Several weeks ago I read a post over at From My Carolina Home where Carole shared a community project shared between woodworkers and quilters in her area. The woodworking group makes lovely toys and then quilts and stuffed bears are added to them as gifts for local children in their area. She mentioned they could use more of the 18″ quilts if any of us would like to make some.
I love this sort of feel-good project. An 18″ quilt is an easy way to spend a bit of time and use some fun fabric. The first small quilt was made with a leftover piece of a whole cloth quilt I made some years ago. The original quilt was used to display the fabric when I worked as a vendor at a few quilt shows. After this, I cut it into two projects donated to A Doll Like Me.
This left me with one more piece. I squared it to 18″ and bound it with this chartreuse solid. I am happy to use the last bit. This panda print is so cute and I am a tad bit sad it is all used up.
Next I took a box of 3 1/2″ squares and quickly sorted for juvenile prints. Then I cut a scrap of bright green polka dot fabric into squares the same size. Alternating them made a fun, cheerful quilt.
Of course, this larger scale green polka dot makes the perfect backing for the quilt. Finishing it off with a dark purple binding frames the whole thing nicely.
I did a machine stitched binding, which looks cute on the front and not so great on the back. I thought the stitch should extend beyond the edge of the binding on the front but that means it doesn’t lay on the binding on the back. So, lesson learned. I should have stitched the binding closer to the outer edge so the back would have a neater appearance.
Thank you Carole for sharing this fun opportunity to help out with your holiday project. I am so impressed by the wooden toys donated by the woodworking group. They are so sweet and what child wouldn’t want to play with wagons and strollers. Gifts like these will spark the imagination of the child fortunate enough to receive them!
Sharing this just for fun – H is taking a gymnastics day camp this week. But somehow someone brought in parrots to show the kids. She had the opportunity to hold one and went for it. She is an adventurous kiddo.
Wow! My last post put out a request for little hospital doll gowns for A Doll Like Me. What a fantastic response! In all honesty, I am not surprised, just grateful. Here are a few pictures of the gowns made so far.
Tina’s hospital gowns
These cuties were made by my sister, Tina! She used soft flannel. Don’t you love the prints she chose.
Made by Jean M
Check these out! Twelve tiny hospital gowns were donated by Jean. This collection is so sweet; Jean used a variety of fun prints and colors.
Gowns by Dawn L with quilts
Dawn made six gowns and also created six whole cloth quilts. These are super cute and much appreciated! Thanks Dawn.
Gowns made by Pat W.
If I am counting correctly, Pat made NINETEEN gowns for Amy. That is amazing. What a fantastic donation for A Doll Like Me.
In total thus far, one little post garnered forty doll size hospital gowns. This should keep Amy supplied for a good while! Of course there were seventeen responses asking for the mailing information and offering gowns. This means more are in the works. I say it all the time, but the generosity of this community never fails to amaze me! The need for these little gowns is ongoing so if you just feel like you want to make something simple, use up a few bits of fabric, make a charitable gift, feel free. These are always welcome!
I was asked how to fit the pattern pieces on a fat quarter. It can be a bit of a trick. I took a picture that might help.
If I am using a fat quarter to make a doll gown, I fold one length over just wide enough to lay out the front piece on the fold and pin it down. Then I fold the other side down for the back piece, which isn’t cut on the fold (because it needs to open in the back). It will lay end to end with the front piece and will look like it is over lapping. but it isn’t. I hope this helps. Does it make sense? Some fat quarters might be a tight squeeze but it does work. The size of the doll gown is flexible and if it is just a wee bit narrower, it will still work. Just in case you need it, here is the link to the free pattern.
Much time has passed since I last made anything for A Doll Like Me. You might remember back in 2018 I held a Spread the Love Campaign asking quilters to make doll quilts for Amy to include with the dolls she makes for children with limb or other physical differences. The campaign was an overwhelming success. Amy continues to receive doll quilts from people who heard about the need. The knowledge of A Doll Like Me has grown tremendously in the past five years or so. Amy’s work has been featured on many news sites, social media sites and popular magazines. All of this is important as the main goal for Amy is to increase awareness of the need for children with physical differences to be able to have true representation in the world. She wants each child to see themselves as enough, to see their own physicality represented in toys and dolls, and to feel accepted.
This sweet girl brought her doll dressed in a hospital gown to the hospital with her. (From Amy’s Facebook page).
