Quilting and Memorial Day

Charitable quilting for soldiers in the United States has a long history going back to at least the Civil War.  The current Quilts of Valor (QOV) project is a contemporary and worthy example.

I made a quilt for a similar project, Home of the Brave, where the quilt is donated to the family of soldiers that have actually died in combat.  My quilt was not to the official pattern, but was accepted. 

 

I don’t have any pictures of it finished to share.

I repeated the soldier’s name over many times as I stitched and hand-quilted the entire quilt.  Handing it to the mother of the soldier was one of the hardest things I have ever done.  Hopefully it brings her some small measure of comfort. 

I am so grateful for the sacrifice of soldiers and their families and the need for quilts is great, but it will be a while before I work myself up to do that again.  It is a goal for next year. 

Have a peaceful and blessed Memorial Day. Where ever you are, it is likely that directly or indirectly you owe some of the peace and freedom you enjoy to an American soldier.

Just Because

You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. — Ralph Waldo Emerson~

Because quilters are some of the kindest people I know.  Have a lovely day!

Explanation of “Busy”

At 8am on Monday, February 13 my phone rang.  It was the young woman we call our Foster Daughter.  “We have no where to sleep tonight.”

“We” means Foster Daughter, her husband, and their 5-month old baby boy.  And she’s pregnant. 

“Yes, you do have a place to sleep.  See you tonight.  We’ll get the whole story later.”

Some background: Foster Daughter came into our lives when she was 18.  As she was of age, her mother was no longer providing her with a place to live.  However, she was still in high school.  How could she work enough to pay for a place and still finish school? 

We had spare room–both one with a bed and in our hearts. So she moved in for about a year until she finished high school and a CNA course and could at least minimally support herself.  So, she was never legally a foster child, but we don’t know what else to call her. 

She and her husband were busy doing the ”young and poor” thing when the rental home they were in was sold, and they received notice to move.  They thought they had a new place lined out, UNTIL MOVING DAY, when it was suddenly not available. Her mother has never been particularly reliable, and his parents turned them away because they “didn’t have room.” So, they called us. 

Low-cost housing is difficult to find, so we knew this might take a while, but how could we turn them down?

At Christmas we all read a story about a young couple who was turned away because there was no room in the inn.  People often say, “How could you do that? Couldn’t you find some space SOMEWHERE?”  Also, there is scripture about “I was a stranger, and you took me in.” 

I am just simple-minded enough to believe that when Christ asked us to do these things, He really meant it.  Thus, the reason my life has been busy lately.

They moved into their new place today.  The house seems empty tonight.  But, my heart is full of gratitude for my many blessings, one of which has been sharing our lives with this young family.

This blog will return to the regular program of quilting and such soon, but sometimes one has to make time and space for life as it really happens.

You Can Blame Regina

You know how I said that I was done with donation projects for the year?  Well, along comes Regina and her4Patches4Hope and I am off the wagon in a flash.

I have put some 4-patches in the mail.   Oh, come on.  Yes, I am enabling you to a relapse along with me.  I have fabric.  How can I not help? You have fabric.  Can’t you help, too?

ps–If you haven’t had a chance to enter already, don’t forget the giveaway (potholder) in the previous post. DT.

More Orphans

More orphan blocks (or abandoned projects?) were gifted to me.

Hmmmm….

Do you see something taking shape here?

Here’s finish number one! (The blue border looks much more off in this picture than in real life–I HOPE!)

And, Round Two!

With a finish.

There are things about each of these tops that I would change if I did it again.

The first one:  I don’t care for the skinny, dark line reddish line created near the middle of the quilt.

The second one:  The largest pink block is too much.

That said, they are done and ready for donation.  Yes, Emily, these are on their way to you ready to comfort cancer patients.  One of my goals for the year was to create an orphan quilt.  This makes five of them.  Goal reached!

This also marks the end of my donation plans for this year.  If more orphan blocks come my way I will set them aside for worthy projects next year.

On the next one, I will try to document the process and share my thinking. Suggestions are welcome.  I have a lot to learn about this process, but this much I do know: Each is different.  Each is a challenge.  Each is SATISFYING!

So, The New Project Is…

A few posts back I mentioned a new project and shared the first block with you.

Here are a few friends for that first block.

Scrappy, but here’s hoping that they all learn to play well together.

What are these blocks for? Our local battered womens shelter, YCC, has one major fundraiser a year, known as Real Men Can Cook. My husband has participated for several years as a guest cook and is famous for his Skunk Bread (recipe forthcoming). Along with the sampler buffet they have a silent auction. After attending this year’s event, Husband came home and said, “You need to make them a quilt.”

So….here I am. Making them a quilt.

Yet more information coming soon-ish.

Soft And Sweet…And Complete

Perhaps the most interesting “scraps” are partially finished quilts.  Sometimes it is a single orphan block.  Sometimes a lot of blocks that might or might not go together.

In a recent scrap bag were two embroidery blocks with a triple border sewn around them, three coordinating fat quarters and MILES of more-or-less 1-1/2″ strips.  Seriously, I should have measured how much there was.

The fabric is by Nancy Halverson, so is good quality and pretty, soft colors.  Surely, SOMETHING could be done to salvage a quilt top out of this, but I had no idea what the original maker intended.

So, after quite a bit of pondering, I put together this asymmetrical scrap top, using as much of the fabric as practical. 

The fat quarters became the four-patch blocks and the squares in the half-border.

The strips became a few braid blocks and lots of miscellaneous border pieces.

The finished product is about 48″ x 55″–a nice throw size.

It will be donated to Emily Bailey and her Happy Chemo project.  This is my fourth donated quilt to this cause this year.  I hope to finish one more (more orphan blocks) and then have two new charities picked for next year. More details on that later.

In the meantime, this little top is counted as complete.

Mixed Blessings

Work is hard to come by these days, and I am really grateful to have a great part-time job with more hours than I had last year. It allows me to be here for my husband and children and also earn some much-appreciated income.

BUT, it is really cutting into my sewing time.

I was hoping to have a donation quilt made out of this partially completed top than came in a scrap bag.

No such luck!  It looks pretty much the same and the rest of my house not much different. 

Does anyone know a time-fairy that could wave her magic wand for me?

Sabbath Sewing

There is a local saying (or I assume it is local as I have never heard it from one unconnected with Utah) that “every stitch you put in on the Sabbath, you will pick out with your nose in eternity.”  Well, if that is true, you know what I will spend much of eternity doing.

But, at least some of it will be for a good cause.

Sundays are now devoted to charitable sewing.  Because it is definitely lawful to do good on the Sabbath.

This Sunday produced this top from a partially assembled kit I was gifted a while back.  There are a few issues.  Don’t look too close.

But, hopefully, it will wrap someone in love.

And help to save my nose.

Orphan No More

***DON’T FORGET TO ENTER THE ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY***

After completing the practice blocks for the My-Size Stars Quilt something kept nagging in the back of my mind.  They sort of reminded me…of…mmm…

Well, Thursday and Friday I did some cleaning in my sewing area and found (read: dug down to) some orphan blocks.  Some came in scrap bags and some were leftovers (read: mistakes) from previous projects. 

After adding a little here, and trimming a little there and making a few more quick blocks, there was enough for a lap quilt (55″ x 55″).

Ah, orphan no more.

This will be a donation to Em’s Happy Chemo quilts. 

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming (the projects I was SUPPOSED to be working on when this jumped in the line).