Travel for Business and Pleasure

The last couple of weeks have been spent traveling for business and pleasure.  Greg and I spent four days in Arizona.  Arizona in the summer you ask?  Yes, and it was cooler there than it was here.  Yikes!!  We had the chance to spend a day in Sedona which is absolutely beautiful.

And surprise!!  Look what we just happened to find while looking at the beautiful scenery.

You just never know what you are going to run across when sightseeing.  Time to stop to stretch our legs!!

Here's some great quilts for you.

I love this quilt.  Judith took a variety of scraps that were all florals.  She cut a kit, I passed it on to Teresa who pieced it and it ended up with Shannon who quilted it.  It is just so soft and peaceful.

Susan took lots of red scraps and added some white fabric.  She came up with this graphic top.  I added the dotted fabric which I found in my fabric closet. for the border  It just screamed to be added to the top.  Nan continued the dot theme with a great black and white backing and wonderful quilting.

This was a panel that Deb cut apart, added the orange sashing and the green border.  Nan added the perfect backing and the quilting.

This charmer was a kit I put together and Paula sewed it.  Shannon put a blinding orange backing on it and her always great quilting.  The backing  couldn't be any better!

You can never have too many cowboy quilts.  Judith cut this kit and Teresa sewed it.  Shannon added the blue backing and the quilting.

This is a product of my never ending mission to use up scraps.  I hunted for pastel strips that were two and one half inches wide.  I made rail fence blocks and pieced them together.  I think it turned out darling.  I love the soft pastels.

The week after Arizona found Greg and me in Indiana.  From there we traveled to Washington, DC to visit Simon and his parents, Joel and Cara.  We had a fun visit but it was time to come home all too soon.  

These six quilts are lots of fun but I have more awesome quilts to show you soon.  Thanks as always for looking.

Summertime in Kansas

Kansas in the summertime.  Heat, heat and more heat.  This past week found me in the Phoenix, Arizona area for a couple of meetings.  Believe it or not, it wasn't quite as hot as Kansas.  Of course, it was still hot.  I've decided the only thing to do when it is this hot is to stay in and quilt!

While I was in Phoenix, I got a message saying the hospital needed more quilts suitable for boys.  This morning I took a nice stack of quilts to the hospital.  When I entered the lobby area of the hospital, a couple of delightful ladies who were manning the information desk asked me about the quilts I was carrying.  I ended up having a wonderful conversation with them.  It is always so rewarding to have someone notice our work and be interested in this project.  It confirms we are making a difference in the lives of others.

Although I spent four days in Arizona, my time wasn't wasted by any means.  I took a couple of quilts with me to sew on the bindings.  I have some great quilts for you.

Isn't this a fantastic quilt?  A dear lady made this and donated it to us.  All I had to do was add our label.  We so appreciate her work and her thoughtfulness.  Some little girl is going to fall in love with this quilt.

This great quilt was sewn and quilted by Kathy.    It is bright and just right for a young child.

For some reason, the hospital always seems to need more quilts suitable for a boy.  Is that because we make more suited for girls?  I don't think so.  Are boys as a rule sick more than girls?  I don't know the answer, but this quilt fits the bill.  Cowboy fabrics and boots and cowboy themed motifs are quilted into this charmer.

Beatrix Potter is a classic that is still popular with little ones.  This will be a popular quilt.

Red, blue and numbers all over!  This is a great quilt to practice counting.

Soccer balls!  A border of kids playing soccer makes this quilt the complete package.

Plaid flannel and Dalmations make a soft and snuggly quilt for a dog lover.

Seven darling quilts are on their way to sick kids.  A big thank you to those who helped in any manner with these.  A big thank you to you for stopping by.  See you next time!

Sew Day

PIECES is a rather unique quilting group.  Normally we don't meet as a group but rather work individually on the parts of a quilt that we enjoy doing.  Since our second anniversary had just passed we decided to have a "Sew Day".  The theme of the day was scraps.  Those of us who were able to get together worked on projects using scraps.  We had great food, lots of laughs, and a chance to spend some time together.

Here's some awesome quilts.

This was a disappearing 9 patch kit I cut to pass on to one of the sewers.  The more I looked at it, the more I liked it.  I ended up sewing it myself.  I love the way it turned out.  Shannon added a gorgeous backing and the quilting.

Paula pieced this modern looking quilt top in soft colors and white.  Sandy quilted it.  It is a simple pattern and colors but makes a big impact when finished.

