Quilters Unite for Boston

Boston holds a special place in my heart - it's where I went to college, met my best friends, fell in love, got engaged, and really learned all about myself. I could easily write an entire post about how great of a city Boston is, but suffice it so say Boston rocks.

Whenever crises or tragedies hit, the crafting community is always there to lend a hand of support and remind the people affected that they are not alone. And the tragedy in Boston is no different. I know of two ways that we can help.

1. to Boston with Love

This is organized by the Vancouver modern quilt guild. The idea behind "To Boston with Love" is for makers to bring a message of peace and love from all over the world to Boston. These flags will be strung into banners and displayed in Boston, hopefully by June 2013. 

This is a super easy project and can be made in an afternoon. 

For all the design details and information check out: http://vancouvermodernquiltguild.ca/blog/2013/04/to-boston-with-love/

2. Quilts for Boston

This is organized by the Boston Modern Quilt Guild. They are planning to distribute quilts to those who would benefit from a show of support. As such, they are requesting that people send in blocks that feature blue, yellow, gray, and white. They need to be 12.5" wide and can be any design you want. 

If you've ever wanted to try your hand at a new block design, this is the time. 

For all the details check out: http://bostonmqg.blogspot.com/2013/04/quilts-for-boston.html

Boston Strong!

April Bee Blocks: Flowers with solids

This month for the do good stitches bee, the lovely Evelyn requested some simple half-framed blocks. She wanted us to each start with a modern floral print and then choose some coordinating solids to go with it. 

For my first block, I used some of my coveted AMH fabric, which I was sad to part with, but I knew it was going to a good cause. I paired it with some cheerful solids from my stash.

For the second block I decided to stick with more cool colors and picked this lovely DS floral fabric I had in my stash from when I made my fall fan bag last year. 

These blocks were super easy and took no time to make (which is good for me since I've been so swamped with school recently I haven't had time to blog...or sew as much as I want to...bad!)

Sadly this is the only sewing I think I will get done this month since I have 2 final papers due on the 28th. Although if I finish them before the due date (I am the worst procrastinator) perhaps a trip to the fabric store and some quality time with my sewing machine will be in order...

Stockings for Kids Giveaway Winners!

First off a GIANT thank you to everyone who participated in the first ever Stockings for Kids drive. I am very grateful to our awesome sponsors (go show them some love this holiday season please!) and to people who have sent in stockings from all over the world. As of this morning I have, wait for it...

219 stockings

I am seriously floored. That's more than four times the amount of stockings I was hoping to get. You guys rock! I never imagined that so many people from around the world would be willing to help make stockings for the foster kids. Not only have you made stockings, but some of you have donated money and even gifts to put in the stockings. Your generosity astounds me. I know it is because of you that these children will have a brighter holiday season.

Because I received so many stockings, I had to quickly figure out where the extras were going to go (my foster center doesn't need 200 stockings!) Most of them will be going to the foster children I work with and the rest will be distributed to other foster care centers in the central virginia area. I also will be taking a few to the hospital my husband works at where they will be given to kids who have to stay overnight on Christmas Eve. We are having a stocking stuffing party this next week so look for pictures of that soon!

Now on to the giveaway. Again another plug to go visit my awesome sponsors who have made this such a fun event. I used my friend Mr. Random Number Generator because my usual go to guy is very busy studying for an exam about how people breathe (apparently knowing that information is important). I thought I had saved the images of the random number but apparently I did not do that properly so you'll just have to take my word for it! =)

$50 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop goes to Ella

The countdown to christmas charm pack from Sweetwater fabrics goes to Joyce C.

The fat quarter pack donated by Tallgrass Prairie Studio goes to Melissa

The "Mystery" red and green fabric bundle donated by Pink Castle Fabrics goes to Jessica!


Happy Early Christmas to our winners and again THANK YOU to everyone who participated.


Quilters rock! 

November Quilting Bee Blocks

This month I have managed to finish all my quilting bee blocks before they were actually due! Yay!

Do.good. Stitches:

This month we got to make some bottled rainbow blocks following Rachel's tutorial. I have been wanting to try this for ages so I was so super excited when Becky chose this as her block for the month. Here are my two blocks:

Kona Berry Block (dark purples)

Kona Raspberry Block (dark pinks)

I loved making these blocks and see more of them in my immediate future...and there is something to be said for the quilt-as-you-go method that these use.

