Simon's PIECES quilt

Thanksgiving and my birthday have come and gone.  We spent the holiday in Washington, D.C. with Joshua and Jessica at Joel and Cara's home.  And of course, Simon.  Since Simon had been in the hospital with pneumonia, I had to take him a PIECES quilt.  Here he is having been playing peek-a-boo with Papa.

Simon like giraffes so this was the perfect quilt for him.  

As the cold weather starts to set in, I find I am so grateful for those days that I can spend the whole day in the sewing room.  I have recently added some shelving units to help sort our fabric donations.  I like the way it looks and it makes it so much easier to pull fabrics that will be happy together.

Here's some of the quilts we have delivered to the hospital for the kids.

This was a kit that Judith cut and Teresa sewed.  A new quilter to our group, Jean, took it and quilted the fun Christmas trees.

Aren't these snowmen fun?  The backing is Santa Claus with his list.  Sandy quilted this one.  Hopefully you can see  the holly leaves and berries.

This is a quilt that was donated by someone in the local quilt guild.  It is made up of simple snowball blocks but looks so good for a winter quilt.

More snowmen!  This is a cute, snugly quilt.  Sandy also quilted it and put lots of detail into it.

Life has been a bit hectic for me recently so I have not posted as often as I would like to.  My plan is to be able to show you lots more of the quilts we have.  Each and every one of them is unique and has it's own charm.  Please check back to see what's new!

Be Thankful

It is hard to believe it is time for Thanksgiving.  Before we know it, Christmas will be here.  This is a busy time of the year for everyone.  Fortunately for me, everyone who helps with PIECES makes time in their busy schedule to keep us supplied in quilts for the kids.

A big thank you to Paula.  She donated supplies that we use such as laundry products.  This is a huge help.  Paula also donated fabric not to mention a number of quilt tops that she has pieced.  We also got a wonderful donation of fabric from a sweet lady named Vicky.  She is downsizing and going to travel with her husband in an RV.  While she is going to continue quilting, it will be on a much smaller scale.

I had planned on showing you some quilts today.  I just discovered that my allotted space to store photos for the blog is full!  I am going to have to upgrade in order to show you more of these great quilts.  In the meantime, I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I know we all have many things to be thankful for.

Four Hundred Plus

We have hit a milestone! It is not one I had ever anticipated when I decided to make a few quilts.  We have now donated 410 quilts to LMH Pediatrics!!!  I don't know about you, but I think that is a huge number.  For those of you that quilt, you know the time you spend on one quilt.  If you pieced a top, quilted a top, sewed a binding or made a donation, pat yourself on the back!  After you finish that, say out loud, "I made a difference."  Each and every one of you are incredible.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  Not only have you made a difference for all the 410 children, but you've made a difference in my life too.

Speaking of that, several people have given us great donations of fabric.  Thanks to Barbara, Terry, Liz and Susan.

I have terrific quilts to show you!

I know Halloween has passed but I didn't want to miss the chance to show you two more of the Halloween quilts we did.  This one began at Judith's house.  Sandy quilted it.  She pieced the backing--isn't it cute?  After that, she went a little crazy and quilted it with totally awesome quilting.  The orange thread is perfect.  She could have done some simple quilting that would have been quick but instead decided to put extra work into it to make it special.  Thanks Sandy!

This Halloween quilt also started at Judith's house and ended up with Sandy.  Sandy did quilting with orange thread that looks like bat wings.

This quilt was pieced by Susan.  It is a bit larger than some of our quilts.  That makes it perfect for a teenage girl.

Isn't this a fun quilt?  It has all kinds of dogs and dog faces in the panels.  The red and blue accent fabrics make it great for a little boy.  Jenni pieced it and Shannon added the perfect backing and quilting.

Paula pieced this sweet quilt.  Nan added the backing and the pretty quilting.  I think this one is just so soft and soothing.

This quilt is called Crazy Eights because you use eight fat quarters.  Susan pieced it.  Sandy used a fun tan batik on the back.  As you can see from the bottom photo she went crazy again and did lots of quilting on it.  (I just love it when she gets crazy like that!)

Because everyone has been very busy helping keep quilts ready for the kids, I have lots more to show you.  I think I will save those for another day.

