Who Took June????

Can someone tell me where the month of June went???  When spring weather hits, the first thing I do is plant something fun in a planter on my front porch.  It kind of kicks off the season.

Soon after I finished this, June began and we had planned a trip to see Simon (and his mom and dad).  We spent a wonderful ten days being Mimi and Papa doing all sorts of fun things.

All of a sudden it is now hot summer weather and June is gone!  So, rather than waste any more time, let's catch up on quilts!

How fun is this?  Sandy pieced some scraps, pieced a back, and put it all together.  

This pattern is called Little Charmers.  Several of us worked on this one.  The batik backing is interesting!

Cats and mice!  How nice!!

I love the graphic simplicity of this!

I found these wonderful fabrics--stars, dots, swirls and decided they would make a great rail fence.  But I needed something great for the border.  You know, something that would make it pop.  I looked through my stack of fabric scraps that have been donated and saw this border fabric. I got very excited.  It was a great graphic print!  It was only after the quilt was totally finished that I realized the border fabric is really slices of green pepper.  Well, sometimes you just have to use what you have!

I took a mix of squares, nine patches, and chenille fabric and put it all together.  I think it turned out to be a sweet little quilt for a little one.

I'll leave you with a picture of what I spent a lot of my time doing while we were gone in June.

I can't wait to go back!!!

Ryan

There are some days you get out of bed, the skies are cloudy and you just feel like you are in a funk.  You wonder if what you do is worthwhile.  Does anybody notice?  Does anybody care or appreciate it?  Is it really worth all the time and money you spend?  It doesn't matter whether it is your job or something you love doing.  We all have those questions at some point.  If you are lucky something comes along that answers those questions.  Or maybe it isn't luck.  Maybe it is the affirmation that we are making a difference.   I could show you lots of quilts today but I am going to do something different.  I had something come along a couple of days ago.  This is why I started doing what I do and what some wonderful and giving ladies wanted to join.  I have very few days that I ever wonder about it, but for the few times I have, this erases them all.

Dear Marla,

Hello! My name is Kristina. My 5yr old son, Ryan, was at L.M.H. just two weeks ago.  We want to send a heartfelt ‘Thank You’ your way for the amazing quilt.

We ended up in the ER on a Sunday evening because he couldn’t breathe and his lips were blue. That was the first nights of many… My son has really bad asthma and we couldn’t keep his oxygen level up high enough to get sent home. That first Monday morning in the pediatrics is when he received his blanket. Not only did the letter touch my heart, but my son was thrilled!! The blanket even matches his room here at home!!!  All through his extended stay, that blanket was the only thing he wanted to sleep with. I think it is such a wonderful thing you do and the group does… soon I will be sending fabric your way. Please give me an address where I can drop it by. I live in Lawrence so it shouldn’t be too hard to find it! 

Also, I would like to tell you that he is home now and doing well. The blanket is still his favorite! The pictures I have attached are of my son during his stay, one with his 5yr old cousin getting cozy with him under your blanket, and one with him now at home. 
I saw his blanket on your blog and was so excited to see your other works of art! Thank you so much for the warm and encouraging gift!

Sincerely,

Kristina 

I received this email and pictures and immediately knew it is a good thing we do.  It is worth the time, the effort and the money it takes.  Ryan and Kristina know that we care.  And isn't that the best feeling in the world?  It is....next to being able to give to someone else.  Thank you to all who help me make this possible.  I've said it before.  We receive much more than we give.  Thank you Ryan and Kristina for letting us know.


      

The Same But Different

As you probably know PIECES gets a lot of small fabric scraps donated.  That is a very good thing.  We get to use them to make the awesome quilts we give to the pediatric unit at the hospital.  Some quilter gets the satisfaction of cleaning out their stash AND helping us be able to continue our project.  I hate to throw anything away so sometimes I have to get creative with all those little pieces.  (And sometimes I pass them on to another person to get creative.)

Today was one of those days I was just in the mood to play.  I started in sewing and came up with lots of pieces that will end up in some quilts.  It always feels good to use a little stack of scraps and know you made the most of what was donated.

Today I have four rail fence quilts to show you.  Each is very different.  This first one, in blues and yellows, is very soft and peaceful--a quilt that a girl of any age will surely love.

The second one is bright green, black, and white.  It will be a favorite for a boy.  It has a very graphic look.

