Category Archives: Kindness & Community

Wrapped with Kindness

I received something really special in the mail yesterday. The family of a patient who received a Mercyful Quilt wrote a note of thanks. We quilters have talked about this and agreed we do not need to hear the gratitude felt by recipients of the quilts we donate. As quilters, we donate because it might soothe someone during a really difficult time and it makes us feel we are helping in some small way when we make and give these quilts.

But this family was so taken by this handmade gift and they wanted to be sure we all knew how touched they were. Three sisters spent time with their father who recently passed away at Mercy Hospital in Sacramento. They were given the opportunity to select a quilt and wrap up their dad with it as they sat with him. Receiving this was such a sweet surprise for them. They wanted to extend a note of thanks and this is the best way for me to share it with all of you.

The best thing was the photo they enclosed with their thank you note. I am really hoping the person who made this quilt will see this post. Please let me know if it is one of you who donated it. If I can track down the quilter, I would be happy to send the picture to the maker – what a sweet way to see your quilt providing comfort.

This picture says it all to me. The comfort it provided to three sisters and their father. The beauty of this quilt tucked around their dad rather than a plain, sterile hospital blanket is just lovely. It surely didn’t make saying goodbye to their father easy but maybe it helped just a tiny bit.

Since I am writing on the topic of our gifts for Mercy Hospital I would like to share one more story. Last summer a young woman was dying of breast cancer at Mercy Hospital. Her husband and 11 year old daughter spent their time with her. As her death became imminent, a palliative care team member asked the girl to come and choose a quilt for her mom. She explained the girl would be able to keep the quilt after her mother’s death. The girl looked through the quilts and carefully picked one out. When asked why she chose a particular quilt, she told the nurse it made her think of Paris. She and her mom had talked about how wonderful a trip to Paris would be. Since this wasn’t going to happen, she wanted to wrap her mom up with this quilt. (I wish I knew which quilt this was but I don’t have any idea). I think this is so amazing though. For this little girl to attach such an important memory to the quilt she chose must have been comforting to her.

These are the reasons we do it. This is why we spend hours cutting up pretty bits of fabric and sewing them into quilts to be given to people we will likely never meet or hear from. It is kind, thoughtful, helpful and so necessary in our world. Kindness matters. Thank you to each of you. Please know the need is on-going. Mercy Hospital is down to about ten quilts right now so if you are called to help, please donate a lap size quilt when you can. It means more than we know to so many people.

Flannel Blankets and a Trash to Treasures Giveaway

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I recently had a conversation with the chairperson of our Community Service team within our local quilt guild. We were talking about the recipients of the quilts we make and the quantity of quilts she had available. The discussion came around to our local Children’s Protective Services team. This team includes officers of our Sherrif’s Department who have the very sad task of removing children from home’s where they are not in good, safe situations.

These officers like to carry blankets in the trunk of their cars so they can wrap up a child if needed when removing them and taking the child to social services and a foster home. The officers asked for blankets or quilts without batting. These kiddos are often put into carseats and the quilts can be too thick.

Thinking about this need, I decided to make some blankets with quilting cotton and flannel. These would be cozy and so easy to make. Plus they wouldn’t take up much room in the carseat. To do this, I looked at my stash as well as the fabric in the shop and selected some pieces that worked together nicely.

The sizes of the blankets were somewhat dictated by the pieces of fabric I wanted to use. The first blanket I made turned out to be 42″ square when finished. I cut pieces of flannel and quilting cotton that were each 1 and 1/4 yards – so almost a 45″ square, depending on the width of the fabric. I pre-washed everything because flannel is known to shrink a bit. After pre-washing, I pressed all of the fabrics and laid them out, right sides together. Then I squared up the pieces. A quick stitching around the perimeter, leaving about five inches open to turn it right side out, took little time. Once the corners were popped out nicely, I pressed the seams and top-stitched around the perimeter at a 1/8″ margin. I top-stitched again about two inches inside of that first go around.

I have a number of yards of gray flannel in my stash that has been sitting for a long while. It looks great with these silly animals. I am sure it will work with other pieces as well and will try and use more of it for these sorts of blankets.

