Margaret's Hope Chest's Osceola Quilt Trail Block

Can you see that small spot of color on the center barn in this picture?

That is Margaret's Hope Chest's Osceola Quilt Trail block which we hung this summer.

Here is a closer look:

Late last spring I was hopping around the internet and I stumbled upon the Osceola Quilt Trail's website. My heart skipped a few beats because I knew that my grandma had grown up near Osceola county but I wasn't sure if it was actually in Osceola county.  I pulled out a map and sure enough, she grew up in Highland, Michigan which is in the very northern part of the county. 

I thought it would be awesome to have a block put up on the trail in her memory and honor and also to give MHC a little extra attention.

I called my mom (somewhat excitedly) and she was just as excited about it as I was.

We filled out the application and sent in a picture of the block we wanted them to create.  It is called 'Grandmother's Cross' and it has come to mean something special to my mom and I over the past few years. 

We were approved and the block was quickly designed by the artists that volunteer their time for this project.  Amazingly enough (although I don't know why I am surprised anymore how things like this work out), the block was finished and ready to be hung on the exact day that my family was headed in that direction to go camping.

 Click here for a summary of our block and where it is hanging (which is a cool story in and of itself) from the OQT website.

That's my dad and our family friend Garry trying to figure out the best way to hand the 8X8 block

This was all for show of course.  My dad forced me add the last screw and then he took my picture.

All hung on the milking barn.

From L to R: My mom's cousin Ben, his wife Nella, my mom, me, Ben and Nella's son Ben Jr., Elsie (the fearless leader of the OQT, and the artist who helps design and paint the blocks.

My mom and I--another quilting memory made--together :)

Help With the Birthday List

 Our 2nd year of 'Wrapped in Hope' is winding down.  Over the past 9 months 45 unique quilts have been made by volunteers across the country and sent to a special boy or girl for their birthday. {If I knew how to make a flickr collage of some of the quilts and post it here I would--how in the world to people do that when all of the pictures seem to be copyrighted to the poster?}

Due to some health problems, one of our quilters had to 'give back' two children (Tony and Taleia) who are now back on the list and Adrian is still without a quilter.  Anyone out there have a quilt already made or who is willing to make a quilt for one of these children?  If your answer is yes, please e-mail me. 


October 9--Tony will be 11--fishing, bike riding, all sports Lynn
November 7--Adrian will be 18--Black, Chargers football team Marilyn

December 13--Taleia will be 6--purple, butterflies, Barbie, princesses Maureen


Here is a note and picture that I received earlier this summer from a very thankful mom. 

"I am just so thrilled to let you know that the beautiful quilts arrived today on my son's birthday! They are the most exquisite creations I have ever seen. Brayden absolutely loves his and has kept it with him since he opened the package, so I attached pictures to show how much he adores it. It is just perfect. I thank you and all those involved in the making of our quilts for the time, energy, and love that went into them. You all truly made my son's 2nd birthday something special."

Project Hope 2012 Final Project--'Fun in the Middle' Blocks

And I am back!  Back home in Bermuda after three great months in Michigan, back to the computer and blogging (a bit reluctantly I must admit), and back to planning our final Project Hope block for 2012.  I want to thank EVERYONE who joined us this year for projects 1, 2, and 3.  Here are a few pictures from each project.

Project One: Half Square Triangles for Haiti and Honduras

 Here are some of the boys from the boy's home in Honduras with their new quilts!!!

 Project Two: Birthday Quilt Bee Blocks

 

 Project Three: Ragged Squares

 (more on this project later next week)

Project Four: Fun in the Middle Block

{I am also using this block to join a great group of ladies over at the Peach Patch for a block of the month blog hop.  Dhia (Ms. Peach Patch herself) is a friend of MHC and joined us for our work party last month (more on that later) Come on over and join the fun!}

We have chosen a very easy and fun block to start things off with. It's called 'Fun in the Middle'.  I didn't invent this block-all I did was use some math calculations to create a 9.5 inch block (which was harder than it should have been!).  I am apologizing right now for the lighting in the pictures--this is what happens when you wait until after the kids go to bed to work on your block--no natural lighting.

Fun in the Middle Block
*Please choose pastel colored fabrics for this project-light pinks, greens, yellows, and blues * 

 The fun part of this block is finding a fabric in your stash that you can fussy cut a 4 inch block from.  

 After you have your fun for the middle, cut a strip 3 1/4 inches by WOF (width of fabric).

From that strip, cut two 9 1/2 inch pieces

 and two 4 inch pieces

 

 attach the 4 inch pieces to the top and bottom of your middle block. Press.

 Finallly, attach the 9 1/2 inch pieces to the right and left sides of the block. Press and admire. Block should measure 9.5 inches. 

 Fun and easy huh?

In summary:

Create as many blocks as you can using light pastel colored fabric.

Send finished blocks to 

Carin Vogelzang

5300 Hamilton Place

Dulles, VA 20189

Project Deadline is NOVEMBER 15th.

These blocks will be put together into quilts that will given to girls who have a parent in prison.  They will be distributed next year through our 'Wrapped in Hope' program.

Can't wait to see what FUN you create!