Emma's Quilt Update

I said it would be a couple hours and I'd be back but I called my mom because this would have been my Dad's 83rd birthday and then, also talked to my brother............but I'm here now. :-) I told my mom that I had posted the story about the flagpole to my blog and she said there had also been a nice little piece in the local paper. :-)

It's time for me to give you an update on the quilt made for Emma's Hope fundraiser. I have thanked everyone who made a block(s) for the Emma's Hope quilt and want you to know just how much your time and talents were appreciated!
The large quilt made $400 at Silent Auction. This was not nearly the amount one might have thought the quilt would make but the good news in this ............ the person who bought the quilt has presented it to Emma and her family.

As you know, I chose some blocks for a small quilt that would go to Emma and I did that for two reasons..........one, while I noted in my first post that this was to be a fundraiser quilt, some of you thought the quilt blocks were going to be used in a quilt for Emma. And two, I had a hard time making a quilt that was just for fund-raising and wanted something that would go to Emma so I laid out all the blocks and the ones that needed to be in the big quilt just fell into place and the more personal ones just worked in the smaller quilt. The large quilt was then handquilted and bound. The smaller quilt is being handquilted by Esther, the lady who organized the group for the larger quilt. Connie, Emma's grandma is going to back the quilt with the small lap quilt that was received in the block donations. When that one is finished, I'll post a picture. I also will post a picture and the names of each person who made each of the blocks. I think I will get to that later this week.

I loved the end result of the large quilt. The pictures make it look good but when you saw it in person, it was truly stunning. I don't say this just because I was involved in the process. I am hearing this from people who saw it at the post office or at the fundraiser. I want to make this same quilt and keep it for my family. As I noted earlier, I never really made a quilt for my father. I still haven't finished quilting that race quilt for my husband. The last quilt I made for my grandson was his baby quilt and that was ten years ago. I have a small wall quilt I want to make for my daughter and one for my son that will have a music theme. I think it's time to make quilts for my family. I've been involved in many fundraiser quilts and I have found that a lot of work is put into them and they don't bring that much in return. This doesn't mean I won't make quilts for other folks. Nope, because I have already set the dates for our Sew and Share event - Oct. 19 & 20 - where we will make quilts for local families in need and also Christmas stockings to fill. Plus, I have baby quilts to make for my niece and my son's friend. And I just finished one for our new Pastor's baby boy. There was a baby shower at church this morning and I haven't seen so many cute little boy things in years (as in ten years since my grandson was born). Here's Joe, the new papa, and Pastor Brigit, as they opened the gift I made. They got so many lovely gifts! It took several trips just to get them from the church to the parsonage!

I would post a picture of the baby but I didn't ask permission so I don't want to do it without asking.

Here is picture of the quilt that I took outside yesterday afternoon. It's all flannel pieces and then fleece border and backing. I took some detailed photos as I stitched it together and tomorrow I will do a post on it in case any of you want to try this. And then..............I am going to begin taking you through block designs so that I can make my own red, white and blue quilt and you can, too. I'm giving the quilt a new name..........."Grace and a Prayer" and on Wednesday, June 18th I'll present the first blocks and some variations of blocks so that we can make a nine block wall quilt or a lap quilt or a really large quilt. Gather up some red, white and blue fabrics (and I opted for some green and purple, too) and get ready to quilt along with me. And if red, white and blue aren't your colors, choose ones that you like but I do think that keeping the colors to three or four makes for a more attractive quilt. I'm going to make a nine block wall quilt first, so that I can finish it and take it to the Care Center in July and then I'll also be making blocks for the larger quilt for my family. I will be offering some block patterns and those will be posted in my SeasonsBOM Yahoo group. If you are not a member, you can click here to join. All block designs that I give instruction for are blocks that are in the Public Domain and/or my original designs. I have a cool design for a heart that used stripes so be sure and have some stripes in your fabrics.

So, now the day is almost over and I have just a couple more photos to share. I have never posted as much as I did today, but I had loads of stuff to share. I took a break and ate lunch out on the front porch. I took my "front porch basket project" (this Thimbleberries runner will get done by the end of the summer!) and stitched for a bit after I finished eating.

Here's what I would see when I would look up from my stitching. It was just an incredibly beautiful, warm summer day!!!

Even Kaiser, the wonder dog, was enjoying the scenery.

