Wednesday WIP, a Giant FAIL and Quarterly Quilt Giving Update

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WARNING: This is going to be a long post with lots to share!  

First of all, it's Wednesday--again--and I have been busy this week--again.

I am linking up to Lee at 'Freshly Pieced'

I finished up this quilt for a 'Wrapped in Hope' birthday.  Tyler loves blue and football and it turning 12 on March 12th! I used Amanda Jean's 'Fair and Square' pattern--backed it with red--added some straight line quilting and called it good. 

 

Next, I started a quilt for Steven (also on the 'Wrapped in Hope' list) who turns 11 on March 24.

He likes football and maroon, gold, brown and tan.  I am sure there is a team with those colors that he likes but not being a football fan by any stretch of the imagination I don't know which team it would be.  So, my inspiration for this is a quilt I saw on Emily from Creative Chicks blog.  I e-mailed her and asked about the pattern and she was kind enough to tell me what she did.  Thanks Emily!  I have to add the sashing between the blocks--I think I will go with the blue that you can see if you click on the image to enlarge it.  I wish I had a navy blue but I don't and I am not going out to buy any fabric (today!). I have to have this done by next week because we are driving to Alabama for March break and I want to send it from the States. 

Last week I mentioned the hand print quilt that I am making for the fundraising dinner at our school...well, I am making another quilt for my son's class.  It is a Dr. Seuss  inspired quilt.  The kids all drew their face on a white piece of paper...I copied it onto fabric paper and now I will add a hat and bow tie to 'Dr. Seussify' everyone.  I am not following a pattern at this point--yikes!

And now, to be 100% honest with you, I will show you a giant FAIL.

I was making this quilt for the monochromatic quilt challenge.  It is inspired by a photo I found of the ocean in Bermuda--which is where our family is moving later this year.  Each piece is 2 inches high but vary in length for 2 inches to 5 inches.  I was really excited about this until I finished sewing all 28 rows together and I realized two things: 1) it is too small to enter into the contest--it must be at least 45 inches by 45 inches and this is 48 by 38 and 2) it arches--severely--it is hard to see from this picture but trust me it's bad.  So, does anyone have any advice on how to correct an arching quilt without taking the entire thing apart???

On a brighter note, remember this peace quilt for last week?  Yeah, it was sent on Saturday from Buffalo, New York and arrived in California on Monday!!  I LOVE THE USPS!! Truly, the US postal service is amazing--I have lived in 3 different countries and I will tell you-it is a gift to our country. 

So, Dallas (the girl in the picture) LOVED the quilt!  This is what her mom wrote-"I want to Thank you with alllllll of my heart and soullllllll the quilt is absolutely darling.. she is bouncing off the walls she is so darn happy........  Its as if God had a plan today.. "

God did have a plan for this quilt and all of the quilts that are being sent out each week through the 'Wrapped in Hope' program. 

So the second part of this post is a Quarterly Quilt Giving Update.

Here is where our quilts have gone since October 2010:

2 quilts were given to Safe Haven ministries-a place for abused women and children in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

51 quilts were given away a prison giveaway in Muskegon Michigan.

7 quilts were given to a family in the Grand Rapids area as Christmas gifts.

4 quilts were given to 4 men around the country as part of Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway

1 quilt was given to Connie in Grand Rapids with many health concerns.

14 quilts were sent to Monterrey, Mexico and handed out to children and families living in very poor conditions.

1 quilt was given to Karen who is suffering from Breast Cancer.

12 Baby quilts were given away at a prison in North Carolina

1 quilt was given to Charisse in memory of her 9 year old son who was killed in a boating accident this summer.

7 quilts were given to a family with 6 kids who didn't have enough warm bedding for the winter.

25 quilts were given to family's and homeless individuals in Mississippi.

55 quilts were delivered to UCOM--an organization in Grand Rapids that serves a poor area of the city.

1 quilt was given to Ellie who has brain cancer.

3 quilts were given to children enrolled in an after school tutoring program at Eastern Ave church in Grand Rapids.

55 'Wrapped in Hope' birthday quilts were mailed to children all over the United States!

1 quilt was given to a family in Grand Rapids who recently lost their twin baby girls.

TOTAL QUILTS THIS QUARTER=240!!!

Amazing!  Our Quilt giving ticker (on the right hand side bar) is moving closer and closer to 1000!! Remember that we celebrate at 1000!  Can't wait!