Saturday, March 27, 2010

Quilters are the best friends!

Last week I came in from one of my crazier than normal crazy days to find a big box had arrived in the mail for me... from an online quilt buddy. We both love repros and she knows I am going to be working on 2 repro quilts this year.. one for my sweet 78 year old mama and one for my dd who is graduating college and moving off to attend seminary. So my friend said "I have lots of repros.. I will send you some." SOME!?? More like the store.. LOL! Ok.. so not the store, but still.... I am thinking a few scraps maybe 2 or 3 FQs.. Nope.. I get this:

18 FQs and a pack of 10 x 10 squares! Aren't they great?!

AND THEN... she
knows my son is a huge LSU fan.. which is humorous considering hubby went to Mississippi State and I went to Ole Miss. :-) M
y friend is a Tiger fan too and lives in Tiger country so she thought I might need some Tiger fabric at some point...

18 more FQs!

I am still a bit overwhe
lmed at her generosity... but then I know for a fact that Quilters are the best friends to have!

"Belle"

Another Quilt for a Wee One


Several weeks ago hubby quilted 3 quilts for 3 little girls whose mom works with him. The lady who delivers their mail saw the quilts and asked if he would make one for her great-granddaughter. Of course he said "SURE!" At the time he was playing with ideas for the buggie quilt he made our daughter and so he took some of his prototypes and created this little cutie:

I like how the quilting (done in purple thread) looks on the back.

I have no doubt she will adore it!

"Belle"

Monday, March 22, 2010

From Daddy with Love....

My hubby is a quilter also and I often post pictures of his projects. We have 2 children... well, they are young adults not really children. Hubby made our son a quilt a couple of years ago, so it was time to make our daughter one also. She has always loved dragonflies and other cutsie bugs like butterflies and lady bugs... and hubby has given her buggy things over the years, so it made sense that he would create a buggy themed quilt for our girl. The pattern is something he thought up... the colors a combo of his and her faves... and as always it is huge! LOL!


My husband is a big guy (6'5") and he makes big quilts! He starts out on a normal scale, but then keeps going and going and ends up with mammoth creation! Nice thing though... 1) she will have no trouble wrapping up completely in it 2) it
is big enough to cover her bed if she wants and 3) she could share it one day with a special someone as there is definitely room for 2 (I don't think Dad thought about that possibility!)

"Belle"

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Happy National Quilting Day!!!

Today is the first day of Spring and we are actually enjoying Spring weather. Temps in the 70s... lots of sunshine and breezes... low humidity (a real treat!)... it is wonderful! I do know others in the US are dealing with snow and cold temps! Sorry!

Today is also National Quilting Day and I felt honor bound to participate! So... the borders have been added to my repro quilt....

These blocks are from a block lottery a quilt group I belong to (online) held last year. I was so excited to win and I am even more excited that the top is done. Cannot wait until it is quilted and bound! It is lovely!

I also whipped to
gether my 2nd top for Quilts for Kids. This one came from my stash. I had some disappearing 9 patch blocks left over from another project. I whipped up a few more and put them together to make this top... along with 2 borders.
Then I remembered this cute fabric that I have had for a while in my stash. It is perfect for the backing
and there is just enough of it!

I will get batting soon (after payday!) and these will be sandwiched and quilted... along with the 1st Quilts for Kids quilt.




No more quilting for me today... I have to finish up some work on Beth Moore's
Breaking Free before Bible Study on Tuesday! So that is the afternoon task.

It has been a grand National Quilting Day! Hope you've been doing something quilty!

"Belle"

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Robotic Fun

I was able to whip up the top for the www.QuiltsForKids.org quilt in 2 afternoons (about 2 hours total), I think it turned out really cute and will be a fun cheery print for some little fella. I love the fabric I received in my quilt kit. I will get some batting later this week and get it sandwiched and quilted soon. I have to include a name for the quilt on my label. Any ideas?

When I signed up for this, the information I read encouraged the quilter to make a 2nd quilt from their own stash if they could. Tonight I found some leftover Disappearing 9 Patch blocks that I made for a little girl's quilt. I need a few more and I will have enough to make another quilt. So I will be able to send 2 quilts back.

I really do want to encourage quilters to check out the Quilts for Kids site and consider participating in this program. It is a great way to use your talent to minister to someone else. Please note they require all piecing and quilting be done by machine, so if you only hand quilt then this program will not work for you.

"Belle"

Monday, March 15, 2010

Quilts for Kids & Froggy Coins

I recently read about the Touch of Comfort Quilt Program being sponsored by Downy. These quilts are given to children with terminal or critical illnesses (in hospitals) and children in shelters. To participate, you can go to http://www.quiltsforkids.org/ I went and requested a kit last week and today one arrived. I have all the fabric I need to make a quilt, already cut and with a pattern included! Check this out:



I have 4 weeks to get the quilt completed and back to the organization. All that I have to contribute is thread, batting and a bit of time.. and in return a child somewhere gets a quilt that lets him or her know someone somewhere is thinking of them and cares.

I did a bit of sewing this evening. Got the Froggy Coin quilt done for my friends' son. Later this week I will get some batting....and get everything sandwiched and ready to quilt. I think it turned out very cute. Here is the overall quilt:



And here is a close up to show some of the Froggy fabric I used:






Happy Quilting! "Belle"

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Great Day Quilting

Next Saturday is National Quilting Day... but we celebrated like it was today. The sewing machines have been humming... rotary blades flying... steam iron hissing... hubby and I are covered in threads... it has been a very good quilty day.

I am part of a small, wonderful, close-knit online quilting group and we do a block lottery every quarter. Last summer I won! 36 really cute repro-blocks. I finally got around to putting the blocks together and adding a single border. I am going to add another border or two, but I am waiting for some repro fabric on order. I love how it looks and evidently so does my fabric loving pooch, Mac. He decided to hop up on the bed and take a good look at my work and added some lovely smudges from his muddy paws. Oh well... it'll wash out and he is so darn cute!

Hubby is working on a quilt for our DD. Her brother has one made by dad, but she doesn't. Hub and DS have a thing about bugs.. especially dragonflies.. so her quilt has fabrics with dragonflies, lady bugs, butterflies and the likes. Very colorful and very cute. He got a lot done today. Here it is laid out in sections on the bed:






The last quilty project of the day was another one of mine. A friend is adopting baby #2 from Taiwan. Jeremiah is a special boy with CP just waiting for his mom and dad to come get him... SOON! They have been affectionately calling him Froggie boy based on the Acronym F.R.O.G. (Fully Relying On God). God has shown up and shown out in providing the funds and means to bring this sweetie home. Just like he did with big brother, Noah. So, of course, I knew Jeremiah would need a Froggie quilt. I have some Chinese Coins in the works using lots of colorful fabric... several with Frogs on them. Not sure where I am going after that, but I am sure it will be cute! Here is the beginnings of it...


Happy National Quilting Day.. a week early! Maybe we will celebrate again next week too! :-)

"Belle"