Yes, it was a fine day and it sounds like there will be more of this weather the rest of the week. There might be some thunderstorms but the rain is needed and so it will be welcome. That's all for now.

Sandi

Mother's Day pics and keeping busy........

I am way behind in posting photos of stuff that has happened the last few weeks. So, in an effort to get caught up and since nothing of note happened today to write about, I'll go back to last week and share photos from Mother's Day.

That's my daughter, Collette, and grandson, Jacob in the photo above, and in the one below, that's me and son-in-law, Daryl. We all enjoyed a great lunch at Ruttles in Mankato, a great little restaurant, known for the cars and motorcyclists that pull in for lunch. Sometimes you can see some really cool cars parked there!

Some of you have asked how I get so many things done. Well, I don't get all that much done but I do always have some stitching nearby in just about every room in the house so I never miss a moment to stitch. There's even a bag of yo-yo's in the car so that if I am somewhere and I find myself waiting, I can wait patiently because I have a stitching project to occupy my hands.

So, what's the project on the silver tray (actually it's cheap chrome)? An easter cookie? Nope, it's a little wool penny rug that is a project offered free through Better Homes and Gardens (go here for the pattern). I printed the pattern off more than a couple of years ago and finally decided to start it! One of the members of my Wooly Buddies group had made the little rug and reminded me how cute it was, so I decided I just had to get going on one, too. It's my kitchen counter project. The wool is painted with Setacolor fabric paints. It was a beautiful white wool that ended up with being this yummy pastel piece of wool and was perfect for this project. Since taking this picture, I have finished all the pennies and am ready to attach them.

My kitchen table project is this one..........

A quilting friend, Pam, gave me these pre-cut rectangles that she wasn't going to use and I decided to stitch them into rows and then will stitch the rows together and make a table topper out of the piece. I am stitching it by hand as this project is one I stitch on when I'm listening to my husband tell me about the next project he's planning (he's home for ten days of vacation and he's got lots of them planned). And since taking this picture, I now have only two rows left to sew. I want to finish this one by the end of the week as it will go on a table in my pink guest bedroom.

This Shamrock design is one that I shared on the March Tea and Stitches post and is my family room project. I'm embroidering the bow and have only the stems left to do and then I can put it in a frame.

The angel design in this basket is from a series of 12 angels that I drew in 2005. This one is finished now and I plan to use it on a totebag.......I think......or else a notebook cover. It was my living room project and because the handwork on it is finished, I had to start a new handwork project. In my "to-do" pile was the "Star Blooms" pattern by Pat Sloan. One night last week, I just took an hour and picked my fabrics, stitched up the background piece and then fused the star flower and basket shapes in place. I taped it to the wall and like the way it looks even before it is embellished with embroidery stitches. I am very happy with it and want it done ASAP! Patience, though, must have patience. I started the handwork and tonight I finished all the yellow star centers while we watched "Desperate Housewives". I'm going to get a lot done on this tomorrow night and Tuesday, as I'll be stitching on it while we're watching "Dancing with the Stars". Hope to finish the handwork on this one by the end of the week so that I can add the backing and finish it by the end of May. I have another Pat Sloan pattern that I want to start and I am not letting myself work on it til the "Star Blooms" one is done!!

I also have a Thimbleberries project that is waiting for a warm, sunny day so I can sit on the front porch and work on it. When that happens, I'll take a photo of that project.

Speaking of photos, some of those that I've loaded and haven't shared are ones taken at a couple of quilt shops. Those shops involve a gingerbread man, a firefly and a bit of wool. I will get those photos shared by the end of the week. Photos that I've taken and haven't loaded include ones of some sock related stuff for a Sock Swap that we are having in my Wooly Buddies group, plus more photos of Devlin and me working on this CD project he's doing.

Thanks to all of you that have joined my Seasons BOM group. I have a pattern to load there for the Grandma's Garden runner and will get to that in a day or two. Had a busier than expected weekend so didn't get it posted today as planned. Tomorrow is my yearly exam and, as noted, my husband is home on vacation all this week and has many projects planned and some require my help. I don't mind too much as some are little "to do" items that I have wanted done for some time.

That's all for now. Hope you had a great weekend and look forward to a great week. It is going to be near 80 degrees here on Monday! Yay! I may get to the porch to stitch!

Sandi