A few months ago, I chatted with Amy on-line just to check in with her. I wanted to see how she was doing. It is tough building a non-profit, raising three active kids and making doll after doll. But she is one driven person! Anyway, she and I visited a bit. Toward the end of the conversation I asked her if she needed anything from the quilting community. Her response was…. ‘well, now that you mention it….. I could use more hospital doll gowns.” She is always so grateful for whatever we provide and doesn’t want to impose on people.
Hospital Gowns for Dolls made in February 2018
Do any of you remember making these? Above is a picture of the first few I made.
Hospital Gowns made in January 2019Hospital gowns made in June 2020
The gowns we make and donate to Amy are given to children who have one of these dolls and are facing a hospital stay. There is a very therapeutic aspect in playing with their doll. Being able to dress up the doll in a hospital gown is one more way to deal with possible fear or anxiety around the upcoming stay. Many of Amy’s children bring their doll with them when in the hospital and it is beneficial to have the hospital gown on the doll. This somewhat familiarizes the hospital process for the child.
Looking back at blog posts and pictures, I learned it has been a very long time since I made anything for Amy. Time to sew up some sweet gowns for her dolls! In the pictures above, I put the gowns on dolls smaller than what Amy makes. But it is fun to see them as they are used. Princesses, Pooh Bear and baby dinosaurs as well as a fun blue print were chosen for this round. Of course all were made from the stacks of fabric I have stashed away. Fortunately I also have a large selection of (thrifted) bias tapes which makes things really easy.
Six gowns ready to be mailed to Wisconsin. How about you? Would you be able to make a few of these and send them to A Doll Like Me? They are easy to make and require very little fabric. Use just one fat quarter and some bias tape to make one gown! Here is the tutorial for you. Amy would be grateful for any gown(s) you feel comfortable making and sending to her. If you are interested that would be just wonderful! Many of you already have her mailing information. However, if you need it, let me know in the comments and I will email it to you privately.
Butterfly Number One!
OK – that is it for now! I am working on my Positivity Quilt. Yesterday I made a little butterfly using Dresden pieces. It is adorable and I think the quilt needs a few more! We have an abundance of Swallowtail butterflies in the yard this year and they seem to really enjoy our flowers.
Believe it or not, that title will make sense after a bit! I have some fun things to share with everyone. Where to start though??
Let’s start with this book. I just finished it today. It is such a great story. I enjoyed the audio version and have high praise for Julia Whelan’s reading of the book. It is a story of the Pack Horse Librarians in Kentucky during the Depression era. Jojo Moyes wrote a riveting story and I found myself listening to it almost non-stop. It was really hard to put it down. These women were brave and so determined to bring literacy to the poorest Kentucky families. For more information on these devoted librarians, check out this article.
Speaking of libraries, a few months ago I mentioned I was looking for some volunteer work within this new community I moved to. I joined the Friends of the Library for the Port Orchard library. So far, I have been working on Wednesday mornings sorting and shelving books in the Friends of the Library bookshop. I am throughly enjoying this and the group of women are very fun to work alongside. The group provides the funds for the children’s and teen programs in the library. I have long been a huge fan of public libraries and this is a good fit for me.
Shall we take a look at how Minnie Mouse might fit into the conversation here?
Several weeks ago, I was in JoAnn’s and came across this Minnie Mouse fusible appliqué. I didn’t know what I would make with it but I bought it anyway. My youngest grand daughter is currently obsessed with Minnie so I knew I would come up with something fun to make with Minnie. We are going to the kids’ house this weekend to celebrate A’s 3rd birthday. Now seemed to be a good time to put Minnie to use. I knew I had several remnants of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse fabric in the bin of novelty fabrics.
After a bit of thought, I decided to make a book bag for her. She goes to the library fairly often and this will be a fun way to carry her books back and forth. Before I constructed the bag, I fused the appliqué to some bright yellow fabric. Then that bit was fused to the outside of the bag and stitched down with a satin stitch on the machine. Before sewing the lining to the outside, I fused some batting scraps to the fabric and quilted a few straight lines to hold things in place. The straps are also filled with fusible batting.
I did get a bit carried away and made this book bag a little too big. If it is really filled, she may need Dad to help carry it. I think she will be excited when she sees her favorite mouse!
Now that my round robin quilt is finished, I have pulled out another project to work on.
RSC 2021 Blocks
These diamond blocks were made in 2021 as Rainbow Scrap challenge blocks. I love the blocks and finally have the time to finish this quilt. They are all going to be sashed with white and there will be six inch blocks of white separating the blocks in each column. I’ll share more on this soon. Makes me happy to be playing with these again!