For each blanket I cut one piece of flannel and the other woven cotton. However this could be easily adapted according to the stash a person has to use. Stretch knits would work and be really cozy. A woven cotton backed with minky or cuddle fabric is also a great idea. All of these are thinner than a typical quilt.

On of the blankets I made is quite a bit smaller because I had a little piece of flannel I wanted to use. It finished at 32 inches square. The navy flannel with sweet little daisies is so soft and the size will be perfect for a smaller child or toddler.

The need for these blankets makes me so sad. Last year these officers had to remove about 100 children from bad situations within our county. I couldn’t believe that number. It is much more than I would have guessed. If the blankets are helpful in this awful time for a child, I am happy to make them. They take little in the way of supplies or time and might be soothing during a scary time. I plan to bring these to our community service group and check to see if other guild members might want to make one or two. Really, they take so little time and most likely we all have one yard cuts waiting to be used.

OK – Let’s talk about the Trash to Treasure giveaway now! I have mentioned before that two of my sisters have an Etsy shop together. It is called 6 Monkeys & Co and they make and sell custom children’s clothing and gifts. One of my favorite things they make are traditional baby bonnets. They are soooo sweet and make a wonderful (very affordable) handmade baby gift for a newborn. Please take a peak here to see them. If you find yourself in need of a fantastic gift for a grandchild, niece or nephew, be sure check out their shop.

Anyway, when my sisters are sewing, they are inclined to toss their scraps. When you are a garment maker, it doesn’t make sense to keep these pieces of fabric if they aren’t big enough to cut into a useful piece (sleeve, skirt, collar, etc) for a piece of clothing. But as a quilter, I want all the scraps, ALL THE TIME! So Cathy and Patti save them for me. At the moment, I have accumulated tons. Sometimes I cut them into 5″ squares and figure I will make an I Spy quilt. But let’s be real. This pile is growing and I think it is time to share the wealth. If you would like to have some of these, please leave a comment. I will pick two winners and each will receive a great package of assorted scraps. Some are novelty fabrics, some blenders and lots of little florals and stripes. My sisters only save the larger scraps as I explained I wanted to be able to cut five inch squares with them so the pieces are really usable. The fabrics are great quality and would make a really fun scrappy quilt. Giveaway open through Friday, January 31st.

NOTE – Giveaway Now Closed. Thanks for entering!! Congrats to Sam and Sharon – winners of all these fun scraps!

I have almost finished my January goal which was to quilt and bind my Squared Away quilt. I will share that later this week. For now though, how about some scrappy treasures?? Happy sewing all.

Sharing at some of my favorite link ups. Check them out at the top of the page, under link-ups.

Bushfire Tree Blocks for Australia

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Currently many quilters are making tree theme quilt blocks to donate to the Woolongong Modern Quilt Guild in Australia. This chapter of the MQG is making quilts for the families who lost their homes in the currently raging bushfires. As a native of California, I am too familiar with the devastation of wildfires and am happy to contribute a few blocks to the cause.

Here is some of the information as posted by the Woolongong MQG on their Facebook page. If you hop over to their Facebook page, there are some blocks shown for inspiration. You will likely see many on the other quilt blogs right about now. Side note – if you are following RSC2020, this is the perfect month to make the tree blocks since the scrap color for January is green.

How you can help:
We have decided to make tree blocks. The tree is a symbol of growth and nourishment. A tree symbolizes the generations of a family; a tree sprouts from a seed, the roots provide strength and stability, and whilst the new sapling is young and vulnerable they are protected by the other trees until they grow and flourish. In time the branches spread and then create new fruit that gives life to the next generation.

There is no restriction to one type of tree block. We would love our quilts to be beautiful and diverse just like our wonderful communities ….. If you would like to help, please make a tree block of a generous 12.5 inch square using a low volume / white or pale grey background. Once completed please send to:

Wollongong Modern Quilt Guild
PO Box 54
Jamberoo New South Wales
AUSTRALIA 2533

We are going to distribute the quilts made to the families who have lost everything. We would like to ask that blocks be mailed for arrival by the end of February. We thank you in advance for your support. #bushfireblocks

For my blocks, I chose to use the tutorial written by Kirsty Cleverly over at Bonjour Quilts. It is a bit different than some of the other blocks and I like the look of it. Plus, they come together quickly. Aren’t they cute? I like the three tones of green in each one.

