, Thank U, for taking your "under the pressure time" to post the little story of your helpful DH.

With that I will hold it in my bright spot of the day. This exchange, forum, posts is all a first for me.

It is so interesting reading about the TALENT, creativity and time that US quilters share.

Never enough words to say THANKS to the organizers and sorters.

Terry
Dillon, Montana

Terry...that was my DH, not Clara's. But Clara's Mom was definitely in the mix helping to seal packages.

[Debbie W.]

'I'm thinking of good vibrations,
they're sending me expectiations,

Good, Good, Good, Good vibrations!'


uh-oh I'm not up to that re-write yet, you all will have to make do with the original. :lol:

Rosemary

They should write a song---Good, Good Vibrations!! I'm getting excited!!