Play date!

I went to my quilt guild meeting on Saturday, hat in hand.  I told them about the Hurricane Relief Quilts project, and showed the quilt top I've completed and all the quilt blocks that have arrived that I haven't had time to assemble yet.  Before I could even ask if anyone wanted to help out, they had taken all my baggies of 42 blocks (one quilt's worth of blocks) to assemble for me, and I've got a waiting list of others who want to help.  One person is going to quilt a couple of tops for me.  Two people volunteered to do bindings.  They were wonderful!

Then, when I got home, I had a whole new batch of blocks waiting for me.  I forgot to take a photo of them because I had a friend come over that evening, and we had a Play Date, sewing up your blocks into a top while we talked and laughed and our 5 boys (all between 4 and 10) made more noise than I thought humanly possible.  It was loud and raucous and chaotic and magically FUN!!!

She sewed,

while I cut and pressed.

I don't usually wear my hats backwards - we were getting a little goofy there towards the end!

And we created this!

Do you see your blocks in there?

Here are the two tops I've helped assemble together.  They are being shipped off to wonderful volunteer quilters tomorrow.

Plus I am 1/3 of the way through with another top.  Too bad there's no mail today - I'm ready for more blocks!

Look what my friend Nancy is doing - making a whole quilt by placing her blocks around a center 50" square UFO that she had laying around.  Isn't it bright and happy and beautiful?

The back

Today was also my first day teaching the READY TO QUILT program in the afterschool program.  FUN TIMES!  But I'm going to have to get a helper, especially for the first hour when I have 23 third, fourth and fifth graders!  I thought the tough group would be the 10 Kindergarten through 2nd graders - wrong!

We read The Quiltmaker's Gift while the students disassembled some jeans that I will cut up for our donation quilt.  They also each make a fabric bookmark from upcycled denim and a novelty fabric of their choice.  I introduced them to fusible (Heat N Bond), and then they each sewed around the edges of the bookmark and then trimmed the edges with pinking shears.  It was good for them to have something to take home as a finished product on day one.  And it was good for me to have no one cut by scissors, burned by the iron, or with a needle through a finger!  I have to ask if I am allowed to share photos of the students, so for now, I just have my two goofballs showing off their bookmarks.

They chose their focus fabic - the back is upcycled denim

OK, so the stitching isn't straight, and neither is the trimming, but I don't think the kids noticed or cared!

 It was gratifying that the kids didn't want to leave when their time was up.  I'm looking forward to working with them again on Wednesday.