Making a Difference

Usually one of the first things I do when I get up in the morning is to check my email.  It is kind of like checking the snail mail in the afternoon.  I can't wait until it comes because there might be something good in it.  And no, there usually isn't anything good.  Yesterday morning I checked my email as usual, but unlike most days when I have mostly updates from websites I have subscribed to, I had an email from a name I didn't recognize.  I quickly opened it and found the most awesome message.  I want to share it with you.  I made sure that Jennifer was good with my sharing.

Hi Marla,

I wanted to send you a very special thanks for the beautiful blanket that you and your team made for my son. We were vacationing family in Lawrence and had an unexpected scare with my son Vincenzo and he was admitted to the hospital with bronchitis. Thank you so much for your time and effort, you are doing an amazing thing for children all over. He now sleeps with it every night and it will forever be with us. Can you please send along our thanks and pass on this picture to those who were involved in making the quilt. Vincenzo says THANKS!

Jennifer Christiano

Is that an awesome email or what!!!!  And what a beautiful child.

Talk about an email making an impact!  We always hope our quilts go to someone who will love them.  We do get thank yous in the mail from time to time and we certainly are thrilled to get them.  This email along with a picture of Vincenzo actually in the hospital with his quilt is priceless.  Of course, we wish he hadn't had to go to the hospital, but I'm very happy he got a quilt.

In the morning when we all get out of bed, I doubt that most of us think about who we might make an impact on that day.  I have to admit I don't.  I make quilts.  That is what I do.  It isn't a big deal but on this day it was a big deal to Jennifer and her son.  I am grateful that I and this group had the opportunity to make a difference. 

Jury Duty

I recveived a notice in the mail a few weeks ago that I am on call for jury duty.  Most people I know will do anything to get out of serving on a jury.  I am exactly opposite.  I like being called for jury duty.  Having previously served on a jury plus a several year stint working for a high profile law office gives me a different perspective I suppose.  I actually find it all interesting and think it is a good thing for everyone to do at least once.  I have had to call in every couple of days to see if I need to report.  Last week I was a bit torn.  I had a dental cleaning scheduled.  Jury duty or the dentist????  It ended up no jury duty and clean teeth.  I think it worked out for the best.  Last night I did the routine call thing expecting a recording saying I didn't need to report.  To my surprise I had to report this morning at 8:30.  Off I went thinking all the time this is going to cut into my sewing time.  After being there 30 minutes the clerk comes in to tell us the state does not have their witnesses ready to go so the trial would not start today after all.  My session ends Friday so I do not have to call anymore.  I am done!  My sewing time is intact!

Let's check out some of the latest quilts we've done.

Fun and bright daisies--a girl would have to love these!

Isn't the backing great?  Our quilter even quilted daisies on the quilt!

The crayons on this one paired with the striped border would work for either a boy or a girl. 

The blue backing is perfect.  It has subtle color variations to make it pop.

This is a red and white disappearing 9-patch.  The simplicity of the two colors is great.

The backing with houses and baskets of apples is the perfect finishing touch.

I love the soothing colors of this quilt.  The squares have dragonflies on them for fun.

This backing is just the punch this quilt needed.  Blues and greens with daisies give a burst of color.  The quilter added some dragonflies to her quilting!

This quilt is different from anything I have done before.  I had a piece of fabric that was so cute that I didn't want to cut it into small pieces.  I cut it into four pieces and added the checkerboard.  Easy-peasy. 

Can't you just see a little boy running his car along the streets of this fabric?

The blue backing gives your eyes a place to rest with all the busy pieces on the front of the quilt.

Some of my readers have been asking for more quilts, more pictures.  Hopefully, you enjoyed seeing a few more quilts today than the usual.  It is cold, damp, and dreary here. Wherever you are, I hope these pictures have brought a smile to your face and a bit of sunshine in your life.



New Numbers

I want to update everyone on our numbers.  Last year (May 28, 2010 to December 31, 2010) we delivered 75 quilts to Lawrence Memorial Hospital.  This year (January 1, 2011 to March 24, 2011) we have given LMH 62 quilts.  If my math is correct and I can't guarantee that--I absolutely hate math--we have given the pediatric unit 137 quilts.  Is that amazing or what?  I am so excited by the numbers.  The numbers show we certainly had a surge of sick children from January thru March.  We are hoping that is on the downhill slide now.  Our goal though is not to stop.  Hopefully we can stockpile some finished quilts and next year we won't have the frequent panic attacks!!!  Everyone around me would be happier without my panic attacks!
Let's look at some quilts.

I love these pink and black cats.  Simple and fast to put together, these cats are plain fun.  The backing helps to make this quilt pop!

We have shown you a quilt similar to this.  Similar is the key word.  We still have not made two quilts alike.  This is a great pattern and fabrics to use for a quilt for a guy.  Be sure to look at the fun quilting.

Yes, I know.  This penguin quilt is sideways.  Yes, I can turn it on my computer, but when I post it here, it turns right back. I am sure someone could do it right, but that would not be me.  So, humor me.  Turn your head to look at it.  It is too cute not to show you.  And the backing is so fun with all the occupations kids can choose. Just for the record, there are professional photographers that specialized in taking photos of nothing but quilts.  I think you can tell, I am not one of them.  Thanks as always for caring enough to take a look.

Comfort Food and Quilting

It is cold and spitting snow today.  I decided it was time for comfort food.  Meatloaf and potatoes are in the oven!  That means I can concentrate on sewing and quilts! But first, I thought I would share a little more of San Fransisco.

This is a snapshot of Greg and me with Fisherman's Wharf in the background.  If you look really close in the upper left hand corner is a bit of Alcatraz.  We had just finished up our session for the day and we had thrown on our basketball watching gear and headed out for the KU Alumni Bar.  It was cold and rainy and I was exhuasted.  A few pre-game jitters were hanging around too!

