Last week drug on and on... and on. Not necessarily in a bad way... There was much that took place, yet the time seemed to almost stand still. The house closing went smoothly and on time - YAY! That burden has been removed from my plate. I swung by for a quick stop before the closing to double check that all was still fine and secure, told the house "Thanks for taking care of Mom and Dad for 28 years" and then moved on... closing out that chapter/season of life.
A great deal of time was spent at the computer working on the layout for the accompanying book of the Camping Journal Quilt. The quilt has been placed on the camper bed until I need to take it to the library for another storytelling quilt exhibit on the art wall during the month of March... National Quilting Month.
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| Our camping Journal Quilt in its "natural habitat" |
The camper reno is nearly complete. We only need to install the new radio and do a final clean up. Pictures coming soon!
For a change in view/activity, I spent my "breaks" in the studio joining the string blocks together and getting a border on it.
As I plucked the strings for the border I thought of the song "Counting my Blessings"... You can read all of my thoughts and the news that I shared here.
I selected a striped blue/white fabric for the binding and added a couple fun, little labels...
The blue scrap bin decreased in volume a little, but it is time to close that bin and do something else.
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| I love these fun little labels |
The quilting was quick and easy with wavy lines creating a grid of squares, on point. The backing is pieced with some large chunks of blues from the stash - nothing fancy here, but I like the look from the back with the sun shining through.
On Friday we drove to my childhood hometown for the funeral service of my friend's dad. It is an 80-mile drive (each way), and I passed the time doing paper embroidery on one of the Christmas cards I am
I made the french knots varying sizes by changing up the number of wraps on the needle as well as how many strands of thread I used.
I got a lot accomplished in the week! As I look forward to this week, I need to turn my attention to a custom table runner and set of placemats... they are to feature sunflowers. I'll be looking at making some dresden blocks and shopping (stash first) for sunflower fabric. I had some... once-upon-a-time... Do I still have any???
This week's Sew & Tell feature is Jocelyn at the Happy Cottage Quilter. She shared her plan for making simple lap quilts. "They don't take a lot of thinking, which is sometimes a good thing. Kind of therapeutic."
I especially like the pastel, watercolor effect she has with this one.
Her plan is to make one each month this year. Head over there and cheer her on!
Before we get started with the party, tell me...
Do you make donation quilts?
Who do you donate them to?
What size do you make?
Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you! Let's party!
Keep Piecing,
Melva
Linking with:
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I'm sure it feels good to have the sale wrapped up. Very pro journal about your quilt! The quilt looks so colorful there in your camper! I donate baby quilts to a local charity--Bundles of Love. Baby size is very do-able.
ReplyDeleteMelva, I am so sorry for your numerous losses. Fond memories are nice to reflect on, but they aren't the same as making new ones.
ReplyDeleteI no longer make quilts for donation. However, that is what I plan to do as I wind down my art career. I see it as a great to cope with an aging body and mind. I did make quilts for donation for several decades when I belonged to my local guild and eventually became Chair of the Charity outreach. In fact, I set up The Power of the Quilt Project approximately 20 years ago. It was a combined effort between my church and my guild. We gave to Project Linus, to two local cancer treatment centers and by personal request.
I started initially making donation quilts for Project Linus. They were mostly crib size with some being throw size. But due to some changes and increased needs at my church, I'm making throw or twin sized quilts.
ReplyDeleteI love that you went by the house to say goodbye, that is a sweet closure. The camping quilt looks beautiful in its natural habitat, and that blue string quilt is so pretty. I made a couple donation quilts to send to Bernie for Mercy Hospital, but I want to find something local. I've had no luck researching online, so I probably should pray about it, right? Lol, duh!
ReplyDeleteYour string quilt is a beauty, Melva! You really finished that fast! Could you share some info about how you're making the book for your camping quilt, too? Are your pages coming from blog posts? How are you transferring the words and photos into a document? I really want to do that for my Pieces of My Life quilt. And to answer your question - yes, I do donate some of the quilts I make. In the last few years I have been sending them to Cynthia's Brunz of Quilting is More Fun than Housework for her charity, Many Hands and Many Hearts.
ReplyDeleteI love your strings, and songs running thru your mind as you sew. I also love the note a week jar, and plan to link to that post on my next "I Like " post on Thursday. There are a lot of non sewists who read that one just to see the things everyone liked that week. I loved that post and how you write, congrats on the closing of a chapter on mom and dad's house, on thanking it for it's service and closing a door. One less thing pulling at your time to do. Love, LeeAnna (not afraid of color)(also in Colorado)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the feature Melva. I love your string quilt. A few years ago I made one out of pinks.
ReplyDeleteYour string quilt really caught my eye. I like the center light color. It sounds like a great way to get some strips out of the stash! I've been quilting for 40 years (and have some fabric to prove it!) So I don't need quilts for my use although every once in a while I fall in love with one I am making. However, for the most part, all of the quilts I make are donated. I make every thing from doll quilts, placemats, baby quilts to lap quilts. All are donated through my local quilt guild. I am particularly pleased when one of my quilts goes to a veteran and family who attend our local Honor Ranch. Making quilts is much better than therapy. And, considering what is happening with our country -- I need to quilt to take my mind off of the devastation.
ReplyDeleteOh my. How sweet to thank the house for taking care of your parents. Beautiful. Congratulations on the success of your almost finished renovation! The quilt is lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your blessings jar. Just this morning I decided to continue my Three Moments a Day journal to focus on my own blessings. I understand your pain. I truly do. Hugs to you. May the coming year smooth out with joy and strength as special anniversaries remind you of your loved ones.
Oh my. How sweet to thank the house for taking care of your parents. Beautiful. Congratulations on the success of your almost finished renovation! The quilt is lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your blessings jar. Just this morning I decided to continue my Three Moments a Day journal to focus on my own blessings. I understand your pain. I truly do. Hugs to you. May the coming year smooth out with joy and strength as special anniversaries remind you of your loved ones.
I love how the blue quilt turned out and yay to decreasing scraps!!
ReplyDeleteI never knew that you also created a book to go along with your Camping Journal quilts! How perfect, and so reflective of your writing talent. Thanks for sharing on my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions/2025/02/25/wednesday-wait-loss-421
How cool that you are making a book to go with the camping quilt!
ReplyDeleteLove your strings quilt! I haven't got any sew to tell about this week sadly, but hopefully will be able to join in again next week! Thanks for joining in on Home Matters Linky Party! I will be featuring your post this week! #HomeMattersParty xx
ReplyDeleteI love that you created a book to go with your camping journal quilt and it is beautiful in it's natural habitat!! Your blue string finish is gorgeous. Now have fun with your next projects! Thanks for sharing with us at Monday Musings.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, Melva, you had a busy week last week for sure. Congratulations on the beautiful quilt finish and I hope that this week has been a gentle one for you. Thanks for linking up with Favorite Finish!
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