On Sept. 1, 2005, I received a  Message from Karey Bresenhan, Founder and Director of Quilts Inc. This is the organization that hosts the International Quilt Festival in Houston as well as several other events throughout the U.S. and in Europe.  My quilt group, Designing Women, decided to hold an old-fashioned quilting bee on Labor Day weekend with the goal of making as many quilts as possible to send.  First, we approached Ann Silva of Ann Silva’s Bernina Sewing Center and Shirley Brabson of Quilt Works in Albuquerque.  Both immediately offered to donate batting.  In addition, Ann announced the effort at several of her events, and donated 7 finished quilts that she had made.  The rest of us dug through our closets in search of quilt tops to finish.  I found three in mine, one of which I had forgotten about.  We gathered around 10 a.m., with machines in tow, at the law office of Mary Chappelle.  It felt really good to be doing something positive for the victims of this tragedy.  The four of us who already have the new Bernina Aurora 440 got to practice machine quilting with the BSR foot (Bernina Stitch Regulator).  If anyone had told me that I could machine quilt a queen-size quilt in one day, I would have been amazed, but I did.  Several of us took quilts home to finish and bind, while others stitched up quilts at home to donate.   In all, we collected 37 quilts, and 8 blankets which were shipped off to Houston on Wednesday, September 7, 2005.  Marie Ludi, Administrative Assistant packed up all the quilts, and Jeffrey Brown, owner of the Law Office building, paid for the shipping charges. Before the quilts were shipped, we attached a card with our group's name and contact information, never expecting to hear from one of the recipients.  We were thrilled to receive a very heartfelt thank you letter from Mary  Lackey, who had lost everything in Hurricane Katrina.  When she returned to what remained of her home, all she was able to salvage was a quilt top made by her mother.   She was writing to ask us how much it would cost to quilt it for her.  Well, of course, we quilters stepped up to the plate, and offered to finish it gratis!  We were excited to receive the precious quilt top, but were dismayed when it actually arrived!  Horribly stained with mildew and with fabric rotting away on the borders, at first it did not seem possible to repair, or finish.  But, we persevered!  We mailed back the completed quilt on the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.  Shortly afterward, we received another letter from Mary. " I want to thank all of you.  It is so beautiful.  When I opened the box, I just started crying.  If another storm comes this way, this quilt is the first thing that is going in my car. God bless each and every one of you,   Mary"  As of this writing, Mary has continued to struggle to survive, and was still living in a FEMA trailer when we last heard from her.  I extend sincere thanks to everyone who helped with this effort. Jeffrey Brown Mary Chappelle Betty Church Margaret Emrick Susie Gray Michele Hymel Marie Ludi Anita McSorley Kathy Morris Quilt Works and Shirley Brabson Ann Silva’s Bernina Sewing Center Lisa Stewart