Dear Friends,
Homes on the reservation provide the bare minimum of shelter and may not have electricity or running water.
We are inviting you to participate with Quilted Threads in a Rotary International project to help the quilters of Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
Pine Ridge is the home of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) nation and is the second largest reservation in the US. This community experiences dire poverty, social isolation, and very high rates of heart disease, diabetes, alcoholism, suicide, domestic abuse, and infant mortality.
In the Western Hemisphere, only Haiti has a lower life expectancy than Pine Ridge.
How Quilters Can Help
The Henniker and Brattleboro, VT, chapters of Rotary International are working on projects with the Lakota people at Pine Ridge. One project assists women on the reservation who make and sell beautiful one of a kind quilts. Its goal is to help the quilters develop their own marketing program and sell the quilts locally and online for a true market price.
Pine Ridge quilters are building a business selling their quilts.
From March 1 to March 6, Quilted Threads will be the collection site for donations of clean, unused quilting cotton or washable satin, and sewing notions to send to the Pine Ridge quilters. QT will also donate materials for the quilters. Together, our donations help these women grow their micro-business while keeping their costs low. The Henniker Rotary club will pack and ship the donations to the reservation.
Fabrics to Donate
- Clean 100% cotton or flannel fabric, at least ¼ yard or a fat quarter or larger (washed fabric is fine)
- Clean, washable satin fabric, at least ¼ yard or larger
Notions to Donate
We encourage you to donate unused spools of thread and notions. When you purchase new, regular-priced thread and notions to donate to the Pine Ridge quilters, QT will give you a 20% discount on those items.
Useful notions include:
- Thread
- Hand and machine sewing needles, straight pins and safety pins
- Sharp scissors and seam rippers
- Rotary cutters, sharp cutter blades, cutting mats
What NOT to Donate
- Scraps of fabric smaller than a ¼ yard or fat quarter
- Pieced blocks and UFOs
- Polyester or poly-cotton blend fabric (except satin)
- Worn out notions – dull scissors or rotary blades, rusty pins, etc.
- Old thread (old thread is brittle and prone to breaking)
When to Donate
- Tuesday, March 1 through Sunday, March 6
- During QT’s regular business hours ONLY
- Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat 10:00 – 5:00
- Thur 10:00 – 8:00
- Sun 1:00 – 4:00
We respectfully ask that you drop off donations only during the dates and times above. Please do not drop off donations when the shop is closed.
Learn More about Pine Ridge Reservation
Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation has information about the reservation, its needs, and the nonprofits that, like Rotary International, are working to improve the quality of life there.
The Heritage Center at Red Cloud School has an exhibit of quilts made by the Pine Ridge quilters. You can see more of their quilts on their website.
Thank You!
Quilters have a well-earned reputation for being generous, especially when it comes to helping other quilters. We appreciate your participation in this project.
Sincerely,
Becky & the Staff of QT