Port Pillows

I was asked to make (or partially make) 50 port pillows for a church service activity this week.  They are tiny pillows that velcro around your seatbelt to cushion the port area for chemo patients.  At the activity they will stuff them and sew the end closed, then package them with notes of encouragement and chocolates.  Here they are all sewn and ready to be stuffed!  If you know someone you want to make one for, there are YouTube videos with good instructions.

I am currently working on sewing the Queen of Diamonds quilt top together!  This may take awhile!  I have to take the papers out of all of these blocks, starch and press, then sew a little border around each one, THEN cut more diamonds and add the sashing.  Having fun though!!

 

Woodland Whimsy

Today's circle is a snowflake!  It's rather appropriate because I spent the afternoon working on "Welcome to the North Pole"!  I was able to get a lot of the quilting done and am excited to work on it some more tomorrow 😊

The stitches today are Closed Fly and Double Cast-on - oh and a Backstitch around the circle.  I'm still loving that adorable snail - had to sneak his picture in there again!

Our house has been one of the "Mask Central" stations, for picking up kits and dropping off finished masks for St. Mary's Hospital.  I think they were shooting for 15,000 masks and should be about there.  Today was the final day, for now, for dropping off finished masks.  Look at this pile!  Quite an accomplish from many, many sewists in the community. ❤️

BIG NEWS!!  Barb W. has finished her Woodland Whimsy!!  

Isn't it AMAZING??  What a lot of work.  She's now going to get it quilted.

It's absolutely stunning - her work is beautiful.

Have a happy weekend everyone!!😊 

More masks...

Today was a mask day.  I made 18 more today, for a total of 30 to go to a nursing home here in town.  I'm grateful for all the healthcare workers!  These are definitely crazy times!

I did stitch my circle today too though!  If you're on Instagram, Sue Spargo is posting one or two videos everyday, teaching different stitches found in her book Creative Stitching.  Today I got some AWESOME tips on the Rosette Chain!  Tips that improved my stitch tremendously!  I went from sort of liking this stitch to loving it.  Be sure to check out these videos!

Quilts for Auction

A friend of mine sent these pictures from a fundraiser she went to for Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City.  These beautiful quilts were all made and donated to be auctioned off, with the proceeds going to the hospital.  What an amazing display of the generosity of quilters, because anyone who quilts know that these all took a lot of time and talent to make.  I didn't hear how much the quilts brought in for the fundraiser but I imagine it was a lot :)

This would be my husband's favorite!

Miss Cutie Pie visited Santa this week and brought him her list!  Apparently she wrote it herself and it had Doggies on it 😁

From what I hear, the Cabela's Santa experience is the best!  They even went ice fishing and caught a real fish, which was then cleaned and cooked for them right there!  Santa has come a long way since my kids were little!

Have a great Monday!!

She doesn't look super thrilled by the fish ....

Sunset Slope Quilt Guild Party

Yesterday I went to two quilt guild parties.  The Sunset Slope Quilt Guild, which meets in the morning, invited the CO West Quilt Guild (evening group) to their Christmas party.  It was a lot of fun!  These first four pictures are of the 25 quilts the members have gathered to go to the victims of the fires in Paradise, CA.

These next few photos are of Show and Tell. The amazing labyrinth quilt above was made by my friend Sherida.  I love this quilt!  It looks like you can step right into it!

Several ladies finished their bags from the Annie Unrein class.  Most complained about putting the binding on.... 😮

We had a lovely potluck luncheon and a gift exchange after the meeting.  A big thanks to SSQ for the invite!


I was inspired to donate two of my quilts (pictured below) to the fire victims.  I have too many quilts at home that aren't getting used!  They might as well be put to good use.

Tomorrow I'll share photos from the CWQG party last evening.  It's a festive time of year for sure!

Red, White and Blue

I finished 8 patriotic quilts that some women in my church had started.  Three of them were tied, and I just finished the edge and the other five needed quilted and the edge finished.  I'm not sure exactly where they're headed next, but I think they will go to the VA Hospital.
I started working on my Bear block today too.  And I really need to come up with a plan for my exchange quilt with the International Miniature Quilt exchange!  I'm exchanging with Deb from Canada - should be way fun!

Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day to my amazing Dad!

And my wonderful husband!