There are certainly other tree blocks you might choose to make. This pine tree block is really cute and simple. The tree portion (it was drafted for a pillow) creates a 12 1/2″ block which is great for this. The Tree of Life block is traditional and lovely but oh my, so many HST’s. If you are interested though, here is a tutorial over at Fat Quarter Shop.

Post Update: I just learned of an incredible tutorial for another tree block! Designed by Linda at Flourishing Palms, she created the tree to emulate the shape of Australia. I love it! Click here for a well written tutorial for this cool block.

I know there are plans to set up a station at QuiltCon in February to collect blocks. If you know someone going to the show, or if you are going, it might be nice to gather blocks from quilters local to you and contribute them there. This will certainly will save on mailing expenses. Our local guild is making blocks and I am hopeful there will be quite a few to mail in. (If you happen to be a local member, please bring your blocks to the Tuesday night meeting in February!). Hoping you’ll be moved to make a block or two for this worthy cause – Happy Weekend everyone!!

Linking to my usual places including Brag About Your Beauties over at From Bolt to Beauty and Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts and Oh Scrap! at Quilting is Better Than Housework.

A Note from Mercy Hospital

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Hi all – I want to pop in and share this lovely thank you I received from a member of the Palliative Care team at Mercy Hospital. The response to the Mercyful Quilt Drive has been nothing short of AMAZING and I want to be sure you know how appreciated your beautiful quilts are. So far we have received over 90 quilts in the last 10 months. Hurray!!! Just in case you are new to my blog, you can read the details about Mercyful Quilts here and here and even here!

Dear Bernie,

Back in November of last year, our ICU nurse Patty reached out to you about how we used to have a supply of quilts for patients at the end of life (aka “comfort care”) here in our hospital and how the quilts have sadly been harder to come by in recent years. You in turn said some wonderful things about your own family’s past experience at Mercy General in your blog post and then asked for those in the community to consider sending us quilts to have for this program. The response to this has been incredible and we thank you so much for this help. I am a social worker on our palliative care team here in the hospital and have had the honor of bringing these beautiful quilts to the family or loved one of a dying patient.

The supply that you all have provided has been amazing. I, as well as others, can now provide a quilt that family feels expresses the personality or the favorite colors of their loved one and allows an openness to talk about who they are- who they were. We actually have a selection for men on comfort care now which was always so hard to come by and in addition, we’ve been trying hard to honor our Veterans at the end of their life here, and those who made and donated the patriotic colored ones and the American flag ones are now used to help honor them in one final way and show appreciation to their family for their service.

Our palliative care team, as well as the dedicated bedside nurses that care for patients in their final moments, can often feel helpless in wanting to provide comfort and something meaningful to loved ones during such a dark time. These gifts have allowed us to bring something they can find some beauty in and later keep to remember the one they’ve loved and lost.

I am so sorry that it has taken me almost a year to write to you but wanted to say to you, and to all those who have made and donated these quilts, that we cannot thank you all enough for the time and effort you put into these. It means a great deal and on behalf of our team here, thank you so much for your wonderful gift.

-Emma Cook
Palliative Social Worker
Mercy General

This was such a wonderful note to receive. I knew they were really happy to have the quilts but this certainly validates all of the work and effort, time and creativity, not to mention expense, that goes into the gorgeous quilts so many of you have donated. Please continue to make quilts for this worthy reason. I am happy to facilitate the donations and get your quilts right over to Mercy Hospital. Continue to think about gender neutral themes and the occasional patriotic theme as they are needed.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your kind hearts and gorgeous quilts!!!

Contributions for the Annual Safelight Project

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More than a year has flown by and it is once again time to sew for the Safelight Project. Hosted each year by Carole of From My Carolina Home, this project provides support to people in the domestic violence shelter that Carole advocates for. Just in case you are not familiar with Carole and her work, she is one incredibly kind soul. She has spent the better part of the last year working hard to gather hundreds of quilts for victims of the Carolina hurricane. Carole also is a very active blogger with all sorts of quilt alongs, fun tablescape ideas, upcycling and thrifting posts, as well as great recipes. Check out her blog as it is lots of fun.