This is the street in front of our hotel.  We were right in the heart of the shopping district.  Yes, that is Saks Fifth Avenue on the corner.  No, I didn't go in.  No, I didn't go in any shops.  No, I didn't go to the 5 story fabric store that was 2 blocks away.  My schedule did not fit a shopping schedule!  However, I did get to meet 10 other people who share my disease and a passion for living our best life.  I made friends and that is certainly an awesome highlight of the trip.  As one of the people said, "Kindred souls find each other".  She is so right on that!

It's quilt time!!

A fun pink and green rail fence with sashing.  It says spring is coming!

It's Mickey--Mickey Mouse!!  And from the looks of the backing, Mickey must be singing his favorite song!

This was a panel that we cut up and the piecer added sashing and borders.  The quilter carried on the ocean theme with the backing.

Three very different quilts for three awesome children.  Next time I'll be updating you on our numbers at this point.  Be ready to be amazed!

Delayed

I'm sorry about leaving you waiting at the airport, however, that is just what we did.  We were scheduled to leave Phoenix at 10:15.  Our flight ended up leaving at 1:20, although it was iffy up until the last minute if we would leave then.  Ordinarily, a flight delay is not a problem.  I enjoy airports and I had plenty of things to read.  I like browsing in the shops just in case I find something I really didn't need.  Which I did.  I found a great tote bag that was $30 originally marked down to $6.99.  You just can't pass up something like that!  The problem with this flight delay was that Kansas University was playing basketball that afternoon.  We had planned on arriving in San Fransisco, checking into our hotel, and then going to the local KU Alumni Bar to watch the game.  We quickly realized that wasn't going to happen.  We landed safely and were picked up by a limousine.  I've always wanted to have someone standing there with my name on a sign and that is exactly what happened.  Oh, and did I mention that he was tall, dark and had a wonderful Brazilian accent?  We were treated to a nice ride to the hotel which was unbelievable.  Historic, downtown in the shopping district, and very upscale.  I don't believe I have ever stayed in a hotel room that had a chandalier.  More about my trip later, but let's look at some quilts. 

Even as an adult, I love crayons so this fabric jumped out at me.

The quilting is great for this quilt.

And what a fun backing!

This quilt was put together completely with leftovers from another quilt.  We certainly get lots of mileage from our fabric!

The pink flamingos just say fun!

I absolutely fell in love with the backing our quilter used!

Is this cute, or what?

These ducks are darling and the colors are so sweet!

The backing is perfect.

I hope you enjoyed the quilts today.  Check back.  I'll be giving you some more information on my jaunt to San Fransisco and as usual some absolutely awesome quilts. 

A Change of Pace

Today's post is a little change of pace.  I've spent the last week finishing bindings on quilts and getting them to the hospital as fast as I can.  Shelly has been able to pitch in and help me which I am very grateful for.  It has been hectic, but we are still on track and we haven't missed anyone getting a quilt.
Yesterday Greg and I flew to San Fransico for the next step in my being an ambassador for the new medication I am taking for my multiple sclerosis.  We took off for the airport, got about 10 blocks from home and I realized I forgot the camera.  I certainly could not go without it so we quickly turned around and went back to pick it up.  Okay, so now we're good.  We get to the airport and there were people and baggage everywhere.  I guess it is spring break and people are going places!  The lines went pretty quickly and we finally boarded the plane.  I should have known forgetting the camera was an omen of things to come.  We were to change planes in Phoenix and we arrived there on time.  It was absolutely beautiful flying into Phoenix.  It was warm and the sun was shining brightly.  When we checking on our connecting flight we realized it had been delayed.  So our wait began.  Apparently San Fransico had heavy rain and high winds.  Our wait began.

It's Madness

This is my favorite time of year.  The tender green shoots of crocus, daffodils and tulips are beginning to reach upward.  The sun has begun to have some warmth to it and the birds are returning.  Yes, spring is on it's way.  But those things to me signify it's time for March Madness!  As most of you know, I am a huge college sports fan.  It doesn't get any better than getting my Diet Pepsi, some snacks, my laptop computer and settling in for basketball games all day and evening.  This year I have my own sort of March Madness.  That would be keeping the hospital stocked with quilts.  So in addition to my usual staples, I also have a stack of quilts, spools of thread, needles and scissors all ready to go.  It is amazing how fast you can hand sew a binding on during a basketball game.  Before you know it, the game is over and you have a quilt ready.  The best of both worlds.

Here's a bright disappearing 9 patch quilt.  These are always fun for us because you can get so many different looks from the same pattern.

If you look closely (and sideways) you will see the pink flamingos.  Fun, Fun!

And of course a quilt would not be complete without a great backing.  This backing of hot pink stripes with black dots is perfect.  The quilting is a plus too!

Trains anyone? 

              Trains, stars and plaid.  Just what a little guy needs.

Add some great quilting, a swirly back and you are good to go.

            

If you like purple, this is the quilt for you! 

It all started with a piece of floral fabric that didn't seem to catch our eye.  But we (I guess actually my sister) started cutting it up and it got better looking!  She added some odds and ends and sent it to the quilter.  The quilter added some gorgeous gold thread in the quilting and it became beautiful!

     

The quilter used a beautiful orchid floral backing that makes the whole quilt pop.  The rule is "If you don't like the fabric cut it smaller.  If you still don't like it, you didn't cut it small enough."  That certainly held true for this quilt.  Two people with creative talent combine to make a quilt better than they thought it would ever be.

The madness is here for this year.  Next year my hope is that we have worked ahead and the hospital is well stocked.  I'll still be in the thick of March Madness but I'll be sewing bindings calmly and not with the madness I am this year.