The third quilt has little butterflies on the front and big butterflies on the back.  The pink, blue and purple give it a soft look for a little girl.

The fourth and last rail fence quilt is totally scrappy.  Soft pastels live happily together in this one.  Four quilts with totally different looks.  My favorite?  I like them all....for different reasons!!

And just so you won't think all we did lately was rail fence quilts, here is a gorgeous scrappy nine patch--another scrap-friendly quilt.

And of course I wanted to show you Simon at daycare.  He loves daycare and my understanding is they love him!

Thanks for looking!

More Volunteers!

This past weekend the local quilt guild held their annual quilt show.  PIECES had a booth with some of our quilts and information about our group.  As a result, we've gotten some fabric, batting, and monetary donations.  Best of all we have a few people who have indicated they would like to help.  It is always great to have people volunteer to help.  Several of our group members jumped in to man the booth and answer questions.  I think everyone enjoyed their time and got to see some awesome quilts as a bonus.  I received this awesome thank you from Kathy who was in charge of the booths.

This is a handmade card and oh so cute!

I was able to get some labels sown on some of our new quilts this week.  Let's look!

This was a kit I cut and Teresa pieced it.  We added flannel to for the backing and Sandy did the awesome quilting.

The disappearing 9 patch pattern is always such a surprise.  You never know how the fabrics are going to work together and what the end result will be.  This is bright and some little girl will love the bows on the back.

Shades of pink!!  Pink flannel squares and cats with pink bows.  Girly, girly, girly!!

    

Paula used charm squares to make half-square triangles and then sewed them together to make this "Charming" quilt!  We added the turquoise backing and Sandy quilted it beautifully.  Hopefully you can see the quilting on the back.

I'd love to see the face of the little boy who receives this quilt!  Space ships and planets to light up his day!

Simon hasn't been feeling good the last few days.  Mommy is reading to him for some quiet time.

March Quilts

March is almost over.  We've had warm weather, two snow storms, warm weather again and I had a week with Simon.  We've also made it almost through March Madness---my favorite season.  Watching  basketball is one of my favorite things to do and it provides lots of time to sew bindings or to pin fabric to run through the sewing machine at half time.  The more exciting the game, the faster I tend to sew or pin.  I feel like I made great progress the last few weeks.  So.....

let's look at some quilts!!

This is a quilt that Amy pieced.  It is wonderful soft flannel and so sweet.

This quilt has the cutest cats on it---they are doing yoga!  Deb pieced this one and Jean quilted it.  I'm not mentioning who took the fuzzy pictures!

Paula pieced a fun quilt in purple and light green.  I can see a little girl loving this quilt.

This is a Paula creation.  Shades of  peach flannel with blocks containing the alphabet!

Amy pieced this gorgeous quilt.  Shannon quilted it.  The colors are great and this quilt will be a favorite for sure.

I pieced this quilt with 4 1/2 inch squares of pastel fabrics.   It  was a quick one to make and looks so sweet.  Once again, I do not want to take credit for the poor photographs!

This is an Amy quilt.  I absolutely love the colors.  They are modern and so girly!!  I even love the fabric I used to sash the label.

This quilt was a kit that I cut--simple snowball blocks.  Teresa pieced it.  Sandy took some fabric that I had and pieced the backing and then quilted it.  It turned out great.

Eight awesome quilts.  Everyone involved always puts their best work into the quilts we give and it shows.  I hope you enjoyed seeing them.

One last picture for you---

Simon loves to read.  Mimi and Papa spent LOTS of time with him reading books the week we were there.  Papa reads and Simon pushes the button to make the rooster crow.  It seems to be a good system!

Number 500!!!!

On March 1, 2013 PIECES  donated our five hundredth quilt to the Pediatric Unit at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.  Yes, that's right--500 quilts!!!!  Several of us gathered to make the delivery.  Here's a picture of us with the 500th quilt.

Rayna, Judith, Beth, Sandy, and Paula joined me in giving the quilt to Debbie who works at the hospital and often helps me when I deliver the quilts.  A big thank you who everyone who helped to make this possible.

Here's a better picture of that quilt.  My sister, Susan, pieced the quilt and Shannon quilted it for us.  It is a very special quilt and I am happy that some child will totally love it.

Isn't it great????

You've heard March comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lion.  You've also heard it the other way around.  I say it comes in and goes out like a whirlwind!  I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of March!

This is a quick post tonight.  I'll be back tomorrow with some great quilts for you.