Quilt Day - Giving Back

There have been many quilts and projects completed in my sewing room thru the years.  Quilts to celebrate weddings, new babies, special milestones, and some just because I felt the urge to sew something.  There truly isn't anything that compares to making something in service of others.  In my sewing career I haven't experienced many of these projects.  There always seemed to be a birth, wedding, etc. that took priority, and frankly, comes with a deadline.  This past weekend two projects were started in service of others.  My bestie has begun a quilting journey I'm not sure she ever thought she would take.  A very close friend of hers passed away recently that was quite sudden.  I believe this has weighed heavily on her heart.  In her friend's memory and honor she has begun a quilt project that captures the heart of her dear friend.  She is enlisting other quilters to join her on the journey to create Hawaiian quilt works of art that will be shown and sold to benefit the Brain Aneurysm Foundation http://www.bafound.org/.  Take a moment to visit her blog where she captures the journey of the project and provides details for others to join her.
Taking on the challenge of making a Hawaiian quilt is not for the faint of heart.  It takes precise workmanship, a steady hand, and a leap of faith...or maybe the naivete of not having a clue what you are getting yourself in to.  I blindly jumped into the realm of Hawaiian quilting years ago when I made one for my mother-in-law.  After several years of hard work, putting it away for a year at a time, I swore I would never make another one.  Well, you know I can't let my bestie embark on this amazing project without me!  I will be joining her in a few weeks with my own creation to be donated to the cause.

My quilt day wasn't spent entirely helping my bestie with her project.  There was another service project happening this past weekend.  Thing 1 has been accepted to attend the national boy scout jamboree next summer.  You would be right to ask what this has to do with quilting.  Thing 1 has the daunting task of funding as much of the costs as possible to attend.  One of the grand ideas he had to raise funds was to set up a table at a local farmers market for the summer to raffle off a hand-made quilt and possibly some hand-made candles and soaps as well.  This was quite a lofty idea.  In an effort to not automatically shoot down his idea, I reached out to a local farmers market about doing this.  Certainly this idea wouldn't be accepted.  About two weeks ago we received the call.  Low and behold they LOVE the idea!  They love the community effect this will have.  Needless to say, our house has been full of frenetic activity trying to pull everything together for opening day.  Thing 1 has very limited sewing experience so there was a lot of education at each and every step of making the quilt.  I seemed to spend quilt day floating between advising on the Hawaiian quilt and teaching Thing 1 how to operate my machine and sew a straight line.  Although I did very little sewing myself, there was great progress made on both projects. 

The feeling of doing for others is truly a wonderful feeling and one I plan on repeating.

Another Quilt Day

Every time I see Quilt Day on my calendar I get a little excited.  A day dedicated to quilting, conversations with my bestie and no kids.  Days like this don't always work out as you picture them in your mind.  In an effort to let hubby work in the garden building me those beautiful planter boxes, we did quilting day at my house again.  We were able to get a bit of quilting done but the conversations aren't the same with little ears listening in.  Then there's always the inturruptions.  Someone needs a drink, or a snack, or asking where their favorite toy is, or a diaper, or wants to play outside.  It's the challenge of a parent to balance the daily requests and squeezing a little time in for yourself in the cracks.

My bestie finished up this stunning baby quilt for a friend of hers that is expecting their first child.  As most quilters can appreciate, she finished it a day before the baby shower.  Just in the nick of time.

I just love the little bunnies in the open spaces, don't you?

I managed to finish the quilting on this star lap quilt I'm working on for a special friend of mine.  Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze some time in the cracks of motherhood this weekend to get the binding on. 

Quilt Day

My bestie and I have been quilting together for, well, more years than I want to admit.  In recent years we have jointly come up with a quilting goal for the coming year.  Our quilting New Year's Resolution of sorts.  After careful thought, we decided this year needs to be about completing some of those UFO's we have in our stashes and just having dedicated quilt time together.  We now have one glorious day a month to quilt! 

Last month my bestie's sister moved here from Texas and has joined in the fun.  This past weekend I hosted them at my house for a day of fabric, chit chat, snacks, a tour of my house and stories of every quilt in it.

Look at this stunning baby quilt my bestie is working on!  It has a wonderful modern feel with these fabrics and design.  That's one lucky baby!

Her sissy is working on this beautiful wall hanging for her house.  This is only the second quilt she has ever machine quilted herself and is doing a fabulous job!

I started quilting this star quilt for a good friend of mine who graciously does our taxes every single year and never asks for a penny in return.  I think she needs a lovely thank you gift.

Of course "Thing 2" wanted to join in the fun.  His "puppy" needs his own quilt, right?  This has to be the cutest sewing machine I've ever seen!  It's an old Singer hand crank that was my mom's when she was a little girl and is one of my favorite things...ever!