Simon is getting very close to walking!  It helps to hang on.  

You should hang on too.  We're on our way to 500--our next milestone!

Simon Says

Simon says...

Wait till you see the quilts Mimi has to show you today!

This quilt is yummy!  Sandy pieced it with a new technique.  You randomly sew scraps together to make a slab of fabric.  It uses up scraps which is awesome, but it is also unique.  You just can't duplicate it!  Sandy also quilted it using modern quilting designs.  

Here's another Halloween quilt that Judith cut.  She passed it on to Teresa to sew.  Sandy quilted it and although you can't really see it in the picture, she added Halloween themed quilting with pumpkins and the words "Happy Halloween".

Sports is the theme here.  Sashed blocks using sports fabric works great for a boy of any age.

This is a cute little quilt for a little guy.  It has dogs, dog bones, and paw prints.  Nan quilted it for us.

Red, white and blue is a timeless combination for a quilt.

This was a disappearing nine patch kit that I cut.  I was excited to see how the color combination was going to work so I started sewing it.  My sister came to visit and as is often the case, we trade projects back and forth.  She ended up taking it to finish it--my curiosity had been satisfied.  We then passed it on to Sandy who added great quilting.

These are the quilts I have for you today and.....

Simon says....

I just love looking at Mimi's quilts!

Halloween is Coming!

I got a very sweet thank you card in the mail yesterday.  Georgia and her son James sent a note thanking us for the beautiful quilt he received while he was a patient in the hospital.  She says he uses it every night.  I love hearing from a family that takes home one of our quilts.  It makes me wonder which quilt he received.  And I always hope what the illness was is long gone.

I was supposed to be getting things done around the house today.  Greg and I are traveling tomorrow to Connecticut for a few days.  There was laundry to do, packing and general picking up around the house.  Did I do it?  Well....the last load of laundry is in the dryer.  The suitcases are sitting out but nothing is in them.  I did put away the clean clothes and I have in my mind what to pack.  But the answer is no.   I didn't get them done as planned.  Instead I sewed.  I always intend to get ready and then sew, but something comes over me and I end up sewing while I try to get ready.  It really doesn't work very well, but I have a great time!  And in my defense I took time out to take six Halloween quilts to the hospital today.  The holiday will soon be here!  Enough about my lack of progress today.  Here are some awesome quilts!!

First of all, I apologize that the picture of this quilt is not as sharp as it could be.  The quilt is absolutely darling.  Judith took scraps of Halloween fabric and somehow made it all work.  She cut the kit, Teresa sewed it and Shannon quilted it.

I love this quilt!  I usually am not drawn to scrappy quilts but there is something about this one that warms my heart.  I had lots of triangles that I pieced together.  I started sewing them together.  Deb took over and pieced the top.  Be sure to notice the sashing fabric.  It looks like chicken wire!  Sandy added the backing and quilting.  I think it turned out so sweet!  And it used up a lot of scraps that some people throw away!

I admit I am responsible for this girl quilt.  I cut the kit for this disappearing nine patch.  It is shades of blues and purples with some neutrals thrown in.  The color combination is very soft .  Nan added the backing and quilting.  

Kathy sewed and quilted this quilt that will be great for a little boy.  It has all kinds of space aliens on it.

This quilt was made and donated to us by a wonderful lady from our local quilt guild.  It is larger than many of our quilts which makes it great for a teenage boy.  She quilted a different motif in each strip.  It turned out stunning.  A big thank you to her!

Here's another one of our Halloween quilts.  Judith cut a kit from scraps once again.  She gave it to Teresa who sewed it.  Kathy quilted it for us.  The spiders on it are spooky!

This last quilt for today is a sweet thing that Paula pieced for us.  It has circus animals in the diamonds.  Shannon added the backing and quilting.  It's a cute pattern that will work for either a boy or girl.

One of the things I love about our group is that we all get to do the parts we want.  Some cut kits, some sew, and some quilt.  There are those of us who like to do bindings and some who like to do it all.  The key is we get to do whatever we want!  It feels good when you finish your part and it moves on to the next person to add their part.

We've been very busy trying to get quilts ready.  I have so many more I want to share with you but I really have to get packed.  My procrastination is now catching up with me!  I hope you enjoyed looking.  Thanks for checking us out!