The latest in our series..

THE PEOPLE OF THE PARK:

Marg Faktor & The Silveridge Quilters

“Goal #1: Have Fun”

By Dale Dauten & Sandy Murphy

When we pulled aside some of the members of the Silveridge Quilt Club and asked for their thoughts on the group’s leader, Marg Faktor, here are the first three things we heard….

Pat McDonald: “She can take ugly fabric and turn it into something beautiful. Look at that quilt on the wall – I didn’t like it at all, then Marg put on the border and the accents and now it’s… it’s perfect.”

Judy Weis: “She is so good at coordinating fabrics she can fix anything.”

Noell Duffy: “For four years I was co-leader with Marg. She amazed me. She went from activity to activity to activity. She has endless energy.”

And, speaking of her energy, as we watched Marg in action, zipping about the quilting room, teaching, coaching, and encouraging the members with effortless zest, she struck us as the hummingbird of quilting. Still, she insists, “I couldn’t do all this without the ladies in that room.”

How was it that Marg got involved in quilting? She smiled at that question and then held her hand out flat, down by her hip, and said “I’ve been interested in sewing since I was this high.” Then added, “And I owned a quilting shop for 25 years.” (Her shop was in Canada, “ten hours north of the border,” in Flin Flon, Manitoba.)

Beyond the Sewing Machine—the Benefits of Quilting

Marg Faktor has been in charge of the park’s quilting club for eight years but she believes the group dates back to the beginnings of Silveridge. Currently forty members make up a social group that goes beyond stitching.

“We recently bought four new Brother sewing machines. They’re the basic model but we opted for the quilting accessories. They’re a great asset and busy all the time,” Marg says. “Bingo and park funds helped pay for them.”

Fabric is often donated. “None of it is discarded or goes to waste,” she says. “We’ll find a way to use it.” Membership fees and the occasional raffle help pay for batting and additional fabric. The resulting projects aren’t all full-sized quilts or sometimes, aren’t quilts at all. One lesson even taught members how to make dog toys.

New members are always welcome. Marg says. “It’s a way to make friends, support the community and have a good time.” She pulled out a page that included the group’s list of goals: “You see the first one on the list – it’s HAVE FUN.”

Not all club members like to drive so they car pool for “shop hop” days to visit fabric stores, attend area quilt shows and stop for lunch. Marg lets the shops know when they’ll visit and special demonstrations often welcome the group.

Members are welcome to work on their personal projects, but most of the group’s output is donated. For one quilt, we each took a block home and brought it back to piece together into a Comfort Quilt,” she says. The group distributes those through Sunshine Friends for park residents who are ill, or as comfort for those who have suffered a loss. They also send quilts to shelters for battered women. Quilts for Valor go to Canadian and American veterans.

“We’re a very busy group,” says Marg. With thirty to forty quilts donated each year, weekly lessons and their shopping trips, that’s the understatement of the year. Helen’s Hope receives pillowcases for children who are removed from their homes and enter foster care.

“A few of the 100+ pillowcases that will be donated to kids in foster care. (The drawstring is because the pillowcase is used for kids to bring possessions before using it with a pillow.)”

The group is also at work on a queen-sized quilt to be raffled off at the Craft Show in March:

When and Where

The Silveridge Quilt Club meets in Room 6/7, near the mailboxes. You can usually find half a dozen women working on community projects or their own sewing between 9am and 4pm on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Marg is on hand to help. Sometimes the sewing machines whir in the evening as well.

Meetings are held in the social hall on Wednesdays at 9:15 where fresh projects debut and lectures explain new designs or patterns. As many as thirty-five members will be in attendance.

TIME

Sue’s Message, From Activity Director Sue Arneson

For everything there is a season, and a time for everything under the sun.

A time to give birth and a time to die. Ecclesiastes 1&2

With the busy season upon us, it is fitting that my message is about time. Through the years I have read numerous books about time management and using time wisely. And then every year I need to be reminded to not let “the tyranny of the urgent” get in the way of the truly important things. Things like saying “thank you”, “I love you”, “That was so nice of you”, “You are special to me”, “ You make a difference in my life”, and “I appreciate you!” Many of us are now enjoying the whirlwind of activities. This is good because we are accomplishing living out our goals and dreams in retirement. Remember that it is not just the activities but the relationships we are making that count for what is truly important!

Recently the meaning of relationships has hit home in a very personal way. On December 27th, my sister passed away of lung cancer. She died quickly and did not suffer long. When a candle goes out so suddenly the darkness can be overwhelming…. We know that her light and memories will always shine in our lives. Until you lose a loved one you do not know what it means to have the support and understanding of all your friends. Mom and I and our entire family want to thank all of you for your outpouring of love and your beautiful cards that you have sent us. We have seen your sincere empathy in your voice and eyes and felt it in your hugs. What comfort you have brought us. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts my dear friends. The Grace of God and your prayers will continue to give us comfort and peace.

I found a thought provoking article that summed up our precious time we have on this earth.

“Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every morning it deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course. Each of us has such a bank. It’s name is time. Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes it off , as lost whatever of this you have failed to invest. It carries over no balance. There is no overdraft. Each day is opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day, if you fail to use the day’s deposits. Invest it and get the utmost in health, happiness and success. The clock is running——.” Let us treasure each other and our time together. Treasure it more because you shared it with someone special. “ Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12