First Birthday Bee Quilt

 I finished up the first Birthday Quilting Bee Quilt today.  It is going to Joshua in Georgia who will be 13 on June 2.  I will mail it out this weekend while I am in the States.  

A big thank you to my mom who was here visiting last weekend--she helped me figure out how to make all of the blocks fit together--she came up with the pattern and we added the player fabric which I found in my stash.  There were a couple of blocks with yellow in them that I am going to make a matching pillow with on Friday--so if those were your blocks--don't despair--I am going to use them!

Thanks to Heather, Joan, Linda, Jeanine, Vicki, Finn, Sunny, Tina, Emily, Lisa, Amy and Ashley for helping with this quilt!!  I think Joshua will LOVE it!!

GIVEAWAY WINNERS!!

Congratulations to our two giveaway winners!! 

Quilt A is going to a friend of Vanessa:

"I would love love love to win the first, more modern quilt for a neighbor/friend who is going through marital struggles, out of state spouse, process of selling their home, going to school, working, and caring for a lively little boy. She is trying to do it all on her own and has very few social supports here-her family is far away! She would really really appreciate the thoughtfulness to be wrapped in love. Thank you for the chance!"

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 47 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

 

 Quilt B is going to a very deserving mother:

"Ok, I immediately thought of my mom. She was diagnosed with kidney cancer the week before Thanksgiving and had her kidney removed the week after Thanksgiving. Since then she is doing well but is now caring for her brother who has had major heart surgery and vein and artery issues. I would loveto win this for my mom just because...I love her so much. It has been a trying few months."

 

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 7 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

 

Congratulations ladies! Thanks to everyone who entered--it's heartbreaking to read all of the comments about such deserving ladies.  We know that we will never be able to reach every one of them--but it would sure be nice :)  

 

 

Sew Mama Sew May Giveaway Day--Yeah!

COMMENTS FOR THE GIVEAWAY ARE NOW CLOSED!

 It's May Giveaway Day on Sew Mama Sew! 

We LOVE giving things away here at Margaret's Hope Chest-actually that's what we do all year long!

This giveaway is a bit different than others so please read carefully!

Our mission at Margaret's Hope Chest is to give quilts to individuals and families who are experiencing seemingly hopeless situations. Do you know a woman (18+ years old) RIGHT NOW who could use a gift of HOPE? Cancer? Job loss? Sickness? Death? Loneliness? If you would like to "win" this quilt please follow these guidelines:

-Think of a woman that you know in your community, family etc. who could use HOPE right now

-There are TWO quilts that we are giving away--Quilt A and Quilt B-you must choose which quilt you are trying to win--YOU MAY ONLY CHOOSE ONE--please don't say either one--we purposefully chose one that was more 'modern' (A) and one that was more traditional (B).
- Leave a comment with which quilt you would like to win and a brief explanation of the woman you would like us to give a quilt to and why. Also, provide an e-mail address if it isn't provided in your profile.

****For example, here is a good example of a comment that we will accept--'I would like to win Quilt A for my niece who has just lost her job and has many health concerns. My e-mail address is sayitaintso@yahoo.com'****
- Be prepared to provide me with a mailing address for this person--if you "win" this quilt it will be sent directly to the person you nominated.
-Drawing will close on Wednesday May 25 @ 8pm.

-Winners will be chosen with random.org

- The winners will be posted here later that night and contacted through e-mail.
We will ship to the United States and Canada.

Quilt Top Finished

 During our recent Quilt Top Drive we collected 85 wonderful quilt tops from all over the country--I have just started to sort through them and finish them off.  This top came from April and I loved every minute spent quilting and binding it--such wonderful colors for a spring quilt.  Thanks to April and every one else for giving me and other volunteers finishing work to do!

Spring Quilt Bloggers Festival

 I am so happy that May has come and it is time to share our favorite quilts again on Amy's Creative Side!  Her Quilt Blogger's Festival draws huge numbers of quilters here every year--WELCOME to Margaret's Hope Chest! We are a non-profit quilting organization that shares HOPE and comfort with people all over the United States through the gift of a handmade quilt.