As you all know, Julia is at her happiest when playing in the barns with the pigs. This photo just makes me laugh. Doesn’t this silly boar look like he wants to come out and play with Julia? Honestly, she takes the best pictures of these funny animals.
That’s it for now – Enjoy your day and I will do the same!
Linking up with a few favorites – check them out at the top of the page, under Link Ups.
You guys – we are close, so very close to being done with the house in California. We sign papers for the close next week and have a final walk through with the new owners and then we are heading up to Washington. It is just amazing! This has been the focus of life for so long. We are so excited to be nearing completion and so ready to move into the new house!
Much of the house looks like this! There is still a lot to be loaded into the last Pod and we have some movers coming to help with that next week.
Spring break is here in California. Julia went on a trip to New York to spend time with her brother and sister-in-law who live there. She seems to be having a blast. They have walked many miles and she has seen a lot. I am not exactly sure how she is suddenly an adult and able to travel across the country on her own. It is mind boggling because wasn’t it only last week she was twelve years old???
This sweet girl had her first T-Ball practice yesterday. She loved it. Today she went to a thrift shop and got some cleats which (obviously) make her run much, much faster. This grammy is pretty excited to go watch some fast paced T-Ball action once we get up there!
Last October this beautiful quilt was donated to Mercyful Quilts. It came from Deb in California. You might remember that the families of patients are offered the opportunity to choose a quilt as they say good bye to their loved one.
This quilt was chosen by a woman for her husband. One thing that makes this extra special to me is that the young man who passed away was an organ donor. This quilt was laid upon him as he was taken on the Honor Walk to surgery for organ donation. During this last walk, all available staff, and any family who is able to, line the hallway used to take the patient to the OR to show respect and gratitude for the gift being given by this person. This touches me deeply.
Clearly he and his family felt the great importance of organ donation and what that means to our community, giving to others, and being selfless. In a (much smaller) way, we quilters hold these same values when we make quilts for people we will never know and offer them up, being selfless, showing how much we value community and giving to others. This young guy passed away far too soon and will not be here to raise the baby they are expecting. I hope this quilt will bring comfort to his wife and maybe someday to their child.
As always, thank you for continuing to support Mercyful Quilts. Truly, these quilts you make and donate bring such comfort to people at a time when it is deeply needed. If you are participating in Hands2Help this year, Mercyful Quilts is one of the very fortunate recipients of quilts this year. We want to thank you all in advance for possibly choosing us to receive a quilt. For more information on this year’s event, click here and you’ll be taken over to Academic Quilter.
I am guessing that the next time I post, I will be a Washington resident! Yikes, that is so exciting!!
I am guessing this isn’t news to all quilters who happily participate in Hands 2 Help each year but the event is being coordinated by Mari of Academic Quilter this year. Sarah has a lot going on right now and rather than having to skip a year of making quilts for deserving people and organizations, Mari has stepped in and is hosting the whole event! We are all grateful to Mari for taking this on but most especially grateful are the staff and families at Mercy Hospital in Sacramento, California. To read the details about this year’s Hand 2 Help event, hop over to this post by Academic Quilter.
Mercyful Quilts was started back in November of 2018 by me and my friend Patty, a nurse at Mercy Hospital. There are many posts on my blog about Mercyful Quilts and you can look through them by clicking on Mercyful Quilts at the top of this page.
Patty and me – Celebrating all of the quilts donated to Mercy Hospital!
If you haven’t heard about Mercyful Quilts, we make and donate lap size quilts for Mercy Hospital. These quilts are given to families who are saying goodbye to a loved one who is currently in the hospital. Mercy treats adults only so we cannot use juvenile themes for our quilts. The patients are male, female, older adults, young adults, ore sometimes veterans. It is helpful for us to have a wide variety of quilts with a variety of colors and styles. Family members are invited to choose a quilt and use it to cover their loved one. They stay with the person throughout the dying process. The family will keep the quilt as a remembrance of their special person.
A stack of Mercyful Quilts
Reminder of the requirements for Mercyful Quilts:
Lap Size – this is very flexible. So anything from 50″ x 50″ up to 75″ or so. Square or rectangle – whatever works for your design is great for us.
Look – Please feel free to use your imagination. We have received so many gorgeous quilts and each has a unique look to it. From modern designs with bold color, to sweet soft florals or maybe fishing and western motifs, they are all appreciated. It is great when a family member sees a quilt and says ‘Oh, this is just perfect for my dad, mom, sister, brother.’ That is just what we hope for!
