Pinwheel Progress

 So, progress continues on the pinwheels.....I made an additional 50 something pinwheels last night and today--enough to make a nice sized baby quilt--or larger if I add some borders.
Would you like a small glimpse into how my mind works?? I was working on a different top last week--I had it pinned and was ready to quilt it.  I needed to use a light grey thread for the quilting and I didn't have any empty bobbins-both were full of white thread (yes, I am a full-time quilter and I only have 2 bobbins for my machine--pitiful).  So, I started looking through my unfinished or un-started projects for something to use the white bobbin thread up on.  I found 3 Kona solid charm packs and thought to myself--'I should make pinwheels until the bobbins are empty'.  And I did--except once I started making pinwheels I couldn't stop--it was lots of fun.  Soon I was re-filling the bobbins with more white thread while the gray quilt still hung on the back on my chair.  156 pinwheel blocks later the gray quilt still sits untouched and this project has taken over my week. Oh well. Hope your week is going well even if it isn't turning out like you thought it would!

Good News, Bad News

 The good news is that over the weekend I have turned these squares into 3 inch pinwheel blocks....

the bad news is that 100 3-inch pinwheel blocks aren't enough for what I wanted to make and so I am back to making 3-inch pinwheel blocks.

A Thank You to All Of Our Wrapped In Hope Quilters

As I have mentioned in the past, sometimes we get thank you's for quilts received and sometimes we don't.  As a person who frequently forgets to say thank you I know that just because a quilter wasn't formally thanked for a quilt doesn't mean it wasn't appreciated.  

All of our 'Wrapped in Hope' families are in the middle of a crisis.  There is turmoil in the house, expenses are high and incomes may be lower because at least one parent is in prison.

A thank you note may be one of those things that keeps getting forgotten.

Please don't let this discourage YOU from serving these families.

I received this thank you note last week--it is for one of Margaret's Hope Chest's faithful volunteers Shirley.

Shirley has made dozens of quilts for children in the 'Wrapped in Hope' program

and I think she has only gotten 1-2 thank you's back.

But she never lets that stop her from helping more and more

She does it for the kids (I assume)

and because she believes is what we are doing (I think :))

My point is, I think the grateful mother who penned this thank you captured what each family would say if they had a chance.

So thank you to ALL of our 'Wrapped in Hope' volunteers!

Your work is amazing and it is touching other people's lives.

My grandma would have loved that.

 (by the way, the pictures have nothing to do with the post--I just was taking pictures of my half square triangles today and I thought you might enjoy the colors like I did!)

"I just wanted to let you know that Reagan LOVED her quilt. 

Please know that the kindness that you bestow upon a little child is a great gift.  Her eyes lit up when I told her that the quilt was from Daddy; she just hopped around clutching it and dancing with it.  It was a precious moment - one that your group gave my daughter without any limitations or expectations.  I am sure that this moment is relived in every home that a child receives such a quilt gift.

I just thought you'd want to know how much Reagan loved her quilt. Perhaps one day I can give back as your group has."

Why My Afternoon Was So Good

I am in the middle of a lovely afternoon for 5 reasons:

1. I am pinning this quilt which I started a long time ago and just finally am getting around to finishing.

2. The workmen who have been terrorizing me and my yard for the past 10 days are finished and gone--with all of their noise, dirt and bad attitudes.
3. I am wearing a cute cotton dress that I found at the grocery store today.

4. There is a lovely breeze blowing through the windows.

5. These 2.5 inch squares will very soon be turned into a cute pinwheel quilt.

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.