Judy Hilderbrand
On August 14, Retno Hapsari, business partner of Robson Ranch resident Karen McDaniels and General Manager of XS Project in Jakarta, Indonesia visited the Material Girls at Robson Ranch. Ms. Hapsari collects traditional Indonesian batik cloth and explained the process of making Indonesian batiks. She also explained the differences in Balinese batiks and Javanese batiks. Ms. Hapsari and Ms. McDaniels then explained the mission of their charitable foundation XS Projects and the wonderful work they do helping the women of Indonesia, who are called “trash pickers,” learn skills that enable them to support themselves and their children. It is a wonderful story of enabling women to become self-sufficient. They were also there to thank the Material Girls for their support of the project. The group participated in making dresses for the children of the “trash pickers.” XS Project sells many items made from recycled material. For more information visit www.xsproject-usa.org. The income is used to provide added income to trash pickers, vocational training, medical treatment and it also helps send trash picker children to school.
The North Texas State Fair is over, and once again the Robson Ranch Material Girls brought home a share of the ribbons: Sandy Funkhouser, one blue ribbon and Reserve Grand Champion; Sue Halsted, two red ribbons; Judy Hilderbrand, two blue ribbons; Ruth Klein, one blue ribbon; Ruth Loyd, one blue ribbon; Lucy Rees, one blue ribbon and Grand Champion; Marguerite Rose, one red ribbon, one blue ribbon and Reserve Grand Champion; Paula Saunders, one blue ribbon. Congratulations on a job well done!
The Material Girls also recently completed a “Bag Challenge.” In this event the participants were asked to sew a bag or tote of their choice. The challenge was to incorporate a piece of material selected by Ruth Loyd into the completed project. The bags were assembled, and the group then voted for the “Best of Show.” The bags were on display in the Library showcase during August and the first two weeks of September.
August and September were busy months for the Material Girls. Many of them attended quilt shows throughout Texas and the annual Quilt Across Texas event, which ran September 1-31. We also completed three “Hero Quilts.” The “Quilts for Heroes” Project is a national effort to provide a quilt for every soldier who returns home through a military hospital. This makes a total of six quilts completed in two years and donated to this national project by the Material Girls.
Each week brings a new lesson or project. If you love to sew or quilt, please join us on Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. For more information contact Ruth Loyd at [email protected], Paula Saunders at [email protected], or Marguerite Rose at [email protected].