Stockings for Kids

When I'm not busy quilting I work with foster kids. I love it - they are always so happy and make me really appreciate the things I have in life. Anyway this year for the holidays the agency I work with would really like to give each child a homemade stocking - a nice one that they can keep and reuse for years to come that we would then fill with all sorts of goodies. 

This is where you come in. 

I am hosting a drive where you can donate a stocking. Our goal is to get 50 stockings.

Don't know how to make a stocking? No worries, I have you covered! From now until the end of November, there will be a free stocking tutorial posted every Tuesday. Some of your favorite bloggers have gathered together and agreed to contribute a unique stocking pattern, so be sure to check back on Tuesdays to see what it is!

And what's a charity drive without some awesome sponsors and prizes? There are a lot of great prizes lined up (hint: lots of fabric!) and even a $50 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop! To be eligible all you have to do is send in a stocking and link up the linky party on December 1. You will get one entry per stocking you donate. Also be on the lookout for other "mystery" giveaways throughout the event.

This is very important. I need all stockings to be mailed to me by no later than December 1.

Finally, I've set up a flickr group - Stockings for Kids - where you can go to sign up to make stockings, post pictures of your stockings, and see what other people have made as well.

Please join in and help make a stocking for foster child this holiday season and give them something they can call their own!

Thank you so much!!

September Bee Blocks

Yikes, it certainly has been a long time since I have updated this blog. I'll spare you the excuses/reasons why I have been so absent in the blogosphere recently (suffice it to say there are legit reasons, no the dog ate my homework here!)

Anyway I did get to do some awesome blocks for the September month of the do.good.stitches bee. Holly over at Bijou Lovely (an AWESOME blog by the way) requested square within a square blocks using orange, plum, gray and white. I loved making these blocks - it was quite freeing to piece a block together without a concrete plan...I definitely see a quilt in this style in my future. Also can I just mention how much I love dark purple/plum right now?

Sneak Peek

I'll give you three guesses as to what I've been working on today but you'll only need one...

Charity catch up

While I have a lot of quilts to work on, I found myself wanting to finish up a few projects I was in the middle of when the power went out. First up were my blocks for Sarah's quilts for foster kids:

Next up were my blocks for Caroline's cancer charity quilt. I made these in memory of my grandmother who died from lung cancer when I was a junior in high school. 

Finally I had sketched out a million ideas for my block for the 3x6 Bee I'm participating in via Flickr. After much sketching and thinking, I think I finally decided on a block. What do you think?

Lessons learned in a hurricane

Well after about a week, I finally got power back. Gotta love the efficiency of the power company servicing Richmond. Anyway I immediately did what anyone in my situation would do - turn on every light in the house, all the electronics (including my sewing machine) and took a nice hot shower. Then I proceeded to spend some quality time with Nina (my sewing machine).

Irene did a little bit of damage to our neighborhood, but luckily we escaped without any major problems. When my husband went to school later in that week, some of his classmates told stories of trees falling on their cars. Yikes! I'm glad that most of the trees by my house managed to stay standing. Sadly, some of my neighbors were not so lucky. Here are some photos I took while on a walk the day after.

So here's what I learned during my first ever hurricane experience:

1. Try your hardest to have a lot of hand quilting projects available...having your binding not machined stitched onto the five quilt tops you have lying around ready for binding would provide plenty to do for the many long non-power hours.

2. Also you may plan on reading a lot of books (and I did) but trust me it gets boring after a few hundred hours. And I love reading. Love to the point that when I was a child my punishment used to be no reading for a week and you would have thought my phone and weekend privileges were taken away by the amount of drama that ensued from that punishment.

3. Some people believe that a warm shower is a luxury...I have come to the realization that it is in fact, a necessity.

4. Getting to know your neighbors is a great idea. Especially because a situation might arise where they have power and you do not...and if you know them the probability that they will give you an extension cord for your fridge increases exponentially.

5. If your phone has been breaking and you hear that a hurricane might be hitting your area then it might be a good idea to get a new phone....one that doesn't drop calls randomly and holds a charge for longer than an hour and a half.