Airedale Rescue Quilting Bee: LEAPING FOR THE FEATHERS

Fiber Artist: Sue Senerchia
Artist: Jane Miller

Quilted Block

Sue Senerchia wrote this about her block: My Mitch LOVED feathers. George, my husband, has a drawer in his workshop full of feathers and Mitch would lay right in front of it for a good hour "willing" it to open! We have lots of waterfowl on our property so feathers are really easy to come by. If Mitch would be fenced into his play yard and a feather was on the outside of the fence, he'd bark and bark and bark until someone would take pity on him and retrieve the feather and give it to him. He never ate them - just gnawed on them.

Original Drawing

Unquilted Block

Mitch passed away on April 17th at the age of 9.5. Not a day goes by that we don't think of him. Mitch was buried with tons of feathers and to this day, we have bouquets of feathers on his burial spot. Here are a few photos of Mitch and his feathers.

Mitch's Feather Bouquet

Here are some progress photos of Sue's block:

Progress Photo

Click Here for Ordering Information

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.

6 comments :

DukeAugust 25, 2016 at 1:53 AM
Thank you so much, Jane! We miss you, Mitch - every hour of every day! We love you, buddy♥
BlueAugust 25, 2016 at 5:58 AM
💙💙💙
BlueAugust 25, 2016 at 6:07 AM
💙💙💙
lAugust 25, 2016 at 7:14 AM
Ahh sweet Mitch!! what a great way to give him honor with his feathers. awesome work.
UnknownAugust 25, 2016 at 7:33 AM
I just love this block and the inspiration for it. This block is a wonderful way to remember Mitch. Thank you Sue and Jane for a great block!
UnknownAugust 25, 2016 at 9:10 AM
This brought me to tears. What a beautiful tribute. ❤️