Labels – This is left up to the quilter. If you want to put a label, great. If not, that is fine too.
Laundering – please wash and dry your quilt before sending it. Do not use any scented laundry soaps, fabric softener, or dryer sheets. These are used in a hospital setting so as close to scent free as we can be please. After washing, give the quilt a quick once over to be sure no seams have frayed. Now and then there might be a fray at the binding. When I see this, I hand stitch it. If you could check though, that is so helpful.
There has been a change in our process that I need to let you know about. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I will soon be moving up to Washington state. I hope to continue to work with Mercy Hospital as I think the program is wonderful. If you have donated previously, please do NOT mail the quilts to me. Going forward, they will be mailed to my friend Patty who is a nurse involved in the program. When you have a quilt to send, let me know and I will send her mailing information to you. I have found using the flat rate, large size box to be the least expensive way to mail a quilt.
I think that sums up our program and what we need in the way of quilts. Please feel free to read through the other Mercyful Quilt posts if you’d like to. Thank you all for considering donating a quilt to Mercy Hospital. These quilts bring comfort to families at a time of deep sorrow. Let me know if you have any questions. Happy quilting all!!
Since my shop closed, I have been working hard to take all of my sewing supplies out of the guest room and downstairs to the shop area. I want to have a ‘real’ guest room and since we have family coming for Thanksgiving, now is the time to finish this project. As it goes, I found lots of forgotten projects while cleaning out the guest/sewing room. One was a scrappy rag rug I knit back in 2016. I loved this little project but didn’t know what to do about the knots where I joined the strips when I was knitting it.
It felt strange to leave the knots exposed. I was concerned they would unravel somehow. Thinking about it, I decided to cut some fabric and hand sew a backing on to it. I made sure all knots were pulled to the back and then tightened them. Then I pressed edges of the backing fabric under to make it the same size as the top. Because the top is so loosely knit, it flexes and changes shape easily. This made it really difficult to make it match the backing so I used tons of pins and started to sew.
After stitching back to front, I tied some yarn ties to further attach front to back. It looks pretty sad from the back but I kid you not, the back was the same size as the front – it was like herding cats to sew these together. At any rate, I feel like it is now a bit sturdier. When I made this, I used the tutorial by Amanda Jean over at Crazy Mom Quilts. (Oh how I miss her blog!!) It seems like she doesn’t worry too much about the knots joining the fabric strips. I just hope this all holds together well.
I think this is so darn cute!!
OK – on to the squirrel that took me down another path. On Instagram I noticed some little hearts that quilters and sewists have been leaving for others to find and enjoy. It was started quite a while back by a woman over at Ifoundaquiltedheart.com. After reading her website, I decided to join in and make a few. The idea is to leave these pretty hearts wherever you please in the hope they will brighten someone’s day. I started to follow the hashtag #IFAQH and #ifoundaquiltedheart and saw how much these mean to some of the recipients. The process of making something and anonymously leaving it for others, with no expectation of any recognition is very satisfying. If you are interested in participating it is simple, nearly free (since we all have scraps, right?) and very easy.
My first set of hearts
I spent some time yesterday running errands. While I was out, I drove over to our community hospital and left these hearts in various places. I thought about people who might need some cheer and surely there are plenty who are using the hospital who fall into that category. I dropped mine at the bus stop, the cancer care center, the lab/mammogram building and lastly, right at the front entrance. All were left tucked a bit out of the way but I am hoping they catch someone’s eye and make them smile.
Do you see that little purple heart, just behind the ‘n’?
I loved placing this heart behind ‘kindness’, displayed on the way to the main entrance. Seems appropriate, yes?
During this month of Thanksgiving, it is often a time to focus on our blessings and to help others or extend our blessings to them where possible. This is one small way to do this. If making these little hearts appeals to you, I encourage you to give it a go. If nothing else, check out the hashtags on either FB or IG – it will warm your heart.
Hello all – I have not had much in the way of free time this week. So much so, I find it hard to believe it is Friday already! Here is a peek at the past week.
Last weekend was a special one because my youngest son, Ian, was here for a quick visit. He had signed up to participate in a run up in the Lake Tahoe area. That is approximately an hour drive from our home so he slept here and took off early in the morning for the run. I love all four of my kids and when I have time with one of them – one on one – it is a special thing. As such, it was a treat to have Ian here. We snacked, visited, watched his silly dog playing, and then ate some more! I made a yummy cinnamon swirl bundt cake and a nice pot of beef stew. Yay for family time!
