Quilts for Kids charity

At the end of last year, several bee members and myself decided to make a quilt to donate to Quilts for Kids.  It's a great charity and to make it even easier, you can request a quilt kit.  They'll send you all of the fabric for the top, binding and backing.  You sew it, add batting and quilt it.  What could be easier?

We've finally finished the quilts we were working on and I plan to mail them tomorrow (assuming I can get out of my driveway).  Thank you Verna, Hils and Bridget for making one of these bright and cheerful quilts.  I'm sure they'll be appreciated!

Did I mention they pre-cut all the pieces for you too?

If you want to do something closer to home, there are local chapters of Quilts for Kids all over the country.  And you can also make pillowcases for the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge.  I worked on them some more today.  As a quilt bee, our tally is now up to 68!  Woohoo!

Until later...

On a roll...

I'm feeling such a sense of accomplishment today.  I've managed to finish a number of things on my todo list.  First I have completely finished the 2 Quilts for Kids quilts.  We're planning to mail them back around the end of the month, so I'm pleasantly surprised I've finished early!  I usually feel like I'm always working on things at the last minute.  They've even been washed and dried and I hope they cheer up the children that get them.

I'm going on my first ever quilting retreat next week.  Those who are veterans at these things suggested that I try to do most of my cutting at home so I can really get to the sewing.  I managed to get the fabric for 2 quilts completely cut up (including the backing and binding) and ready to go.  I have a 3rd quilt all in rows - they just need to be sewn together.  And I also finished the cutting for step 2 of Jan's mystery quilt.  Whoohoo!!!

And if that wasn't enough, I finally got around to dyeing some of my own fabric.  And I LOVED it! I will definitely continue to do it.  Next up is the Wild Strawberry gradation for my Crayon Challenge quilt.  (Was that a confusing sentence for anyone out there?)  I'm going to save the pictures until my next post.

We have a freeze warning here tonight, so make sure you stay bundled up.  Until next time, take care...

A little bit of this...

I spent half the day today at Bridget's quilting a quilt on Jan's frame there and taking lots of pictures.  We're showing the quilting bee ladies how to use it on Wednesday and I'm hoping to put together a little picture tutorial to help them load and quilt their quilts on it.  We'll see how it goes...

Here's the quilt we managed to get done.  (It's the 2nd Quilts for Kid's top I just finished.)  I just did an all over large stipple to try and get used to the machine.  A sewing machine is like a car in that every machine drives differently.  Here's a close-up of the stitching...

You know how little children are more interested in the box a toy comes in than the toy itself?  Cats are definitely like that too.  We've received a couple of packages this week and the cats have been all over the boxes.  Climbing in and out, hiding and scaring the other cats, knocking them over...  There's all kinds of fun to be had with them.  And don't get me started on the styrofoam peanuts that came in one of them.  Those things have ended up all over the house.

Can you guess what these are?  I'll give you a hint: they're David's favorite new toy right now...  Any guesses? OK, they're zip ties.  At least I think that's what they're called.  I have a bunch them sitting in a jar in my craft room and he's taken to stealing them and spreading them about the house.  He throws them into the air and catches them and wrestles with them and...  They provide endless amusement for him and it's fun for me to watch too!

I'll leave you with one last furbaby picture.  This is Sam and David playing together.

Sorry about the lighting.  I have to snap them when I can.  Until next time...

Quilts for kids...

Some posts ago I mentioned that the Quilts for Kids program was offering free quilt kits to quilters willing to make the quilt and send it back.  I ordered one for myself along with several for the ladies in our quilting bee.  I've finished my first top.  The colors are nice and vibrant and it went together very easily.

It's hard to tell, but the focus fabric in that quilt is dinosaurs.  The program also asks (if possible) for you to contribute one with your own fabric.  I had some kid's novelty fabric that I've had for years and I was able to cut up another quilt in the same pattern.  I'm working on piecing the top right now.

Because Mr. Quilting Bug drove into work today, it was just the 'kids' and I.  A couple of them decided to keep me company while I was sewing.  (A third one is on my sewing table and a fourth is laying on the floor.)

This couch is in my sewing room.  You can see it's a catch all for current projects and lazy cats.  Until next time...