The first weekend in December is a busy one on Bainbridge Island, WA. Both Christmas in the Country and the Studio Tour offer several locations where artisans display and sell their work. Four years ago, St. Barnabas Church, (our USA non-profit host for the Mongolian Quilting Center), became a Christmas in the Country venue, and we have had a booth at this event ever since, selling Mongolian products. This is a great opportunity to raise money, and since St. Barnabas donates the book keeping, 100% of the funds go to the Mongolian Quilting Center. Here is our booth.

The Mongolian women are excellent seamstresses and the silk patchwork products that they make are stunning. Selenge Tserendash is able to get silk scraps from a clothing manufacturer in Ulaanbaatar, and the women use these to make beautiful Twisted Log Cabin and Fan blocks which are then assembled into larger pieces for table runners and wall hangings. They also use them for small coin purses and cosmetic bags as well as patchwork horses. Cashmere scraps are available too, and these are used for patchwork goats and camels. Some of the women make felted slippers and these are always popular. The event ran for three days and we were delighted to raise $3,103 which will go towards operating and maintenance costs at the Mongolian Quilting Center, including wages for women doing piece work who would otherwise be unemployed. If you are interested in purchasing any products, please contact me via the contact page on my website.