Airedale Rescue Quilting Bee: LEAPING AFTER DIVE BOMBING SWALLOWS

Fiber Artist: Karen Brown

Artist: Jane Miller

Quilted Block

Unquilted Block

Karen Brown wrote: I am a bit obsessed with bird houses. I have them stationed all over about 4 acres of our farm. I put up several bluebird houses and said a little prayer that they would love the accommodations pond side. The bluebirds were not impressed, but the tree swallows were. They are enchanting birds with their shimmering blue/black and white. They are voracious bug eaters and the decline in the mosquito population is almost tangible. They are magnificent aerialists. They are also fiercely protective when the eggs hatch. In the past, I had to wear a winter coat and motorcycle helmet to harvest my Alpine strawberries at the base of one of their birdhouses!

My birdhouses are on my dog walking circuit. My Airedale, Rushton, was fairly oblivious to birds until I added a Norwich Terrier, Harrigan. A friend has noted that Harrigan reminds him of a badger on speed. He also has a terrier prey drive that is through the roof. He has taught Rush that anything that moves requires chasing. The two of them could not believe their good fortune when the tree swallows began dive bombing them. The sight of two over stimulated terriers on flex leads in hot pursuit of birds that were flying at them while an aging redhead attempted to regain control was definitely a Kodak moment!

Here are some progress photos of Karen's block:

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Why the Last Quilt?

For the last few years, it has become increasingly harder to find volunteers to run/manage the Bee. The steering committee has done all it can, but is retiring. We want to be very clear, it is not a financial issue for the volunteers of the Bee, it is a lack of dependable people stepping up to manage and participate in the behind-the-scenes running of the fundraiser. Currently, there are NO plans to continue any managerial portion of the Bee or to create additional quilts.

The steering committee has taken on all the managerial aspects of what is literally running a small business. Each and every one of us has devoted endless hours and money to making this a successful fundraiser for NAR. Running the Bee consists of many tasks and this is by no means a complete list: finding artists, finding block makers, finding quilters, deciding on themes, preparing block packets, coordinating timelines, finding a professional photographer, securing ticket printing/ purchasing, obtaining raffle license, selling tickets (donations), having a presence at MCKC, having a blog and/or website to promote the quilt, obtaining rescue stories and photos for marketing, acquiring donations for prizes, and ‘nagging’ members to complete their jobs in a timely fashion. Many times the steering committee has had to step in and do a job at the last minute because of the lack of volunteers or follow-through.

It has been a great 17 year run for the Quilting Bee, as the largest fundraiser for NAR. We know many Airedales have been supported through this effort.

Incentive Winners

"Aire Leaps Through the Seasons" - Charles Jones, III - GA
"Table Runn-Aire" - Helena Epstein, NY
"Dive Bombing Swallows" - Lynn Mathers, WA
"Straw Hat Girl" - Cathy Gaidos, KS
"Leap Y'Aire" - Donna Cardamone, OH
#9-5 Martha Calligan, OH
#9-4 Barbara Bonfield, CA
#9-3 Judith Luckett, TX
#9-2 Lisa Panno
#9-1 Ann Cosgrove, VA
$25,000 Milestone - Patty Eisenbraun, MI
$20,000 Milestone - Judy Luckett, TX
#8-5 Sharon Rafferty, CO
#8-4 Cindy Trimble, FL
#8-3 Caroline Thibodeau, CA
#8-2 Heidi Klaus, Freehold, NJ
#8-1 Nancie Secher, CA
#7-5 Dean Incopero, IL
#7-4 Sandra Swanson, NY
#7-3 Virginia Slowik, NY
#7-2 Barbara Morrison, WV
#7-1 Katherine Appleton, PA
$16,000 Milestone - Dina Rabanal, NM
#6-5 Lisa Hedman, WA
#6-4 Marcia L. Smith, NY
#6-3 Nancy Wagner-Hislip, NJ
#6-2 Linda McVey, British Columbia
#6-1 Donna Couch Jones, AZ
#5-5 Nancy Tripp - MA
#5-4 Denise Seis, IN
#5-3 George Core - AZ
#5-2 Patty Eisenbraun, MI
#5-1 Elisa Burnsed, GA
#4-4 Christine Votel Sheffer, NY
#4-3 Wendy Hodgson, Australia
#4-2 Pam Vandergrift
#4-1 Susan Winnett, Australia
$10,000 Milestone - Paul Pistell, MD
#3-4 New England Airedale Rescue, CT
#3-3 Ginger Robinson, VA
#3-2 Jean Naragdao, OR
#3-1 New England Airedale Rescue, CT
#2-4 Nora Davidson, TX
#2-3 Pat Bently, AZ
#2-2 Robert Haney, NJ
#2-1 Frances Murphy, AZ
$5,000 Milestone - Ruth Ellen Hill, TX
#1-4 Barbara Bonfield, CA
#1-3 Debbie Butler, KS
#1-2 Carole Evans, IN
#1-1 Leah Bokovitz, OH

Explaining the National Airedale Quilting Bee

Every year since 1999, a group of dedicated quilters and Airedale lovers has gathered in cyberspace to create a very down-to-Earth work of art as a fundraiser for National Airedale Rescue (NAR), the 501c3 corporation which is the Official Treasury of the Airedale Terrier Club of America Rescue & Adoption (ATCA R/A) Committee. Almost all of the materials and every one of the hundreds of hours of labor are volunteered, so that the proceeds of the fundraiser go 100% to NAR.

The donations are in increments and each donation you make (online or by check) will make you eligible for the main quilt and/or one of four bonus wall hangings. The donation structure is set up as follows: for each $5 donation you make, you will receive one entry for the main quilt; for each $25 donation increment you make, you will receive 5 entries for the main quilt and 1 bonus wall hanging entry. For example, if you donate $50, you receive 10 main quilt entries and 2 bonus entries, and so on.

4 comments :

DukeAugust 15, 2016 at 1:46 AM
Beautiful block, Karen and Jane, and we love the story behind it, Karen!
lAugust 16, 2016 at 6:51 AM
This comment has been removed by the author.
lAugust 16, 2016 at 6:52 AM
I just love this story!! I'd like to walk along with you and see those tenacious terriers at work. What a great block this is! thank you Karen for making and donating it and thanks to Jane the artist.
UnknownAugust 16, 2016 at 2:34 PM
Love the story, your words drew the picture perfectly. Lovely block, great job!