Quilt For A Cause News

Scraphunter's Star2

When Dorothy Lee came up with a solid star variation of the very popular Scraphunter’s Star pattern, quilt pattern designer Evelyn George turned it into a new pattern……Scraphunter’s Star2……as another fundraiser for Quilt for a Cause, Inc.

Like the first Scraphunter’s Star pattern, the second one is fat quarter friendly with easy rotary cutting and quick piecing methods, making it possible to create a scrappy Hunter’s Star with no templates or “Y” seams.  The pattern includes multiple layouts, yardage, and instructions for quilts in 5 sizes from lap to king.

To purchase Scraphunter’s Star2 contact info@quiltforacause.org.  The pattern sells for $10 plus postage.

Thanks Calamity Jain for design and graphic assistance, John Sartin for the photographs and Donna Mitchell of Thread Technologies for the longarm quilting.

Patterns are available at Catalina Quilting, The Quilter’s Market, Cactus Quilt Shop, and Quilter’s Desert Patch.  Kits are available from Catalina Quilting.

Once again…..Quilt for a Cause, Inc. has done it.  A whopping $113,000 was raised from donations, grants, and the sale of 284 beautiful quilts at their Silent/Live Auction held at the Tucson Medical Center on Saturday, October 3, 2009.  Although more than 600 quilters participated from 30 States and 3 Provinces of Canada, 90% of the quilts were donated by members of the Tucson Quilter’s Guild.

The proceeds from this year’s Auction were distributed between the Tucson Medical Center Foundation and St. Elizabeth’s of Hungary Clinic.  The Tucson Medical Center will be using a part of their portion to fund the Joel Childers Teaching Series ($35,000) for training OB/GYN doctors from around the country on the latest surgical procedures.  Another $10,000 will be spent on breast cancer screening for uninsured and underinsured women.  The remaining $46,000 will be spent on updating or purchasing equipment for TMC’s GYN state of the art surgical center.  St. Elizabeth’s of Hungary Clinic will be using their portion towards helping their patients with breast cancer procedures.

Over the past 6 years, three quilt auctions have taken place at TMC and more than a quarter of a million dollars have been raised for women’s cancers within the Tucson area.  The success of these auctions could not have been successful without the generousity of everyone involved.

Meander the hallways of Tucson Medical Center and enjoy over 200 gorgeous quilts and wall hangings.  Make a bid on the ones that you like and you just might be the highest bidder.   Pay the Buy Me Now price and IT IS YOURS.  The Silent Auction runs through the month of September ending at 11 a.m. on October 3. 

A Live Auction with another 42 quilts will be held on the same day.  The fun begins at 1:30 pm at the Marshall Auditorum, Tucson Medical Center with Honorary Chairs, Mrs. Grant of 94.9Mixfm and her mother, Mary Lou Levesque, Dr. Suresh Katakkar, Master of Ceremonies Liz McMahon, and Auctioneer Oscar Jaramillo.

Fifty volunteers hung and readied the quilts for the Silent Auction on Friday, August 28.  Within days over 10 quilts were sold at the Buy Me Now price.

Take a peek at what we’re going to be receiving.  Another Lynda Hall block was designed specifically for Quilt for a Cause, 2009.  Lynda, from Florida, has been instrumental in encouraging quilters from around the country to make blocks for our silent/live auction.  This year’s  result is an astonishing 4 large quilts. 

 In 2006, Lynda sent 3 beautiful quilts for our auction.  To view the individual blocks that Lynda received for the 2006 auction, check her Primitive Pieces website.  Click on Telegraph Office section, scroll down to Breast Cancer Quilts project .  To view the individual blocks sent in for the 2009 auction, click onto  Box Lunch Social.

Thank you, Lynda,  for involving quilters from around the country in our Silent/Live Auction for “Quilt for a Cause”.

Catch Carol Zupancic, our video personality, on Saddlebrooke’s Sights ‘n Sounds.  Just go to Video and scroll down to Quilt for a Cause with sewing machine icon.  View some donated quilts.  Listen to Carol’s promotion of the Silent/Live Auction on Saturday, October 3, 2009 at Tucson Medical Center.

We’re pleased to announce the Honorary Chairpersons for the 2009 Silent/Live Auction to be:  Mrs. Grant from Tucson’s KMXZ/94.9MIXfm radio program, her mother, breast cancer survivor Mary Lou Levesque, and Dr. Suresh B. Katakkar, MD.

Tucson native Mrs. Grant is a member of the Bobby Rich morning Mix radio team on KMXZ/94.9 Mixfm.   When not working, she hangs out with her family of husband Don, daughter Mackenzie, son Jeremy,  grandmother Lydia, dogs Bruno and Tate, and cats, Flash and Stinky.  Favorite pastimes include hanging out with friends, family and neighbor barbequeing, swimming, outdoor sports and camping along with coaching her daughter’s soccer team.

Mrs. Grant’s mother, Mary Lou Levesque, is a breast cancer survivor who’s been a poster girl for the American Cancer Society.  She was a National Ambassador for the American Cancer Society for 2 years.  Mary Lou continues to work with the organization as a speaker & advocate on breast cancer awareness.   Originally from Canada, Mary Lou’s lived in Tucson since 1969.  Although a mother of three, grandmother of five, Mary Lou can be seen at the Golf Links Library where she works full time.   She’s proud that all of her children and grandchildren are Tucson natives.  Mary Lou is looking forward to the Silent/Live QFAC auction in October and the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk.

