WIP Wednesday

Once again it has been some time since I have linked up with Lee at 'Freshly Pieced'.  But this week has been productive on the quilting end of life so I thought I would join.
First and foremost, I have finished this quilt top:

 It is very green--and big--and bright! The middle section is constructed with 289 three-inch pinwheels.  Originally, I had wanted the entire quilt to be made up of three-inch pinwheels but after making two batches of about 140 I decided I couldn't make one more! Plus, I used 7 charm packs and that was a bit too expensive for me.  So now I will be giving it to a professional to quilt--something I don't do very often but I might want to keep this quilt myself and so I will give it the full treatment--we'll see how it turns out!
Next, I have almost finished this quilt--the top was donated in April--should be done this afternoon!

 This 'Girlie Girl' charm pack will be made into a quilt for a new baby who has a daddy in prison....

 And finally, this fabric arrived this week--I am going to make a quilt for my daughter Clara.  The coloring is a little off--in real life it is not so turquoise.  Can't wait to settle on a pattern and get started!

Wrapped In Hope Update

Boy themed quilts we have right now

Girl themed quilts we have right now

About a month ago I posted about 'Wrapped in Hope' and our current situation.  I am happy to report that our stash of kid-themed quilts is growing.
Currently, we have 14 boy themed quilts and 23 girl themed quilts for a total of 37 quilts--maybe you remember that a month ago we had about 25 quilts--yeah for 12 new quilts!! I know some of you who are reading this love to see numbers so here are the numbers:

Quilts needed to be able to bless the children at 4 more prison camps this year: 115
Quilts that we have to give right now: 37

Quilts still needed: 78

Now a question was asked in the comments on the last post that I want to address:
"I'm wondering what constitutes a kids theme quilt? May be a silly question."
Not a silly question really--what we mean by kid-themed quilts is a quilt that is appropriate for a child between the ages of 4-18.  Obviously, which an age spread as large as that most quilts would fit into the category of kid-themed.  I will tell you that we NEVER have enough SPORT quilts or PINK/PURPLE/PRINCESS quilts. If you have a quilt that isn't 'themed' that is fine too--many parent's like to choose a quilt that will grow with their child and get many years of love and affection!
Basically, we will accept anything that you would give to your own child or grandchild.
Can't wait to see the 'still needed' number shrink!!

The Perfect Equation for Quilting Progress

 Take one sleepy post-op 2 year old

then add

 

one weekend away up north for my husband, father in law and 3 older kids

then add

hot and humid weather

and that equals 

major quilting progress!!

My youngest son had his tonsils and adnoids removed late last week which left him very sleepy and quiet.  The rest of the family left to Traverse City for a few days in order to give Josiah a few quiet days to heal.  I finished all of my cleaning and laundry as quickly as possible so I could get to my quilting!!  It was a wonderful weekend for me :)  I was able to nurse my son and quilt at the same time--beautiful!

I finished off this top that we received earlier this year from a generous volunteer--I added the orange print border and did some simple straight line quilting around the squares.

I also finished this top which is a small baby sized quilt.  

 I also removed several borders from other tops that we are going to finish soon.

Currently, I am working on more pinwheels to add to a top that I put on the back burner a month or more ago.  Can't wait to show you that.  Maybe tomorrow!

Crawling Out of a Pit to Share HOPE

Wow! It has been some time since I have gotten on this blog to give an update on what's going on at Margaret's Hope Chest--sorry about that.

I have become caught up in my own personal life and it feels as if I am starting to crawl out of a deep pit--I know that sounds dramatic but it is true.

Our family moved out of Toronto two weeks ago 

and that was so much more work than I thought it was going to be.

I worked like a dog for 10 days--12 hours a day--cleaning, organizing, supervising the packers, hauling junk to the dump, selling some large items on Craigslist, cleaning our entirely too huge house from top to bottom.  On top of that I still had 4 kids and a husband to tend to--the kids were leaving the only school they had ever known and I wanted to make sure everything was done well.

Then we arrived back in Michigan and it started all over again--this time unpacking and organizing our house here.  Oh, and all of the wonderful Michigan summer things that we love to do--sunset walks in Grand Haven, trips to Grandma's cottage, strawberry picking, flower planting, firefly catching....

I finally feel like I can pick up some fabric and sew.

And it's a good thing because we have so many hurting people in our community and in our country.

They need to hear our story of forgiveness and HOPE.

Maybe some of you heard that we had a bad week in Grand Rapids last week.

There was a man who went on a shooting rampage and killed 7 innocent people in a matter of hours.

Our city is hurting.

These families need HOPE.

We are going to try and give some of the surviving family members a quilt.

Here is one that is going to be sent tomorrow--a beautiful quilt that we had in our stash-we are praying that our family's story of what came out of my grandma's tragic and senseless murder will bring them a measure of comfort in the months and years to come.

I also wanted to mention something that might be of interest to the Wrapped In Hope volunteer quilters....Starting on Monday of next week all of the kids that are on the list from Georgia will be gathering at Camp Hope--outside of Atlanta.  All of the kids who attend Camp Hope have at least one parent in prison.  If you quilted for one of these kids and you believe that God can transform that child's life please pray for the following things:

Prayers for Camp Hope

July 17-22, 2011 

"For I know the plans I have for you; plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

Pray that the power of the Holy Spirit will fill the camp for the week.  Bind Satan from approaching the camp.    
Pray that campers and volunteers who do not know Jesus will accept Him as Lord and Savior.
Pray that campers and volunteers will know that God protects them and has great plans for their lives.
Pray that campers and volunteers who need renewal of life in Christ will repent, ask, and receive.
Pray for safety for all traveling to and from camp and for all during activities during camp.
Pray for fun for the campers, that children will have the freedom to be children.
Pray that staff and volunteers will recognize when DFCS needs to be called into a home.
Pray that additional campers will come forth to fill the camp slots available.
Pray that the attendees of the upper camp, Leadership Training Academy, will sense a higher calling for their lives.  
Pray for discernment in assigning counselor and camper matches and for discernment  for the staff and volunteers for the week.
Pray that each of the daily Christian themes will be engraved upon on the campers' hearts.
                Monday-Love
                Tuesday-Forgiveness
                Wednesday-Trust
                Thursday-Joy
                Friday--Forever              

Thanks to all who come here to read--I promise to be back soon with more news about God's awesome work through us!