I hope all the fathers and grandfathers out there have a fantastic day :)

I inherited another service project.  I spent 3 1/2 hours yesterday squaring up and pinning patriotic quilts.  I'm still not done!  I do think they'll be pretty when they're done though!

The Last of the Polyester Quilts

Someone donated several boxes of polyester fabric already cut into squares to our church.  Another person took it upon herself to organize a group to sew these squares into quilts, to be tied.  (This has been a year long project.) Tying these quilts proved to be very difficult - you almost needed power tools to accomplish it.  I was roped into quilting a couple of the last batch.  I was able to get them done last week and I truly hope I never have to quilt a polyester quilt again!  These were not a joy to work on, but if they keep someone warm, it will have been worth it :)

Have a wonderful day!

Holiday Quilt Show and Auction

Every other year the Intermountain Research and Medical Foundation in Salt Lake City sponsors the Holiday Quilt Show and Auction to raise money for medical research and equipment.  I attended the show once several years ago and it was amazing.

This year my sister-in-law attended the dinner and live auction.  For our Christmas gift this year she gave us this wonderful little table topper and the lantern centerpiece pictured below.

These were centerpieces at the tables, available for purchase after the event.  All of the little table toppers were hand quilted!
What is even more amazing is that every quilt in the show/auction is hand quilted!
"There are 85 quilts this year - a record number.  Each quilt has been hand pieced and hand-quilted, making it impossible to calculate the thousands of hours spent on this years' gallery of quilts.  Each stitch, each block, each quilt is a magical work of love, labor and art."
Jodi A. Cheney
Holiday Quilt Show and Auction, Chair

Another quote from Jodi:
"My heartfelt thanks goes to all who have made this night possible.  I work with the most amazing people, all so willing to give of their valuable time and abundant talents.  Their love of quilting and giving to the community are a vital part of what we do.
The word "change" may best describe the last two years for our group.  After 30 years at the Colonial House we moved to a new location (the LDS Hospital Auditorium), adopted a new name, (the Colonial Quilters), and are excited to have a cause of our own.  We remain a group of dedicated women united by one common purpose: to create beautiful quilts that will assist in the advancement of medical research."

And beautiful quilts they are.  If you're in the Salt Lake City area in November of 2017, put this Holiday Quilt Show at the top of your to-do list!

Polyester

Someone from church asked me to get six quilts ready to tie, by getting backing fabric and pinning the "quilt sandwich" together.  I have spent all of my free time today doing that!  Luckily, the quilts are not large, only about 45 inches square.  However they are made out of polyester!  We are talking your grandmother's 1960's clothes polyester.... I asked my husband what he thought of them and he very diplomatically said, "Some are more fortunate looking than others."  This is not nice soft polyester - it was almost painful to work on them.  And you really cannot iron those seams flat!  That was almost too much...

I used fleece for the backing, which is also polyester, but at least it feels nice and soft.  So someone could snuggle up in that side of the quilt :)
So, they are done and ready to tie.  I did my job.  I hope they find a good home and good use somewhere....

Irene's Mobile Sewing Service

In case you missed the video in my previous post, here is an easier way to get to it.  I love this lady's enthusiasm!!

Inspiring

I found this story very inspiring!  I hope I can still make quilts for people when I am 99!

A Few More Show Photos

Here are the last few photos I took at the Sunset Slope Quilt Guild's quilt show.

They had a small display of quilts that they donate to St. Mary's Hospital's Cancer Center to be given to patients going through chemotherapy.  Both of these quilts are beautiful and would certainly brighten someone's day.

Native Americans by Deany Hayes

All hand appliquéd, hand quilted and embellished with beads, leather, conchos etc.

They had a small miniature quilt section.  This one is quite something!  You can see by the safety pins and size of the card that this quilt is not very big!

Block of the Month by Jewell Buck

This was the block of the month challenge for Sunset Slope Quilters for 2012-2013.  They were given a theme for each month but were free to choose their designs.  I really like the colors!

Stellar Stars by Mary Hussman and quilted by Lorraine Preuss.

I really, really like this one a LOT.  It's very striking in color and design and quilted beautifully.

She said it was created in a class at Quilter's Corner taught by Linda Smith and it was a challenge for her - but oh so worth it!

Mistral by Diane Abraham

Made using a pattern by Toni Whitney.  She said the mane has over 60 pieces in it!  Beautiful.




I am inspired to go work on my projects!  Quilting calms me when I'm stressed....