Quilt Finishes 2013

Well, it has been a l-o-n-g and busy year for me personally so my quilt production was a little low but I am always happy to go back and see what my quilting year looked like.  These are all the quilts that I finished--as in quilted and bound and ready to go.  I have several tops that I finished this year that are waiting their turn but I guess they will make it into the 2014 group.

I had a few personal quilts that I finished but the majority of the quilts were for Margaret's Hope Chest and have already found their new home. 
I hope you have had a quilting year that you can look back on with a smile!

Finish It Up Friday--A Quilt for Clara

 
I have five children.  Three of those children have completed quilts.  Two of those children have quilts that are 'in process'. This week I finished piecing Clara's quilt. I have had this fabric for well over a year but I could not decide on a pattern for the quilt.  I needed blocks that were big enough to showcase the matryoshka doll fabric.  I finally settled on this kaleidoscope block and am quite pleased with the finished product. It will be quilted by a professional :) and then it will finally be placed on her bed. 

 I am linking up to Amanda Jean's Finish it Up Friday.

Finish It Up Friday--Two More Finishes!

 This week I finished up the bindings on two quilts.  The first is made from a panel of Alexander Henry's 'Once Upon a Time' fabric line.  I had been holding on to this fabric for a couple of years but decided it would make a perfect quilt for our prison ministry.  Like I said last week--we are going to work very hard in 2014 to build up our reserves so that we can participate in as many giveaways as possible. 

The second quilt I finished is my December contribution to 'A Mother's Hope'.  What I love about this quilt is that it was made from all donated material/blocks.  The bright colored blocks in the middle of the quilt were donated and I trimmed them so they would be the same size as the white blocks that I had already cut.  The border and backing fabrics were also donated!  Three cheers for donations!

 Hip hip Horray!!

 Hip Hip Horray!

 Hip Hip Horray!

Doesn't it make my afternoon reading spot look very inviting?  And YES, do find the book 'Chains' by Laurie Anderson and read it.  Excellent choice if you like young adult historical fiction.

I am linking up to Amanda Jean's 'Finish it up Friday'.

Have a wonderful weekend my friends!

HUGE Update Post

 I realize the title of the post is misleading---there is no one HUGE update to report--just a HUGE amount of smaller updates that might make this post a little lengthy.

#1 UPDATE:  As of late last week we have received a total of 678 log cabin blocks!!! Wow, I think we can make at least 11 quilts from those blocks.  Thank you to each who have contributed in small and large ways.  Each block was a step toward the final goal which is to bring HOPE to struggling new moms. 

#2 UPDATE: We have received several beautiful quilts for the Mother's Program from those who signed up for the monthly collection.  I forgot to ask my dad to take pictures of some of the quilts given in the early part of October (sorry) but this group of quilts pictured below will be the next group to be given.

Aren't they great?  Everyone did a fantastic job!  Thank you to our October quilt-makers;                  
1.  Carin                               
2.  Mindy                              
3.  Pam                                 
4.  Diann                              
5. wkelli88                            
6. Anita                                 
7. Amy                                  
8. Sherry  

#3 UPDATE: It has been far too long since we have shared a giving update.  I have loved looking back over what has been a very busy year for our family and seeing that God has continued the work of Margaret's Hope Chest in many different ways.  

33 to local agencies who have needs for baby quilts.

8 quilts to those mourning a loss - Rick, Dominique, James, Willow, Erandi, Pastor Arlan, Ana & parents,

178 quilts to children with a parent in prison - either for their birthday or for the program at the prison with their parent.

19 to those people getting treatment for their illness, usually chemo for cancer - Liz, Micah, Christine, Carleen,

    Rhonda, Karen, Cynthia, Anne, Roxanne, Bob, Scott, Marie, Helen, Dave, Ellen, Jodie, Brian, Marla, George

36 to organizations in the Grand Rapids area that serve those needing financial help

108 to the Mother post partum support program at Pine Rest

7 miscellaneous

25 boy quilts to Honduras

32 to orphans in Haiti

23 to Village of Hope in Guatemala

20 to Rays of Hope going to Haiti

2 for fund raising purposes

#4 UPDATE:  Looking forward to 2014--we need to replenish our supply of kid's quilts for the prison giveaways.  So we will be having a couple of quilt and block collections in January, February and March.  I hope that you will be able to save a few hours in the new year for Margaret's Hope Chest.

#5 UPDATE: Our total number of quilts we have given is 1882!!!  Almost 2000!!!

                        

If You Give a Quilter Three Thousand Two Inch Blocks......

