Here in Poland lately I have participated in several charity outreaches.

First, back on November 6, we did our Quilt Give-away.

I had some leftover quilts, but since then I’ve given away all but ten of the children’s quilts which I’m keeping for the local deaf children’s boarding school should they want them. If not, they will just be a head-start to the 2022 quilts I have for local people.

Of the ones I had left, I gave about 10 to our local Noble Packages lady, and then Saturday afternoon I gave 20 of the children’s ones to a lady who also works with Noble Packages - but farther ‘out’ from Warsaw - away from our area. These ladies both know people we don’t who can use these. I don’t see any reason to keep them stored another year when they can help them find homes. I’ve had several of these for a few years already and feel the need to get them to homes.

Then, starting in November, I worked on the Noble Packages effort which finished officially last week, but in many respects, it is still ongoing. Let me explain.

The young man who got the voucher for driver’s school has since contacted me.

We’re working on getting that going. We will be involved with that until he passes his test. First he has to have a doctor’s exam saying he is well enough to take a driver’s training course. I know this is all “Greek” to many of you since this is beyond your scope of experience since we have nothing like this in the states. My kids just studied the book, passed the written test, then practiced with me (or other people) til they were ready to pass their driving test. Then they took it. The only physical exam part was the eye exam at the point of getting the license after you’ve passed the driving part.

Driver’s schooling here not only costs, but taking the exam costs. So it ends up being “big business” since the driver’s school costs about $600 and then each exam maybe $50 or so and flunking people is also common. I’m not sure what it actually costs these days. I’ll find out though. In the states, you only pay once you PASS the exam - in order to get the actual license - not to take an exam. At least it doesn’t in FL, where my experience is. I know - it feels like the system here is ripe for cheating the way it is set up (paying to take the test) and it is commonly known that some people bribe their way through - or least they have in the past- they get a promise of a driver’s license when they register for the course - basically ‘paying for’ a license. More than one young person has told me about it. As far as I know we are not participating in anything that smells of scandal or cheating.

Anyway, I’m trying to see if I can help this guy find a doctor who will do a private exam. I know…that’s another thing that is different. In the USA you could go to any walk-in clinic at CVS or Walgreens and do it that day and be done.

Then, all along - since about November 6, we’ve had the local auction (Gwiazdobranie i Dawanie) for our local sick children from Jozefow as they are raising money for extra rehab for them - by having a city wide auction/effort.

I made two quilts for that effort - one was pink/rose Sweetness and Light and the other was a purples Bento Box. Then, I threw in one more small one that hadn’t been taken in the charity quilt give-away. It sold to a local person who was thrilled with the quilt.

Finally I decided to add one more to help the last few days of the auction be more interesting. I put in Please Be Seated one of my strings quilts - to help them raise the money they need.

The next charitable action was very small - a local lady is going to provide the big Christmas Eve meal for some local poor people. I gave her a few things - mostly I just gave the gifts I got from the Noble Packages people as gifts, but I added a few packages of gingerbread cookies covered in milk chocolate.

So what does all of that have to do with the topic of this post?

Well, step back to the local auction (called Gwiazdobranie i Dawanie). Naturally I wanted to bid on things as well as provide a couple of quilts - I can’t resist things that are hand-made, can I?

Actually I can - especially if I didn’t even look. But I did look.

I won several needlepoint or cross stitch things - meaning I won the bid - not won as in a lottery. I also won a drawing of a Swidermajer house and a photograph of one. The thing here I paid the most for was the pencil drawing - which was about $75. The other things were about $30 each. You can buy these things more cheaply - it was a principle thing for me as I wanted to give the person who did it all that work more than $6. I’ve been known to rescue cross stitch things at yard sales or flea markets as well—just like many of you have rescued quilts at thrift stores or yard sales for a couple dollars.

Towards the end of this effort, someone put up a needlepoint that I liked. Now remember, I haven’t been in my sewing room very much for almost a month. :) The auctions were always 3 days and always ended at 9 pm. I noted this particular piece and told myself that I wanted it. I liked it. To make a long story short, I ended up winning it.

People here don’t bid that much for handwork, so it wasn’t as if it made me broke (I had had a certain amount in mind when the auction started that I was willing to spend. I think I paid about $35 for it.)

I went to get it on Friday. On the way home as it was sitting on the passenger’s side of the van, I took a good look at it and something just looked familiar. It niggled in the back of my mind. I thought - “Hmmm…I have something similar to this over my Juki sewing machine - maybe it’s a sister work - by the same designer type of thing.” The one I was looking at was framed. Once I got home, I put it on the table, and thought, “Wow, this does look VERY familiar in real life. I am wondering...”

I then took it upstairs to my sewing room and guess what?

I have TWINS! I just laughed.

Really laughed.

I mean…”What is the chance?” I have the other one pinned to the wall over my Juki.

I had picked it up at a second-hand shop here in Poland for under $10 many years ago now. Most of the things like this from this particular second-hand shop originate from England. (I don’t remember how much I paid, but I’m sure it wasn’t much!)

Then, this one - just now - many years later - from our local auction - I got this one.

Just how can this be? What is the source? (I don’t know - I’m going to ask the lady I got the one I just bought where it came from.)

So here’s my question - have any of you done this particular thing? Have you gone and bought fabric you already own? Please tell me I’m not the only one! I admit, buying a second needlepoint is a different matter than fabric, but it’s the same principle.

I know when I do it, it means to me that I must have really liked it!

Oh…and I don’t mind at all that I got it. In fact, I would have made sure sure that I was going to win if I had realized that I already had one - just to have similar pictures. I think it is a pretty cool thing!

I’m still distributing things that I had up for auction as I’ve not talked about each one of those things and thankfully I have now retrieved everything I won. But meeting people who won things I offered at the auction takes time - to arrange to meet and then chat a bit, etc.

One more thing.

The other day I got word from the volunteer from the Noble packages family with the son who has Down’s Syndrome. The mom and dad had forgotten to give me the presents that they had prepared for us.

Let me show you what they gave us. It was all “home made” goodies and I am really thrilled with these things! They are dried mushrooms, canned/pickled mushrooms, cranberry preserves, juice, some apples in a jar (2 jars), and some other jams. It is amazing! It also shows how industrious they are and I’m tickled pink that they thought to send these things along as gifts.

Have a great day wherever you are reading this! Thanks for coming along with me on my quilting/sewing journey!

Be sure to check out what my sis has for you in the store here!

Here’s one of the beauties we have!