Emotional Sewing

I love to give gifts. Even better, I love to make gifts.  It is especially poignant to make something for someone that you know will be touched by the effort.

Our Modern Quilt Guild here in Kansas City has recently begun an ongoing project to make fetal demise pouches and donate them to local hospitals. These beautiful little pouches will be used when a baby is born very prematurely and does not survive. The parents can hold their tiny child in the pouch as they say goodbye.

The fabric used to make the sweet pouches was donated by Anna Maria Horner and Westminster Fabrics. Alex designed the pattern specifically to hold the remains that are too fragile for clothing. As I sewed these two, I found myself saying a little prayer for the families that will find themselves needing such a gift someday.

It was emotional sewing.

You can learn more about it here and here.

Sunday Something

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.

He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

Jeremiah 17:7, 8

Now What?

I'm sort of between projects....well, that's not totally true, as there are many UFO's waiting in the wings. Anywho.....I got out the Kleenex Box quilt squares and got them sewn together yesterday. I just needed to sew on SOMETHING!
Woo Hoo!

 There wasn't enough of the purple to add borders to the sides. Should I go buy more....should I leave it like this....should I use something else on the sides???

Ideas anyone?

Quilt Joplin

Over the weekend I gathered some fabrics from my stash to donate to a quilt guild in Joplin, Missouri. This philanthropic guild of 75 members lost all of their supplies and 80 completed charity quilts in the F-5 tornado that devastated so much of that city two weeks ago. In the dark corners of my closet, I also located several quilt tops to donate. I am actually very excited to be giving them life through this lovely guild. If you are interested in helping out, you can learn about their work and needs here. The leader's statement is memorable, "We help the needy, and now we are the needy!"

 These quilt tops have been hidden from view for so long, and it's really a shame. This completed lap size quilt even has the backing ready to go...it just needs quilted and bound. I think I made it about 7 years ago in a class by Robin Askins. I've moved since then, and the colors just don't work for me anymore.

 Here's an even older one. The appliques are ironed on and they just need stitched around. It's a cute top, made in the country colors and style I used to favor.

A close up of the little penned prayer....

 Some of you may remember this Thimbleberries pattern and fabric. I actually led the making of this project as a mystery quilt and am embarrassed to say that I never finished it. Hopefully, it will bring some happiness in Joplin. I always liked the scalloped border.

 Now, this country house goes back to sometime in the 1990's when I attended a workshop by Fonz and Porter. I got to this point and lost interest for some reason. For someone who lost their house in the tornado, perhaps it will have special meaning.

 Last, but not least, I'm donating this hand pieced quilt top. It is in three sections. It wouldn't take much to get them together and into some one's hand for comfort. Can you guess how long this has been hanging over my head and hiding in the closet? If you say ten fifteen twenty years, you would be right! Yikes, how time flies!

My quilt guild here in Kansas City is going to be hand delivering supplies, tops and money donations to Joplin from our members. I'm hoping we bless their socks off!


In other quilty news, if you have ever sat around wondering how in the world Lollyquiltz got its name, this is your lucky day, my friends! I'm excited to be featured on the Name Game by Live A Colorful Life. Cindy did a little on line interview of me to find out all the inside info. It's riveting stuff, and you won't want to miss a word of it, so head on over! (Smile!)

Cindy has a wonderful blog...she's a fellow red head and we are making plans to meet in real life one of these days!

Sunday Something

"Above all else, guard your heart,

for it is the wellspring of life."

Proverbs 4:23

Lolly's Mailroom

Sometimes, when my husband telephones,  I say silly things when I answer the phone, depending on what I'm doing at the time. If I'm cooking, I might answer "Carla's Bar and Grill". Or if I'm taking care of my grand children, I might say, "Lolly's Day Care". My favorite is, "The Orchid Room, we curl up and dye for you!"( I stole that from a hair salon in my home town!) Well, for the last few days, my answer is "Lolly's Mailroom" because it seems that opening,sorting and sealing packages is all I've been doing! Getting those I Spy charms traded and mailed for the 42 participants took a bit of thought and organization!
 Here's a glimpse of how I did it.....

 Around and around the table, I walked! I wish now that I had worn my pedometer to track how many steps I took! I didn't need to worry about getting my exercise, that's for sure.

 My method seemed to work. In the end, I was able to (hopefully) trade out all 2460 charms so that 42 participants will get back different squares than they sent me. There were few duplicate sets and lots of variety, so it was a fun way to spend the day (and night!). I even found some personal messages from one swapper! (Thanks, Shea!)

The postmaster's eyes got really big when I arrived today with my tote bags full of envelopes! I felt sorry for the people in line behind me, but this was important stuff!  Check your mailboxes, ladies; your I Spy squares are on the way! Thank you all for making this such  a great swap. And be sure to send me a picture of your quilt once it's finished! In case any one wonders, the charms were collected from 17 different states and two other countries: Canada and Norway!

Now, I'm going to go look through all my newly collected I Spy charms. If the phone rings, I'll probably answer "Fo Yummy!" (The name of an Asian restaurant in Seattle!) I need to put my feet up!

Sew Day

Yesterday I took a sew day. (That's kind of like a sick day for quilters, I think.) Over the weekend, I did a bunch of yard work. It wore me out...thus the sew day! I got a lot done...

 Being a bit behind on my Bee blocks (Say that three times really fast!), I concentrated on getting caught up. What fun I had!! This is my last month to participate in the Kansas City Scrappy Bee with the MQG. Beth sent fabrics in grey, orange and yellow and asked for any block with a flying geese design. I added a few scraps from my stash and sewed this Circle of Geese paper-pieced block. This is my second effort at making this block and I will say that it is a little like child birth.....the end result is so wonderful that you forget the pain involved...(eventually!) Whew!

 After that major effort, I treated myself to something fast and easy...this wonderful scrappy Japanese x and + block for Amy (better known as Mrs. Schmenkman) This was her request for the May block in the One Block Over Bee. She had even cut all the fabrics and mailed them so all I had to do was sew! I'd love to sometime make a quilt with this block using my scraps. Love it! Here's a teaser of what it would look like all set together and the tutorial.

 Next up, I needed to create two house blocks for May and June in the Calendar of Houses Bee. Here's what I came up with for May, using two of my favorite Sherbet Pips fabrics. See the polliwogs in jars on the window sill? Gardening, frogs, pretty weather and little girls swinging...that's May! (I left out the rain and tornadoes!) Hope you like it, Linda!

 For June, I decided to go with a bird house theme. (Did you know I'm nutty for birds?) I used a large, pretty vintage button to make the door on the house. This design for Sandy was a snap to make using one of my favorite bird fabrics as the background. I wish now that I'd used a stronger color for the base of the house to sit on. The pink cherries gets a little lost. Sorry!

Look what I'm up to today...sorting and swapping all of the wonderful I Spy Charms that have been arriving at my address over the last few weeks. Around 45 quilters are participating with a grand total of 125 sets of charms. There are 20 charms in each set. If you do the math, that's a BUNCH of charms!!  This might take some time....I better get started! Stay tuned!

 Good-bye May!  Hello, June!!