Monday we had our deck refinished. A few weeks ago, Ray and I painted the railings (a tedious task for sure) and then a painter came and stained the deck. Check out the difference!
Before – it looked so tired and worn!After – It is just gorgeous!
We are so happy with the look of the tinted stain. It took two coats which the painter meticulously applied with a small roller and a paintbrush. He is a great guy and has painted for us several times in the past. Ray and I just keep looking at the deck, admiring it. We haven’t even put any furniture or plants back on it – It is so pretty!!
The gazebo on our pond.
The roof on our gazebo has been falling apart for several years. Finally we hired a roofer to come replace the roofing. There is a sky light at the peak which they broke (purposefully) when taking apart the old roof. Ray replaced it when they finished.
He got this all finished and, because he isn’t a fan of heights, was happy to come down from the roof.
Looking across the pond at our neighbor’s trees.
Colors are starting to change here and I love the reflection of these maple trees on the pond. With the drought here, this is really the lowest we have seen the pond in years. As always, we are crossing our fingers for any amount of rain.
When the sky light was finished, I helped Ray carry the tools back to the shop. When he went inside, he found water on the floor. We have a pump which pulls water from the pond above and it used to water plants and the lawn. It had a leak and was making a mess of things. Isn’t it frustrating to find things like that! So the rest of that day and the following two days were spent cleaning up a mess in the shop. Thanks goodness for the wet/dry Shop Vac. It cleaned up the water quickly. This was one of those events that really just spurred a clean out that has been needing to happen for a long while. The shop is 1200 square feet and there was a lot of debris stacked up. So we have been working on it. I help where I can but it is akin to cleaning out my sewing room. Ray would have no idea which fabrics I want or don’t want, right? Similarly, I don’t know which stacks of wood are to be organized and saved and which are to be tossed out.
The extra pumpkins!
Moving on…. It was time to pick the pumpkins from a pumpkin patch Ray planted this year. We had our neighbor kids (two little girls) come and choose pumpkins and kept a few for ourself. The rest are ready to be delivered to a memory care unit in town. They seem excited to have them for the residents. We are more than happy to donate them.
Dark blue diamond blocks
Three more blocks are completed for my RSC 2021 quilt. The colors look terrible but that is what happens when you try to take a photo inside the house when it is dark out. Just two colors, orange and bright/lime green remain for the year. Then I can start to assemble the blocks. Feels good to be catching up on this project!
Red and turquoise, stripes and dots!
Even though I am supposedly working through my WIPs now, I pulled some fabric for a baby quilt. You know how it goes… I had the best intentions of not starting anything new but then Sew Preeti Quilts asked me to give a pattern of hers a try and I can’t say no to Preeti, can I? It is a cute pattern and uses strip piecing for efficiency. I have my strips cut and sewn and then cut again. Next up is to sew the blocks together. This weekend is not very busy so I am hoping to get the blocks together over the next day or so. I should be able to share this one soon!
Dried hydrangeas
Finally, I want to show you these pretty hydrangeas. I love when they start to turn from white to a faint pink blush. I cut a handful and have them drying here. I also cut some of the lilac bits that were turning color to. It makes such a nice arrangement and should last quite a while. I do this each fall with these particular hydrangeas.
OK – that is it for now. Not a lot of sewing this week but such is life. The weather has cooled off considerably which makes me so happy. It gives me more energy to get things done outside which means less time in the sewing room. If you could all do a rain dance in the hopes the west coast can get some relief from this drought, it would be much appreciated. Enjoy your weekend – do something creative!
I write a post something along these lines annually. That is because out here in dry, dry California we have fire season every year now. This year it started terribly early, back in June. A few weeks ago, for the first time, we had a fire happen very close to our property and it was scary. Fortunately the River Fire was contained in time but my husband did have the car packed and ready to evacuate as we were in the group that would be called next, if the fire spread. That was far too close for comfort.
Smokey skies
Right now the Dixie fire burning in the north eastern part of the state. It is the worst fire in California history and is currently consuming well over 700,000 acres. For perspective, this is more than 1,000 square miles which is basically the size of Rhode Island or 1/2 the size of Delaware. This fire is only 33% contained and has been burning for over one month. Allocated to this fire are 5,696 personnel (divided into 88 crews), 183 water trucks, 205 bull dozers, 463 fire engines, and 19 helicopters. It is a huge process to fight something like this.