Sew Bee Beautiful:

This month it was Ella's turn to send out fabric and she requested some wonky stars. At first I was a bit nervous to make these, having never made a wonky star but I am pretty pleased with how these turned out. I'm sure her quilt will be quite beautiful! Now please don't mind the severe lack of ironing in these photos, I'm still looking for an iron...

Mod Mosaic Charity Quilt

This isn't a "bee" parsay, but earlier this month Kelsey asked for some help in making mod mosaic quilt squares using gray, orange and blues for a family who has had one bad thing after another happen to them -- house fires, hospital stays, car accidents, etc. You can read more about her request for blocks (and sign up to make one) here. These blocks are super easy to make and are excellent for using up stash. I enjoyed making this block and wish that I had time to make more.

Citrus Sails Quilt

Front of Citrus Sails Quilt

Back of Citrus Sails Quilt

As part of the do.good.stitches charity bee, I've been quilting the top from my month. This entire project has been somewhat of a nightmare to be honest and I was about ready to throw in the towel on multiple occasions. Nevertheless, I persevered and I learned quite a few lessons along the way.

Lesson 1: Being a perfectionist isn't always perfect.  My design involved many half square triangles and lining up the points gave me a headache. I spent hours sewing and unpicking blocks together in an attempt to get them to line up perfectly. Luckily, my husband intervened. He told me that the Native Americans intentionally put a mistake in any handmade thing they make to show that it is created with human hands and humans are imperfect -- acknowledging that only God is perfect. I thought that was a rather interesting way to look at things. So I decided to embrace my inner imperfections and sew together the blocks to the best of my ability.

The front of the quilt - you can't even tell that some of the points don't line up perfectly!

Lesson 2: Sometimes simple is better. When I went to quilt it, I had a complex plan in my head and ended up with some (okay a lot) of puckers on the back. I couldn't for the life of me quiet the perfectionist side of my brain and I spent the better half of a day unpicking the quilting. Then I redid it in much simpler way and I like it much better.

The quilting - diagonal straight lines.

Lesson 3: Machine binding a quilt isn't the worst thing. I've always been opposed to machine binding (mainly because I couldn't get it to look the way I wanted) and have spent hours hand sewing my bindings. But because I was so behind on the deadline for this quilt, I bit the bullet and bound it by machine. And ya know, it doesn't look half bad.

What lessons have you learned while quilting?

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!!

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?

Quilting to Help Others

One of the things I love about the online quilting community is the sense of generosity and the "give back" attitude of many people out in blogland. I love the idea that I can spend a few hours to make a quilt square or two and send it off to be made into a quilt to help so many people. There are quite a few projects going on right now that are for worthy causes that you should check out.

1. Sarah over at SoSarahSews is making two purple and pink quilts for two sisters in the foster care system. I know from working with foster children that having something to call your own is really special. The blocks that she chose are really simple and don't take much time to make at all. Head over to her blog to read about her project and sign up to make a block or two.

2.  My friend Caroline blogs at serenity quilts and is in the process of making a quilt to help raise money for cancer research. You can read more about her story here. I know many of us have been affected in some way by cancer and it's nice to be able to give back and hopefully help find a way to beat it. She is making a Hearts Appeal quilt and is asking for blocks with hearts on them. Check out her blog for more information and to see what types of designs others have come up with.

3. Rachel at Stitched in Color has organized an online quilting bee that gives back to the communities called Do.good Stitches. It is through flickr and every month people make blocks that go into a quilt so essentially you are helping to make a quilt a month for an entire year. It is a great way to make friends, expand your quilting skills and help others in the process. Check out the flickr group for more information and to sign up. Even if you don't sign up it is still an excellent source for inspiration.

4. The DC Modern Quilt Guild is sponsoring 100 Quilts for Kids. This is a great idea - you donate a baby quilt to someone in your local area from September 15 - October 14. To encourage people to participate they are offering prizes to people who donate. Check out Kate's blog for more information.

Anyway I hope that you take a moment to check out all these great projects going on right now and if you know of any other ones let me know!