Back on Track

We have things repaired, replaced and back on track at our house (fingers crossed behind my back).  I was actually able to get back into my sewing room yesterday.  It was great to be in there messing with fabric again!  Touching fabric for you non-quilters may seem weird, but you quilters know just how good that feels!! I have so many ideas for quilts that I can't wait to start. 
   Some good news came my way this week.  Nan, who hosted the charity swap for fabrics for our group and Shannon, who is a friend of Nan's, have volunteered to help quilt some of the quilts for us.  This is a huge offer on their part and I am very excited to have them joining in.
  To give you a little bit of insight, I thought I would share our process. Right now, I collect the fabrics from anyone who shares their scraps with us.  I try to put together a kit for a quilt top. One of my favorite things about the process of making a quilt is cutting the fabric.  Sometime I have what I need and sometimes I have to scrounge to find what will work.  After I get the kit together and cut, I pass it on to Beth, Shelly, or Susan.  They will sew the quilt top and return it to me.  I then "sandwich" the quilt with batting and backing and quilt it.  I will then pass it on to Beth, along with the binding.  She puts the binding on and sews on the label.  The quilt then gets passed on to my friend Carrol who has recently began washing them for us. They have to be washed in fragrance and dye free detergent and softener to avoid allergies.  Then they are put in a stack ready to be delivered to the hospital.  So, if things are going well, we always have quilts in progress and some ready to be delivered.  Our "assembly line" works quite well and takes advantage of everyone's abilities.  I admit sometimes I just can't stand it and I sew a quilt top myself when I really have other things to be doing.  Sometimes I will make a quilt block that we haven't used before to see if it is one that we can make quickly and will work for us.  Since we are making quilts for "almost newborns" to 18 year olds, we need lots of variety.

   Here is a picture of a block I have been playing with.  Who knows, you may see it in a quilt soon!

There are two lessons I have learned:

1.  Figure out how to make it work with what you have.

2.  You might not like it but someone will.

This is a very simple quilt made of pastel 4 1/2 inch squares but is one of my favorites.  It is soft and sweet.

Yellow is my favorite color so of course this one is one I like.

This quilt is anything but soft and sweet!  It is one of the first ones we made and it was made with fabric we found at an estate sale.  It is a prime example of lesson #2.  I don't like it but the kids at the hospital did!

Time for me to play with fabric!

Just a Bump in the Road

Just when things are going well and you get in a comfort zone, life comes along and gives you a jolt.  That is exactly what happened to Greg and I on Friday evening.  We were settling in to watch football on tv.  It was raining and the kind of night you grab a quilt to throw over your feet.  All of a sudden we heard the loudest sound you can imagine.  We had been hit by lightening.  Technically our beautiful, huge tulip tree had been hit.  Several large limbs had fallen on our neighbor's fence and on our lawn.  We were very fortunate they didn't land on our roof.  Our neighbor said he saw a large orange ball of flames when it hit, but luckily we didn't have a fire.  At this point we are still finding out things that have been "fried" by the lightening.  On top of  two tv's, our desktop computer and a garage door, we found out our furnace and air conditioning were bad also.  So....bottom line is I have been busy calling adjusters and repairmen.  I apologize for not getting something more interesting posted but hope to be able to get back closer to normal in a couple of days. This has been testing our patience but after all....it is just a bump in the road!

Marla

Time for Quilts

This is Chloe, a darling little 2 year old.  She received our first quilt and I was very lucky to be able to give it to her.  She is really a lot more interested in her toys than in me.  We unexpectedly got a phone call from the family letting us know how much the quilt meant to them.  You can't imagine how wonderful it felt to be able to give it to her.  Words won't describe how I felt leaving the hospital that day!

Now--on to more quilts!

Some of our quilts are quite bright.  The kids love them.  Their hospital rooms are white--calm and soothing.  These quilts bring a shot of color and cheer to the room.

We try to make quilts that will appeal to different ages.  Some are definitely more for boys or more for girls.  Hopefully each child, regardless of age, will find one they like.  We have already given quilts to those as young as ten days and to those as old as 16.  The unit cares for kids up to age 18.  Denise reports that the nurses have so much fun going in and giving away the quilts. One little boy was seen clutching the quilt every time the nurse went in the room.  I would say he liked it!  As hot as our summer has been you would wonder how nice a quilt sounds.  The rooms are kept very cool so having something to cuddle helps keep them a little warmer.  Plus doesn't everyone need some comfort when they don't feel well? I know I grab a quilt every chance I get.

Check back.  I will be posting more of the fun quilts we have already finished. There are lots more to come!

Our Stash

Every family has a member who is designated "the worrier".  That would be my sister.  Susan can worry about not worrying.  Don't get me wrong.  I worry.  I just try to be more selective.  Her big worry when I called to tell her I was starting this whole thing, was where were we going to get the fabric?  I, of course, was not worried.  We would just wing it.  I am a scrap lover and I thought we'll use what we have and it will all work out.  Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed exactly how it has worked out.  The four of us started pooling what we had that we were willing to give up.  I posted a message on the SMS group site that I belong to.  Before I knew it, a couple of people sent me fabric.  Then Nan D. hosted a charity swap in which everyone sent bright fat quarters.  I wish everyone knew Nan.  She has this sweet little Georgia accent that just makes you want to be her friend the minute you hear her.  If her smile and infectious giggle doesn't brighten your day, I don't know what would.  A friend of Nan's emailed me and told me if I would drive to her house she would fill my car with goodies she was willing to give up. It was incredible.  Since then we have had all sorts of people give us fabric and batting.  You can not imagine what the stacks in my basement looked like. So to all those who have given, thank you, thank you.  No scrap has been too small, no amount insignificant.  We are using it all. 

Road Trip

On Monday, my sister and I drove to Emporia Kansas to meet.  That is about halfway for both us.  We planned on swapping quilting stuff and then going to the quilt shop there.  It was a beautiful day with a hint of the fall air to come.  She brought me quilt tops she had done and ready for me to quilt and I took her more kits that I had assembled from the stash of fabric.  (More on our wonderful stash later.)  We had a great time looking at all the stuff we each had in our many sacks.  Things were looking good, we hopped out of the car and went up to the door of the quilt store.  It was locked.  Yes, yes, yes.  They are closed on Mondays.  In all the planning, I hadn't even thought to check.  Major bummer.  We ended up browsing in Walmart, bought some vitamins, and went and had lunch.  It did save us some money!  We had a good time together, so it was a fun day.  Here's a picture of us. 

I hate pictures of myself, but I swallowed hard and posted the picture below.  We are presenting Denise, the head nurse of the pediatric floor, the first stack of quilts.  Beth is first with one of my favorite quilts.  It is yellow and pink--my two favorite colors.  Next is me with a very bright pinwheel quilt.  Denise of course is the one wearing hospital scrubs.  (They are the most comfortable clothes you can wear out in public.  I wish someone would start a new fashion trend so we can all wear scrubs!)  Shelly is last holding the orange, blue and green quilt.  Susan, my sister, lives a couple of hours away so she couldn't be here to go with us.  I wish she could have joined us, but all things considered, I'd rather she stayed home and worked on quilt tops!!  I will try to post a picture of her at some point.  We took 11 quilts at the end of May.  Summer is the slow time for the pediatric unit.  Everyone is too busy swimming, biking, and enjoying their summer to get sick.  Denise is one of the most awesome people you will ever meet.  I know she is great at her job just by being around her a short time.  We got a tremendous response to the quilts we took and left feeling like we had done a very good thing.  Off to make more quilts.....

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