The Safelight Project is one I have contributed to before. People escaping domestic violence need all the support possible. I love the idea of these gift totes filled with little necessities because so many times the person leaves with just the clothes they are wearing and not much more.

Making a cometic bag and sunglasses case takes little time and not a whole lot of fabric. The instructions are so simple (and available here). Each one just requires a bit of batting and a strip of velcro.

Carole collects many sets and includes them in the tote bags she fills with other sundries. It must be so gratifying to see these pouring into her mail each year.

You know I have a thing for fabric with birds. This looks like a quail to me and I love it!! At first glance it looks like a paisley print but then this sweet bird shows through.

A bit of inspirational fabric made a sweet lining for this pouch.

Have to say, I was a bit disappointed when I realized I cut the triangles going opposite directions for each of the cases. Ooops!

Both sets are in the mail today heading for Carole. Thanks so much to Carole for coordinating this wonderful event each year.

Linking up with a few sites, check them out at the top of the page, under Link Ups.

A Memory Quilt for Susie

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Over the past two years or so, I lost contact with my friend Susie. We used to take long walks together, never running out of chit-chat. We both really enjoyed it but life got so that we fell out of the routine. In January of this year, I contacted her about a volunteer commitment we both work on and she told me her husband had recently passed away of lung cancer. I didn’t even know Rick had been ill. I felt awful that we had lost touch and I hadn’t been around to support her during his very serious illness. I know all too well how important it is to have friends helping you during such a dark, painful time.

We got together a couple of times soon after and I offered to make a quilt for her with Rick’s clothes, whenever she thought she would be ready to part with some of his shirts. About a month later, she brought me a large bag containing his bathrobe, some shirts and shorts. We took a look at everything and talked about whether she was ok with me cutting them up. Then we looked at different quilts I had pinned to a memory quilt board on Pinterest. She was drawn to a simple four patch block with sashing. Easy enough to make! Susie also asked if I would include two photos of her with Rick she had printed on fabric. I haven’t used that sort of thing before but of course I was happy to add them to a block.

Looking at the collection of shirts and shorts, it seemed best to use the two pairs of solid blue shorts and then two plaids for each four patch. Susie looked in the shop downstairs and chose a very neutral textured solid for the sashing and border.

Working with clothing that has been worn is a bit tricky. Susie chose the items Rick favored most because she had the sweetest memories of him in those shirts or shorts. Of course this means some of them were well worn. I wish I could remember who it was, but on Instagram, a nice quilter reminded me to back any thin fabrics with a stabilizer of sorts. This was perfect. I fused a woven interfacing to the back of some of the chunks of fabric before I cut the strips. Once that was done, I cut 3 1/2″ strips wherever I could. Then made strip sets and sliced them up to make the four patch blocks.

The next step was to create two blocks where I could utilize the pictures of Rick and Susie. I wasn’t really sure how to do this? The fabric they were printed on seemed to fray easily so I didn’t want to stitch a border directly to the printed piece. Instead I chose to fuse the photo to a square cut from the neutral sashing fabric. After fusing it (with each edge pressed under to create a clean look) I topstitched around the perimeter.

I think that worked quite well. One limiting factor was the shorts I used as a solid. I ran out of that fabric with two blocks to go. What to do? I decided to cut two more plain blocks from the sashing fabric. Then I took bits of the flannel bathrobe and cut two hearts from it. Those were fused to the background squares and appliquéd to the fabric. They look very cute and I like the pop of the deep red plaid.

Finally, we agreed the red plaid flannel robe would be the perfect outer border. I really love how the red flannel gives a cozy and rustic look to the quilt top.

This photo captures the true colors best.

The quilt top measures roughly 60″ x 70″ which should be perfect for my very tiny friend. Now I need to choose a backing and get it basted. This is the type of project I really enjoy. It holds meaning and comfort for my friend. I really regret not having made something like this when Mark – my first husband – died in 1994. I was overwhelmed with being widowed, single parenting my boys etc. Sewing was not at the forefront of my mind – in fact I didn’t really sew for many years after that. Making this for Susie is very satisfying. I am really looking forward to quilting it up so she can enjoy it. September will mark the one year anniversary of Rick’s death and I want to be sure she has this before then.