The loss is devastating. Greenville, a small town of 1,000 residents, was wiped out. The whole town is gone. Because there is a lot of mountain terrain involved in this fire, the loss of homes isn’t as bad as with some fires. So far, 652 homes and 130 commercial structures have burned. This count will increase after the fire is contained and it becomes safe for the fire fighters to actually assess the true damages.
All in all, this makes me sad. Think of the wildlife that has perished. These mountains are home to deer, bear, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, bob cats and more. It will be years before the forests are re-established. We all watch the weather hoping for calm skies. The wind is the biggest factor other than the very dry land causing the fire to continue to spread. Smoke is all over California. This morning there was quite a bit of ash on my car and I am more than one hundred miles from the fire. I cannot even imagine the horrible air quality for the people living closer in.
OK – knowing all of you, those quilting minds are wondering how to help. If you are wanting to send quilt(s) for the victims, I have information for you. There is an organization called We Care which is headed up by Kathy Biggi, a quilter in my local guild (Pine Tree Quilt Guild). Kathy is devoted to providing quilts for those who have lost their homes to fire. There are numerous other fires burning where homes have been lost and Kathy is working with various groups to understand what the need is. If you would like to send a quilt to her, please let me know in the comments or by email, and I will send you her mailing information.
At the moment, she is collecting quilts. They should be lap size at smallest (so about 45 x 55″). If you can, a matching pillowcase in a great idea. All sorts of quilts are needed, juvenile themes, gender neutral, or quilts a man or woman might enjoy.
Kathy won’t distribute right away as it takes some time for a person who has lost their home to get settled again. But your quilt will definitely be given to a family who is rebuilding and it will being comfort.
Thanks for reading all of this. Not exactly a fun, upbeat post but this is what is happening here. I appreciate all of you and if anyone has a way to send some rain our way, it would be hugely appreciated.
On Sunday we will have the final link up for The Positivity QAL. Please come on back and take a look at the gorgeous quilts made for Mercy Hospital!!
Just sitting here on a chilly, damp morning drinking that first cup of coffee. (Nothing better than that first cup, is there?) I am trying to wrap my head around the fact that my oldest child is celebrating his 36th birthday today and number two celebrated his 34th birthday two days ago. How did that even happen? Time just marches on. I love having adult children – watching them carve their path, raise children, and develop their careers. It is truly satisfying.
OK – moving on from blathering about my boys, let’s look at a fun project I worked on this week. Our local quilt guild is doing some community service work, making placemats for both Meals on Wheels and the local senior center. I thought this would be a fun project to contribute to. The only requirement was to make them finish at 12″ x 18″. My plan was to use some orphan blocks as the starting point. I have three finished and two more that just need binding.
This one used six HST’s that were leftover from making my Pikes’s Peak quilt (which still needs to be finished). Love the blue and gray tones in this placemat. I used a fun stitch to quilt the outer border. All of the placemats have machine stitched bindings.
Placemat number two used up a few odds and ends from the Twisted quilt I made several years ago and donated to Mercyful Quilts. I actually have quite a few of these rectangles left because I had stitched a number of them backwards and didn’t notice it until after trimming the backside (making it too late to rip them apart). This made a cute placemat and, again, I used a decorative stitch for the two borders.
Isn’t this a cute one? I have had that little heart block for at least four or five years. I made it with a pattern from Kitty Wilkin over at Night Quilter. I never used it though and am happy to see it finished up.
Thinking forward and making a plan for what I will work on next, I think I want to finish up a quilt for Mercy Hospital. I had shared my Bloom with Grace flimsy two weeks ago and, at the suggestion of a couple of you, I decided to add top and bottom borders to give it some length. That is completed and it is basted and ready to quilt.
This is the main goal for February and I will link this up to OMG at Elm Street Quilts. Beyond this quilt, I want to make something for my grand daughters. Both girls have birthdays next month. As I said above, time marches on and A will have her first birthday just after H celebrates her fourth! Wow. I am thinking about making a teepee which can be set up in one of the play rooms. I have a feeling they will like playing in it. For this, I need to order some heavy fabric, maybe a canvas, with a non-directional print..
OK – time to get going. The coffee is now lukewarm and there are orders to pack. Looks like it will be a rainy day but hopefully there will be a break enough to take a walk and get a little outside time. Have a great day all!
