The official calendar doesn't say it, but yesterday was the end of summer. Those of you who know me, know that my husband, Greg, teaches high school. That means we have been together all summer. That is not a complaint. We have had a wonderful summer together. But yesterday was his last free day for awhile. School officially started for him this morning. That means I get back into my routine too.
This summer has been eventful. We have traveled with our kids (that was great fun). We found out that we are going to be grandparents (that's even better). Greg and I have also done some traveling for the speaking engagements I am doing regarding the medication Gilenya that I am taking for my multiple sclerosis (and that is awesome). However, through it all and thanks to all our piecers and quilters, the quilts have continued. I am glad to say we have now donated 125 quilts this year. Add that to last year's count and we are at 200!!! How great is that! Who would have ever dreamed we could achieve that milestone?
Speaking of that, last weekend my sister, a cousin that we absolutely love, and I had a cousin weekend. We spent 3 days eating great food thanks to my sister and brother-in-law, talked non-stop and sewed till the wee hours. It was fabulous. We got tons of stuff done and I suspect it won't be the last cousin's weekend we have. Our cousin Terri has a couple of great sisters too. They couldn't make it--one has sons that keep her constantly on the go and the other sister, well shall we just mention that while we were busy making quilts she was....well, just busy. And Florida to Kansas is a bit of a commute.
Speaking of Florida, last week Greg and I flew to Orlando for 4 speaking engagements for Gilenya. We got to see 4 different cities in 3 days. Right. We didn't see that much of them. However, here is a shot of Daytona Beach, just to confirm we were actually there.
Daytona Beach is advertised as the world's most famous beach. We didn't have any time to spend on the beach but at least got to eat and walk on the boardwalk. I am looking forward to all the places that I'll be speaking about Gilenya.
We need to take a look at some quilts!!
This is a fun quilt. It is a friendship star block but if you look at the color selection, it also has a dark blue large friendship star. The lighter blue actually has multi-colored bubbles on it. My friend Missi was very generous to share this great fabric with me.
Karen quilted this for us and used a bright sea animals print.
Here's another of our large I Spy blocks with sweet yellow and pink sashing. A hot pink binding really sets it off.
A pink and yellow flower print for the backing finishes it.
Patriot red, white and blue rail fence is always a good choice.
This quilt is good because you can give it to a boy or a girl. And yes, Missi, you will recognize some of this fabric too!
Here's another fun but fast quilt from Judith. Be sure you notice Karen's great quilting.
Karen added a green backing with fish for a fun look. Striped binding is always a good choice.
Since we live in Kansas, we just had to have a disappearing 9-patch quilt featuring sunflowers.
Of course you can't have flowers without a few bugs!
Shelly pieced this flannel quilt that I call Zoo Animals. Greens, golds and blues make a good combination.
This backing makes a whole zoo of animals!
My sister is the queen of cammo. Here's another great one from her.
(We had lots of cammo fabric donated!)
The blue backing is perfect on this quilt. It brightens the cammo without overpowering it.
We have more zoo animals from Karen. She pieced and quilted this gem.
Dr. Suess was the perfect choice for the backing.
Here's a close up of the animals and the fabulous quilting.
You've seen eight awesome quilts. All different, of course, but all adorable. The hospital tells me how the kids' eyes light up when they walk in the room with a quilt. What a reward that is! Don't forget to check back. We've got more awesome quilts on the way!