Linking to my usual spots – check them out at the top of the page, under Link Ups.

Watch for a special post coming up on Friday!! Until then, to my US readers, have a wonderful Fourth of July holiday! Also, I have a fantastic giveaway happening today and tomorrow over on my Instagram feed. Be sure to check it out. 🙂

Five Years of Needle & Foot

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Yep – it was five years ago today I published my first post here on the blog. Seems I blinked a few times and suddenly it is 2019. I have published 512 posts, made hundreds of friends, learned many lessons about quilting, life, and community. It has been incredibly rewarding and even though blogging isn’t the popular force it once was, I am still here.

The blog has grown into a really satisfying business for me as well as a creative outlet. I have enjoyed hosting a number of community service projects such as my Share the Love campaign where we all sewed doll quilts for Amy and A Doll Like Me. Collecting quilts for Mercy Hospital in Sacramento has been and continues to be a heartwarming experience as quilters from all over the country send quilts for families who are dealing with the death of a family member. Mercyful Quilts has been more successful than I could have imagined.

Blogging (for me) is such a great way to keep a journal of my projects, business, community service endeavors and even the silly stories of my family. I enjoy conversing with Needle and Foot readers and hope I provide some entertainment as well. A few days ago I received a note from a reader and she told me this, “Please know that as a caretaker for my husband who is disabled by brain tumor and stroke, you and Sew Preeti Quilts and the Academic Quilter help keep me sane. (I miss Crazy Mom and Finish it up Friday humongously.) Some day I may be able to participate, but for now, please don’t quit.” This reader has no idea how much her note means to me. For many, sewing does much to keep us sane. It is therapeutic and creative, both of which are so important. So dear reader, not to worry, I am not going anywhere.

Five years deserves to be celebrated. This year I have two ideas! First of all, I would like to do another charitable giveaway. In prior years, I have asked readers to comment and tell me about their favorite charity. Using Random Number Generator, I will select a winner and contribute $50 to that reader’s charity. It is really interesting to read about the organizations other people are supporting. So please enter (only once) in the comments and tell all of us about the organization that is meaningful to you. Of course this is open worldwide – enter whether you reside in the US or another country.

Second idea is this – The traditional gift of the fifth anniversary is wooden. As you might know, my husband makes gorgeous wooden items. I will draw a second winner and that person will receive a beautiful wooden point turner. These point turners are perfect for opening the corners on a pillow, tote bag, zip pouch and more. One lucky commenter will be picked to win a handmade point turner.

Both giveaways are picked from the same pool of comments. Winner will be drawn on Friday, June 7th. Good luck to all! Thank you so much for continuing to read and interact with me here at Needle and Foot. Our community is an incredible source of creativity and kindness in this world and I am grateful to be a part of it.

Spring Equals Birthdays & Proms

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May has been such a busy month! School is winding down – senior year is coming to a close for Julia. Plus we have celebrated her 18th birthday and she went to her Senior Prom. Crazy to see this girl finishing up high school because it was only a few weeks ago that I felt like such an awful mother as I left her crying on the first day of Kindergarten. Such is life, right?

A few weeks ago, I posted this desperate plea on Instagram and Facebook. Julia’s prom dress didn’t really fit well and she asked if I could fix it. This was the week before prom. Being the confident sewist, I immediately suggested we return it and quickly find another dress. But she #1 – threw away the receipt and tags and #2 – said she loved this dress and wanted to wear it. OK, I promised to do what I could. The main issue was the lining was too snug around her waist. I looked at letting it out and adding some width to the side seams. But I suspected I would end up with something bulky that wouldn’t lay flat. My brilliant daughter, who doesn’t sew, asked if I couldn’t just lift the lining up, folding it right sides together, sewing all the way around, which would make it a little wider at her ribs. Does this make sense to you? It worked like a charm and was super easy. Sort of hard to explain though.