This quilt was donated by a local quilt guild member.  It was pieced and quilted when we received it.  Cowboy prints and awesome quilting makes this little boy's quilt a winner!

I was given a sack of fabric that someone donated.  I was delighted to find this array of pink prints.  They were put together by Teresa and quilted by Shannon.  What a soft quilt for a little girl.

We have made many log cabin quilts.  They are great because  they use scraps and are easy to put together.  They also can be made easily in any size.  A boy or a girl is always happy to get one of these colorful quilts.

And finally, this darling quilt was put together by Deb.  I had this ice cream fabric and no idea what to do with it.  Deb took it and turned it into a delightful quilt.  Shannon added the backing and the quilting.  Some little girl will think it is just yummy!

Thanks as always for looking at our quilts.  I'll leave you with this yummy thing.....

Two Years

Yesterday was an important day for PIECES.  On May 28th of 2010 Greg and I delivered our first stack of quilts to Lawrence Memorial Hospital.  We actually were able to give the first quilt to a little girl named Chloe.  It all started with the idea of making a few quilts.  Here we are two years later, hundreds of quilts and a whole lot of children who found some "unexpected joy from a difficult situation".  My unending gratitude goes out to all of you that have chosen to be a part of this journey.  Whether you donated a spool of thread, some leftover fabric, or purchased new supplies, you have been a big part of making this happen.  You may have volunteered to piece some tops or quilt a top and ended up quilting dozens.  I cannot say thank you enough.  I could never have done this without you.  Regardless of what or how much you have done, you have made a difference not only  to a child and their family, you have made a difference to me.  

The quilt above was made by Paula who is new to our group.  Paula is from the Kansas City area and has donated a great deal of her stash and several quilt tops.  Welcome to the madness, Paula!  We are delighted to have you.  Sandy took Paula's top (that included the backing as well) and gave it some quilted loops.  It is bright and will be a great quilt for a boy or girl.

This quilt I must say was not a favorite of mine.  We had some John Deere fabric and needed to use it.  I put a kit together, Teresa sewed it and then it went to Sandy.  She did some very creative quilting that really suited the piece.  It ended up going to a little boy who fell in love with it.  The lesson is I need to learn not to judge fabric.  I may not like it, but it can end up a great quilt for someone waiting for a quilt to fall in love with.


Speaking of falling in love......

Off to Laramie

I feel the need to apologize for not posting sooner.  We have lots of great quilts to show you.  But as you all know, life gets in the way  sometimes.  I have been traveling every week for the last month and a half.  Keeping up with that and the quilts fills my time.  It seems the blog takes a back seat!  Hopefully we can get somewhat caught up.
Greg and I traveled to Laramie, Wyoming yesterday.  We had a wonderful trip, a very good meeting for me last night and we are back home to sleep in our own bed tonight.  I normally check the internet to see if there happens to be a quilt store wherever I am going.  Laramie indeed had one and it looked like it would be a nice one.  When we arrived in Laramie, it was much colder than expected and in fact had snowed that morning with a "white-out".  Greg offered to make sure I was able to go to the quilt store, but I was cold and ready to stay in our room and read a book.  We were driven to the meeting and as is often the case, we were there earlier than we needed to be.  I happened to glance at the store next to the restaurant  where the meeting was.  Believe it or not, it was the quilt store!  Being early suddenly was not as bad as it seemed.  We went into the quilt store, did a little shopping and met some wonderful ladies.  So if you ever happen to find yourself near Laramie, be sure to find the quilt store.  It is worth the time.

This is a quilt that Shannon pieced and quilted.  It is such a fun quilt made out of charm squares.

This quilt is from some fabric I gave to Deb and said "Do something with this!"  Of course Deb came through as she always does and this is the cute result.  Bears with honey and bees and a cute star backing makes this one a sweet quilt.

This cute quilt was a panel that Sandy took, added some sashing and borders.  She also quilted it.  Someone who likes cats will fall in love with it.

Everyone knows we use lots of small scraps.  We never turn anything away that someone will donate.  So what can we do with them?  Just take a look at this quilt that Judith put together.  Isn't it incredible?  Some of us (no names, please) have control issues when it comes to colors in a quilt.  Judith thankfully doesn't.  


I have lots more quilts to show you--but I will save those for another day.  I will leave you though with two sweet pictures.

Thanks for letting me share quilts and Simon!