Dr. Suresh B. Katakkar, MD, FRCP(C) is a specialist in hermatology/oncology/internal medicine in northwest Tucson since 1980.  After receiving his medical degree from BJ Medical College, University of Poona, India, Dr. Katakkar completed his residencies in Internal Medicine and Clinical Hematology at University Hospital (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) and General Hospital (Ottawa, Ontario).  A fellowship in Medical Oncology was completed at WW Cross Institute (Edmonton, Alberta).  He has been in practice at the Cancer Clinic at UMC Orange Grove and UMC Green Valley Office since November, 2007.  Dr. Katakkar has been on staff at TMC since 1980.

Quilt for a Cause Vice president, Carol Zupancic, not only leads in the quilting world but also on the tennis court.  This article on Carol appeared in U.S. Tennis Association Newsletter.

Southwest Player Remembers Sister Through Quilting

Monday, April 27, 2009 4:38 PM ET

Carol Zupancic © Jen Pottheiser

By J. Fred Sidhu

Surprise, Ariz. - When Carol Zupancic’s sister Janet passed away six years from cancer, she wanted to do something to remember her.

 So Zupancic, who plays for the USTA Southwest Section women’s 6.0 super senior team, became involved with Quilt For a Cause, a non-profit organization which auctions and sells handmade quilts donated by quilters to support breast and gynecologic cancer research.

The organization’s mission is to fund research, to further educate medical professionals who treat women with breast and/or gynecological cancers using state of the art equipment and new technology, and to raise awareness in women for prevention and detection of these cancers.

“People from all across the U.S. send us quilts,” said Zupancic, who helped her Southwest team on Tuesday morning to a 2-1 victory over a Southern Section wild card team in the 2008 USTA League 6.0 & 8.0 Super Senior National Championships at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex.

“It’s a way for people to feel like they’re doing something,” said Zupancic, who serves on the Quilt For a Cause board of directors as vice-president and fund raising chair.

 Zupancic, a resident of Saddlebrooke, Ariz., spoke passionately about the letters filled with emotion that Quilt For a Cause receives when people donate quilts in memory of a loved one. She also said that the organization gives 99 percent of the funds raised to cancer research.

 According to Zupancic, Quilt for a Cause is preparing for it’s annual Silent and Live Auction of contemporary and traditional quilts which will take place on Oct. 3 at the Tucson Medical Center.

Carol & Evelyn in QFAC booth

What a weekend for Quilt for a Cause, Inc. at the Tucson Quilt Fiesta, 2009.  Carol Zupancic’s gorgeous booth design captivated the interest of show visitors.  Quilts made from the pattern “Scraphunter’s Star”, designed by Evelyn George, were showcased along with several donated quilts for the upcoming Silent/Live Auction on October 3, 2009 at the Tucson Medical Center.  With energizer bunny Carol’s enthusiasm and Evelyn George signing the Scraphunter’s pattern that she designed, close to 100 of the patterns sold within the first day.  A quick reprint was done with another 100 being sold the next two days.  The pattern is now into its fourth printing.  Catalina  Quilting has made kits from “Scraphunter’s Star” for shows at which they are vendors.

Lots of QFAC collectible pins and tickets to the Calendar Girls Fashion Shows were also sold.  Contact Dorothy Lee (info@quiltforacause.org) or Evelyn George (quilter4ever@cox.net) for patterns, Carol Zupancic (cdzup@wbhsi.net) for information on the Calendar Girls Fashion Shows, and Jeannie Coleman (auction@quiltforacause.org) for QFAC pins.

The Quilt for a Cause banner, designed by Jennie Jim, made its debut in the booth.  The banner will be prominently displayed at forthcoming events.

Thanks to the Tucson Quilters Guild for providing this space to Quilt for a Cause.

Scraphunter

Good news! The pattern for Evelyn George’s mystery quilt from our 2008 Mystery Retreat fundraiser is now available for $10.00. “Scraphunter’s Star” is available in five sizes (60″ x 60″, twin, short queen, long queen and king) and 20 new layouts. Of course, it is no longer a mystery. There are traditional instructions, fuller illustrations, and photos of the finished quilt. This easy, scrappy quilt is fat quarter friendly.

Thanks to Calamity Jain for design and graphic assistance, to John Sartin for the photographs, and to Reproductions Inc. for printing these patterns.  Thank you, Donata Pfisterer for a third printing of this pattern.  We are now in the 5th printing.

Patterns are available at Catalina Quilting, Quilter’s Market, Cactus Quilt Shop, and Quilters’ Desert Patch.  It is also available as a kit from Catalina Quilting.

Contact Dorothy Lee (info@quiltforacause.org) to purchase the pattern for $10.00 plus postage.

QFAC Calendar Girls for April

The first Calendar Girls Fashion Show was held on Saturday, February 28th at the Vista de la Montana United Methodist Church.  Close to 200 were in attendance at this unusual afternoon filled with fun and fashions including wearable quilts and garments representing every month of the year.

This show was created and directed by Board Member Carol Zupancic to raise money to help in the fight against women’s cancers.

Under the leadership of Karen Anderson, the Quilters II group from the Voyager RV Resort hosted the second Calendar Girls Fashion Show.  This event showcasing a fashion show, tea, sinfully wonderful dessert, and favors was held on Saturday, March 28th before a lively group of over 300 participants.  Guests included Mary Lou Levesque, one of QFAC’s 2009 Honorary co-chairpersons and Liz McMahon, Master of Ceremonies.  After the cat walk by the QFAC Board members, numerous raffle items contributed by members of the Quilters II, were given out. 

More than $5,000 was raised between the two shows to help in the fight against breast and gynecological cancers. 

Please call Carol Zupancic at (520) 825-6957 or e-mail her at outreach@quiltforacause.org to schedule a Calendar Girls Fashion Show.