If you give a quilter three thousand two inch squares in various shades of blue and green......

she will first make this quilt:

She will name it Bermuda Blues and she will love it and eventually she will give it to a woman she has met on the island who has many health concerns.
Then she will look at that box of 2,280 blue and green squares again and create this quilt:

She will name this quilt 'Bermuda Triangles' and she will love it and eventually she will give it to a woman on the island who was undergoing cancer treatments.
Some time will pass and the quilter will get distracted by other fabric and projects. But one day she will stumble upon that box of 1,280 two inch squares again.  She will take them out and create this quilt top:

Inspired to use the remaining 890 squares up and be done with blue and green two inch squares for a VERY LONG TIME she created this quilt top:

 And then she will rest because the box of two inch squares is almost empty.  You can't make a quilt with 314 two in squares, or can you????

I am linking up to Amanda Jean's Finish it Up Friday!!  Have a great week!  I will be back next week some more great quilting news!

An Easy Way to Help!

Thank you to all who signed up over the last two weeks to make a quilt for 'A Mother's Hope'! We filled up all of the spaces plus a few!!  It amazes me every time I ask for volunteers how quickly people step forward.  I know that this is God's work and he sends each of our volunteers to us--the last two weeks have solidified that for me again.
The good news is that we have one more way that you can become involved in this program and it is quite easy.  Last year we collected different blocks for Project HOPE and it was quite a hit!  To finish off this year we will have one collection of blocks for 'A Mother's Hope'. (for more information on 'A Mother's Hope' please read this post.)
We will be collecting log cabin blocks!  Here is one I made yesterday following the tutorial that Amanda Jean put together some years ago.

Hopefully, we will collect 100's of these babies and be able to piece them into quilts and keep this program going!
Here are the details of the collection:
1. Follow Amanda Jean's tutorial (click here).  I used it yesterday and it works :)
2.  Choose any color but make each block one color--all pink, all green, all yellow etc.  This will make it easier for us to put them together into tops. Remember these quilts will be for woman so please don't use juvenile fabrics in the blocks.
3. Deadline for this block collection is November 1st.  That gives you a little over a month to make one, two or ten!  Trust me, they are addicting--I can't wait to make a few more this afternoon.
4.  Send finished blocks to:
    Margaret's Hope Chest
    630 Griswold SE
    Grand Rapids, MI 49507
Once again, thank you for helping us give HOPE to these mothers!

And one more thing--I finished this quilt this week.  Someone donated a 'Maisy' panel and coordinating fabric this summer and when I saw it--I grabbed it!  I had so much fun putting this together.  It will find a new home very soon.

I am linking up to Amanda Jean's 'Finish it up Friday'!  Have a great week!

Very Important Finish it Up Friday

This week I finished a very important quilt.  It will be a gift to a young mother who feels like the world is closing in around her.  It will give HOPE and comfort to a woman who needs it.
In January, Margaret's Hope Chest starting bringing quilts to the Mother and Baby program at Pine Rest (in Grand Rapids, Michigan).  This program serves woman who are experiencing postpartum depression.  Over the past 9 months we have dropped off 94 quilts!! We never dreamed that there would be such a need.  Each of the quilts has accompanied a struggling mother throughout her time in the program and then it traveled home with her. 
I will be honest that we have stuggled to keep up with this need.  We do not have a steady influx of quilts approriate for women.  My mom has worked very hard to finish off donated tops and create new quilts to make sure that she always has something to bring when they call.  I spent my limited time this summer finishing off donated tops.
We would love to continue this program but we need organized help from our friends!

Personally, I have committed to making one quilt a month for 'A Mother's Hope'.
Here is my quilt for September.

 I used a charm pack and a couple of coordinating solids to create this. 

 From start to finish I think it took me 5 days to complete.  Not too bad. 

Could you commit to making one quilt for 'A Mother's Hope'?  Below I have listed the next six months and 8 spots for each month.  I would LOVE to fill up these 48 spots with quilters willing to take a week to fill a person's life with HOPE and comfort.  Quilts can be of any size, shape, or color scheme.  If you can help, please leave a comment with the month(s) you can help with and then E-MAIL me so I can send you all of the information you will need.

OCTOBER:                         NOVEMBER
1.  Carin                                1. Carin
2.  Mindy                               2. Sunny
3.  Pam                                  3. Kathryn
4.  Diann                               4. Pam
5. wkelli88                             5. Carol
6. Anita                                  6. Sherry
7. Amy                                   7. Shirley
8. Sherry                                8. Brenda

DECEMBER                         JANUARY
1.  Carin                                1. Carin
2.  Lea                                    2. Lynn
3. Pam                                    3. Kathryn
4. Sherry                                4. Pam
5. Shirley                                5. Faye
6. Ellie                                    6. Shirley
7. Jody                                    7. Karen
8. Catherine                           8. Catherine

FEBRUARY                          MARCH
1. Carin                                 1. Carin
2.  Pam                                   2. Pam
3. Jennifer                              3. Dhia
4.  Shirley                               4. Faye
5. Teresa                                 5. Shirley
6. Catherine                           6. Catherine
7. Jenn                                    7. Jeanine
8. Jeanine                                8.Bea
                                                9. Carol

Thanks for reading and happy quilting!!
I am linking up to Amanda Jean's Finish it Up Friday!