Category Archives: Link Party

Positivity QAL 2023 Finished Quilts

Hi Everyone! I am a bit late in posting this link up. We have been busy the past few days helping Julia move into her new apartment. She has been living with my son and his wife for a couple of months while she looked for a rental she liked, could afford and was close to her work. She found a great complex and is happily unpacking her things.

It was a family effort, helping her move her things and set up her apartment. Of course some of us worked harder than others!

Her complex has so many cool features. It has lovely courtyards with fire pits and pretty plants. Apartment dwellers need their outdoor space too and this gives them a nice place to sit outside, gather around a fire pit, read, whatever! Also, there is a roof top area that can be used for the same sort of thing. This area includes a gas grill and a small kitchen area so people can cook a meal and enjoy the view.

I love the view from the roof top!

Now, on to the business at hand. Do I have a finished quilt to show you? Umm, no not really.

My quilt top is still at the finished only phase. . I did get the backing pieced as well. You might remember I was whining about my dislike of pin basting my quilts.

Many comments were made singing the praises of spray basting. While I am still apprehensive about making a mess, I ordered a can and plan to give it a try. Crossing my fingers it is easier than I am imagining. I would love a better way to baste a quilt.

OK – here is the link up for you. Please link up a post about your finished Positivity Blooms or Positivity Grows quilt. As always, Preeti and I thank you for joining in and making a quilt for Mercy Hospital (or the organization of your choice). We will pick names for prizes after over Labor Day weekend. Good luck!!

If you have issues with completing the link up, let me know. I can easily post a picture of your finish right here!

This pretty quilt was made by Erica, @skynme. Thank you so much!!!!

Many thanks to Danielle in California for this beauty. She has been a loyal donor of Mercyful Quilts and we are grateful!!

2022 Positivity Quilt Along Link Up

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Good morning all! Hope you are having a lovely weekend. Believe it or not, it is time to link up a progress shot of your 2022 Positivity Quilt. This might mean sharing a couple of blocks with us. Or maybe you have actually stitched a few rows together. Maybe, like me, you are still in the earliest stages and have been cutting your pieces out. Wherever you might be, let us enjoy your progress so far.

I started cutting blocks for mine. Before leaving California, my friend Stephanie gave me a stack of leftover fabric from a western themed quilt she made. This line of fabric is called Dreamcatcher and was made by Whistler Studios . It is not my usual style fabric but this quilt is not for me. Being destined for Mercy Hospital, there is no way of knowing who will receive it. With Mercyful Quilts, the family of the patient chooses the quilt and oftentimes, they choose one that is meaningful to their relationship with the person they are saying goodbye to. Thus it is good to have all sorts of choices. A variety of colors, styles, and themes are advantageous. So this quilt will have a strong Native American, western vibe to it. Some of the fabric is directional and I am hoping this doesn’t create issues as I assemble the blocks. That remains to be seen.

As I was cutting the pieces and getting excited to start assembling blocks, my practical side grabbed hold and told me to finish up last year’s quilt first. Most of the top was done and it didn’t make sense to move on until I got this completed. I set the fabric aside and pulled out last year’s plus quilt. I didn’t make more blocks. Instead, I went with what I had completed. To increase the size, I added a yellow border. Then got it basted and ready for quilting. On Friday I began quilting it. It feels so much better to work in a more orderly fashion. My husband will be the first to tell you I often flit from one thing to another which is, for the most part, unproductive. Once this quilt is done, I will start sewing blocks for the next one.

So this is where I am at for now. How about you? Have you got lots of blocks assembled? Maybe your quilt top is even finished. Share it with us here. One of the best parts of a quilt along is the camaraderie of sewing together. Also, since we are making the same pattern, it is so cool to see it in any number of fabric choices. I look forward to seeing all of them. Link up is open until Saturday, July 2, 2022. Thanks for joining in and sewing for Mercyful Quilts!

Halloween is Coming!

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I know, I know. It is only the beginning of September. But I am starting to get excited for fall. Autumn has always been my favorite time of year. So I am getting in the mood.

My kids are all beyond the age of trick or treating (I am pretty sure you aren’t supposed to trick or treat while in your twenties and thirties unless you have children to do so with. So, I am really hoping my kids are not going door to door this year!) However, when the kids were little it was fun to think up costumes for trick or treating each year. For the boys, I had it easy. My sister has two boys that are just a few years older than mine. We would inherit their Halloween costumes each year and they were great costumes! My sister is quite a seamstress and she made the most awesome costumes for her kids. With Julia, we had to come up with fresh costumes each year. I love looking at the pictures from each Halloween, remembering what she chose to be and how we came up with the costume.

To celebrate Halloween this year, I am hosting a Handmade Halloween Link Party!!! You are all invited. It is my hope that we all share posts of current and past Halloween decorations, quilts and costumes that we have made. If we all link to one place – HERE – just think of all the fun ideas that will be shared. Let’s make this the go-to link up for all sorts of Halloween inspiration. The posts don’t have to be new ones. If you have posts from your past Halloween projects, link those up too! You can bet there are readers who will enjoy them. I have some old posts that I will share as well as a new post about costume ideas. I don’t plan to create full tutorials, rather I will share ideas for some fun Halloween costumes that we have created.

You have plenty of time to gather photos and write your post(s)or decide on your older posts. Then come back to link up on Tuesday, October 4th! I want to have the party at the beginning of October so readers who are inspired by these ideas might have time to create before Halloween. Linking up will put your name in a drawing for some great giveaway prizes. Each time you link that is another entry to win! More on that as we get closer to October.

If you feel inclined, you are welcome to share the Handmade Halloween button and help spread the word.

Let me know if you have any questions. Otherwise, come back and link up any of your Halloween related posts on Tuesday the 4th of October! See you then. 🙂