The next issue was the hem. It was really long and she didn’t want to be tripping over it at the dance. I was a bit leary of this task because the outer fabric was a slippery chiffon. But with the help of YouTube, it was not hard at all. The video I watched instructed me to pin it about 1/4″ longer than I wanted it to be. Press it and stitch all the way around. Then trim the excess as close as possible to the seam line. Finally, roll that stitched line to the inside, pin and press and stitch again. I was amazed by how wonky the original hem was. There was no way to straighten it so Julia and I figured if we hadn’t noticed how wavy it was before, no one else would either and I just stitched it – crooked as can be.

Hiding under that pretty dress are black sneakers because my daughter won’t wear much else!

Following the prom, we celebrated Julia’s 18th birthday. Not sure if you remember but last year I made a cake for her 17th birthday and was not entirely successful!

This year Julia asked for the same yellow cake with strawberry filling and chocolate frosting. I wanted to use a cake mix again but with better results. My trusty internet sources advised adding an extra egg yolk and replacing the required water with milk. I did both of these, though I used almond milk to keep it dairy free for my husband. Also, another site suggested adding a couple of tablespoons of any pudding mix that would match the flavor of the cake. I had an old box of butterscotch pudding that likely expired in 2010 or so. I opened it and added two tablespoons and tossed the rest. Guess what? It worked wonderfully.

Julia was happy and we are hoping her wishes come true for this year!

With all of this, plus two different awards nights at school, I haven’t done tons of sewing. One thing I am working on though is quilting a top given to me by a family friend. She actually donated three finished quilts to Mercyful Quilts. Then she sent me four tops she had, asking if I would finish them and donate those as well. I don’t normally do this because it takes a bit of time which I am sorely lacking, but she was so sweet to donate the other quilts and I agreed. I know they all won’t be finished terribly soon but I am working on the first one.

This string quilt was probably made a while back. There are many fabrics that look to be circa 1980’s and it is very pretty. Unfortunately, it doesn’t lie anywhere close to flat. I don’t think these string blocks were pieced with any sort of foundation paper or fabric, making them quite stretchy. I pressed it and starched it before pin basting. While pin basting, I took little tucks all over the place and hand stitched them which really helped. When I get to those bits, I quilt heavily over them so they won’t come apart. I am just using a loopy meander which is quite forgiving when I come to a section that is wavy. After binding and washing this it will, hopefully, crinkle up and be very cozy.

The backing is from the sale section in my shop. It is an Oval Elements piece from Art Gallery Fabric. Fabric for the binding has yet to be selected though. I am just about out of thread (which is silly since I am quilting it with white thread) so I won’t get too much farther on this today. I am counting this as my one project for Hands 2 Help and it should be finished early next week.

The quilts continue to arrive for Mercy Hospital and the Mercyful Quilts drive. The Hands 2 Help event at Confessions of a Fabric Addict has been amazing. I cannot even believe the number of quilts made for all of these deserving organizations . Just so inspiring. Some quilters have made 4 or 5 quilts – some even more than that. I have this stack and another box full ready for pick up. Judging by the emails I have received and blog posts I am reading, there are many more on the way. Thank you to all of you generous quilters!!

I hope everyone has a lovely long weekend. In the US, Monday is Memorial Day which many mark as the beginning of summer. We have had rainy, gloomy weather all week so it sure doesn’t feel summery here!

So Many Mercyful Quilts!

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As many of you know, this month is a busy one for quilters participating in Hands2Help 2019 making donation quilts. This wonderful event is sponsored annually by Sarah of Confessions of a Fabric Addict. She coordinates the donations of hundreds of quilts to several organizations. This year Mercyful Quilts is one of the very fortunate recipients of these quilts.

Last month I received a number of gorgeous quilts. Some I shared on Instagram but haven’t shared them on the blog. I want to be sure everyone gets a chance to see the amazing works of art that have been donated to Mercy Hospital. I can’t show all of them because that would make for a very long post. But here are some that have arrived recently. (Just in case you are new to my blog, please read about the Mercyful Quilt drive posts – click here and here to get the general info on this project.)

Just a sampling of the quilts coming in.

It is fun to be the person receiving these quilts. I love seeing everyone’s work – so many fun colors, patterns, pretty fabrics, beautiful quilting. Really, I am so fortunate to be the organizer of this project. It is like Christmas when the UPS truck drives up the driveway!