Most of the 1000+ quilts we have given away over the past 5 years have gone to strangers but we do occasionally give quilts to those we know in our community. 

This is my favorite quilt this year--made for a good friend of mine named Ellie.

It is called 'Ellie's Garden'

 There are two things you need to know about Ellie: 1) She loves to garden.  2) She is a wonderfully energetic and positive person--just talking with her brightens my days.

So when Ellie was diagnosed with brain cancer in January I was stunned and saddened. But thankfully, I am in charge of this wonderful ministry and I am able to give HOPE and comfort to her through a quilt.

I got to work within days of her diagnosis--I wanted her to have a 'garden' that she could take with her during her first hospital stay.  I started by Google-ing "Ellie's Garden"--I had a hunch that there was a pattern with this name and I was right--here it is. 

It was just perfect.

Next, I started hunting through my scraps for prints that would add to the garden feel--bright and varied! I found contrasting prints for the background in the blocks and then 

I took my blocks to my local quilt shop for advice on sashing.  

I wanted to add a little to the pattern that I had found.

Thanks to the sage advice of the quilt shop employees I was able to add a double sashing and border fabric (light blue).  I still am amazed at the result.  I LOVE this quilt. 

 I finished the top off in record time (one week start to finish!) added a little of the extra sashing pieces to the backing and decided to save some money and time and quilt it myself.

After binding and washing it, I added this label to the quilt--once again, I Googled 'poems about gardens' and found this poem--

'The kiss of the sun for pardon,

the song of the birds for mirth,

One is nearer God's heart in a garden

than anywhere else on earth'

I was able to give it to Ellie at church one Sunday in February--just a few days before she entered the hospital for her first treatment. She wrote a blog post about that Sunday HERE.

Ellie has now come through 3 chemo cycles, and she brings the quilt with her each time.

She has had a few complications but she is doing GREAT! 

Praise God that she is still able to garden between treatments and she remains upbeat and positive.

The future is still unclear--but we are all hopeful that the cancer is dying and she will once again be 100% healthy.

Ahhh.......

Ahhh.....back to 'quilting without obligation'--no more deadlines, (except self imposed ones--which makes all of the difference doesn't it?) no more fundraiser meetings--things are looking up! Speaking of the fundraising dinner--it went well--here is what everything looked like on display.

You will never guess how much the Dr. Seuss quilt went for----$2500--two thousand and five hundred dollars!!!! Can you believe that?  Too bad no one would ever pay ME that much to make one :)




I started this baby quilt today---WHY? Well, when I finish it I will tell you--until then, have a wonderful week!

What I've Been Up To--School Fundraising Auction Edition

I am linking to Lee at Freshly Pieced this week!

Hold on to your crafting hats ladies because I am going to blow you away with lots of fun kid-created art treasures.  My works in progress have been many and I am tired---really tired of piecing and stuffing pillows.  In the last two weeks I have made 25 pillows, 5 bags and 100 magnets :)

THANK GOD the school fundraising auction is on Friday and I can return to life as normal on Saturday!

Here's the truth: I am not a team player when it comes to crafts. Gossip amongst yourselves about that.

So, when I commited to helping with the student made art projects for the fundraising auction I knew what I was getting myself into--a ton of work because I like it done a certain way and that usually involves a lot of time and effort. And I love it--up until the last 48 hours and then I am ready to be done!

First up, I scanned these art pieces that grade 4/5 had painted--downloaded them to spoonflower.com and a yard of each (that got me 6 of each of the prints).  I made pillows and bags and also notecards, magnets and a calendar (used Staples to print the paper stuff).

Some of the stuff is pictured below.

this is my daughters print :)

Grade 6 hand stitched 'Words to Live By' and I made them into pillows--I had the most fun with these.  I did have to correct a few stitches here and there--but tried to keep them as 'real' as possible :)

I used a TON of scraps on these-yeah!

 

 And I also made these two quilts--one for Kinder and one for Grade 1/2.

And so now, I get to resume my regular life as director of MHC--I am looking forward to organizing Bee Blocks into a birthday quilt for Joshua--finishing up a few tops that have been on the back burner for far too long and getting ready to move out of my house in 7 weeks!

Have a wonderful rest of the week everyone!