Each one is so unique and all of them are beautifully made.

This quilt was completely hand quilted. I was so surprised! What a treasure.

So many stitches went into this. It is lovely!

Both of the quilts shown above came from the same quilter. I appreciate her choice to make one more traditional with colors that would appeal to a man or woman. The other quilt with the rainbow of modern blocks and the piano key border is striking and very different. When families choose from all of the quilts it is nice to have a selection to select from. I hope they pick one that is somehow representative of the loss they are dealing with. Maybe that will bring an extra level of comfort to the family.

Not all quilts come via the UPS truck. Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting up with a quilter from the Sacramento area. She emailed me to see if I had any plans to be in the area so she could give me the quilts personally. Heck yes! Any excuse to meet another quilter and have a cup of coffee with her.

Karrin blogs over at Karrin’s Crazy World and she donated three pretty quilts. Two are blue and yellow which is a fantastic color combination. The third one is a patriotic quilt which might just suit the family of a veteran. I am so happy to have these three quilts to add to the stack. The photos taken indoors don’t do them justice – the colors are more vibrant than shown.

Karrin and I had a nice long visit – Isn’t it crazy how two quilters who have never met can just sit down and start up a conversation? It comes easily and we really enjoyed ourselves. Karrin, I hope we can meet again to talk fabric, stippling, color preferences, batting and life in general! What a fun trip to Starbucks.

I am grateful for all of the quilts received thus far. I know more are on the way. Please know that once the Hands2Help event ends, the need for Mercyful quilts does not! I am happy to take quilts any time you want to donate one. The palliative care team over at Mercy Hospital is truly appreciative of these beautiful gifts you are making and sending to them. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Owning Our Imperfections

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Not sure if you read my previous blog post but I want to remind everyone that on April 1st (next week) I am hosting an event inviting everyone to share their mistakes, goofs, boo-boos and misunderstandings about quilting (or sewing in general)! It is often disconcerting to look at the world of perfection that is usually shared on social media. There are some who generously share their errors along with their gorgeous quilts. But it isn’t often enough. At times, this leads to a feeling of discouragement. Surely I am not the only one who has scrolled Instagram and come away feeling like everyone’s quilts are so much better than mine. Quilting isn’t done to one-up the next person but it is hard to avoid this feeling. Maybe it just depends on my state of mind on any given day but it happens.

Let’s build each other up by taking a view of quilting in real life! Share a mistake you made, chuckle at yourself, explain how it taught you something or maybe how you fixed it. (If you threw it out, explain why you decided to). This will be so much fun!

From our very generous sponsor, Art Gallery Fabric

Plus prizes… who doesn’t like prizes??? We have a very generous gift from Art Gallery Fabric. They have donated a fat quarter bundle of Matchmade, a gorgeous new line of blenders featuring deliciously saturated tones. Designed by Pat Bravo, this bundle has 20 different pieces which means this bundle is a gift of five yards of fabric from AGF to one lucky winner!

Look, more prizes! Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts has provided three PDF patterns! Have you seen her work? So many wonderful patterns to choose from! Leanne at Devoted Quilter has given a PDF pattern too! Another talented designer, Leanne has an assortment of striking patterns in her shop. She also has several free ones that are tempting me as I write this! Linda of My Sew-Called Quilts has provided two mini charm packs of Grunge. There isn’t one of us that wouldn’t love these cute bits of Grunge!! (Please note – I am limiting the fat quarter bundle prize to the US only. Shipping is so darn expensive and the size of the bundle makes it prohibitive for me to ship outside of the US. If you have a US address I can ship to, go ahead and let me know that so I can include you!)

As for Needle & Foot, one gift certificate for $30 is also in the mix. This makes six fun prizes – awarded by a random drawing of those who link up! Yay! Event begins on April 1st (very appropriate way to celebrate April Fool’s Day!) and closes Friday, April 5th. Winners drawn and announced on Saturday, April 6th.

OK – think about learning to quilt…. remember all of those mistakes and frustrations. Share your experiences so we can all share a laugh and realize no one, NO ONE, was born with a magical ability to create award winning quilts. We all learned, we all began somewhere. That’s real life quilting.