Quilty Adoption Event - 5 projects up for adoption

Edited 9/21/16 - this event is now closed.

Honestly, getting these projects out of my sewing room isn't going to free up a lot of physical space in my room, but it will free up some mental space - I'll feel better knowing that someone else is will work on these projects rather than just let them linger in a cabinet like I have.

I have no requirements for adoption - make it for yourself, as a gift, for charity, whatever.  I will ask that you send a photo of your finished project if you think of it; it does my heart good to see what has become of my orphans.  In fact, here is a  link for one my orphans from the spring that was beautifully transformed into a charity quilt by Lisa.

For this event, I have 5 projects, A thru E.  Let me know in the comments which orphan you would like to adopt.  If you'd like more than one, that's fine, list all that you'd like.  I'll keep this open until Wednesday, September 21, 6 PM EST.  I'll do a drawing if more than one person is interested in an orphan, and I'll ship them out to the winners at my expense, hopefully no later than September 24.  I am located in the US, and will only ship within the US - so sorry, international friends!

Be sure to check out the other items up for adoption at the link up on Cynthia's blog.  Ready?  OK, here goes:

A. TROPICAL FISH by Cindi Edgerton paper pieced mini
I was visiting my mother-in-law many years ago and didn't have any stitching with me, so I walked over to her local quilt shop and picked up this pattern.  I made those first 4 fish by hand, and decided, not only do I not enjoy paper piecing, I also don't enjoy hand piecing.  Back into the tiny package it went.  Whoever adopts this project will get 4.25 pieced fish, and unused foundations for 25 more tiny fish.

B. SCRAP HAPPY SPOOLS by Cindi Edgerton paper pieced mini
If you read my comments about the fish project, you know I have no patience for this spools project.  I inherited this from somebody, complete with precut batik scraps.  It looks like only 2 of the tiny blocks have been attempted, but I didn't really inventory the whole thing.  I know there are more than enough unused paper foundations to make the pattern and there seems to be enough fabric, too.  Any batik loving paper piecing mini makers out there?

C. SNAILS TRAILS PLACEMATS muslin foundation pieces and pattern
Uh, how did I end up with so many foundation piecing patterns?  Not my cup of tea.  This orphan consists of 24 stamped muslin foundations for Snails Trails blocks that finish at 5.75".  The accompanying pattern tells you how to make 4 placemats with the blocks, but you could just as easily make a small quilt.

D. CHRISTMAS STARS mini quilt
Here's another one for you mini makers out there.  I'm not sure how this made it into my possession, but this was started as a hand pieced mini quilt.  3 stars are already pieced, another one is partially pieced.  The seam allowances are already marked for any of you who do hand piecing, but you could just as easily finish this one on a machine.  There is an accompanying photo, but there is also a note on the photo saying "not exactly like photo."  I'm guessing she was planning on using setting squares between the stars, rather than the sashing in the photo.  Any takers?

E. FLANNEL 9-PATCH
OK, this one was mine, but I'll be honest, I have NO IDEA where I was going with this.  There are four 9.5" double 9-patches, eight 3.5" 4-patches, ten 3.5" colorful squares, seven 3.5" white squares, twelve 3.5" x 9.5" white rectangles and eight 3.5" x 12.5" rectangles.

Please don't let these orphans languish in my cabinet.  Won't you take one home with you?

Simple, yet satisfying

Some friends are stopping by my job tomorrow with their 9-month-old baby girl on their way from Boston to Idaho. (through Virginia!?!  Whatever.)  I didn't, of course, have time to make the baby a quilt, but I had to make her SOMETHING. A bib it is!  Simple, yet satisfying!

And if I'm making one bib, why not make two?  This one will be for my cousin's baby, due in July, for whom I am making the Good Fortune Lil Twister quilt.

Both bibs are flannel, and backed with bright jewel-toned pink flannel, with velcro closures at the neck.

 Making things for babies is so gratifying!

Quilts, quilts and more quilts!

My days on the road have a predictable rhythm to them - rush about from 7:30 AM until 3 PM, visiting school after school, saying the same thing over and over again to new faces every hour, craving something to eat or drink but not having the time to stop for fear I won't make it to my next appointment on time. But then 3 o'clock rolls around and schools let out, and there is nothing more for me to do. That's when I start exploring. And West Virginia is fertile ground for seeking out QUILTS!

I stopped at a public library to use the rest room, and this antique mall was across the street.

"Eh, I'll check it out, maybe they'll have a quilt or two," was my thought. Jackpot!!!

These old quilts are SOOOO soft!

I was intrigued by this block - I'm pretty sure I've never seen it. Anyone know what it is called?


Here's what I'd like my hand quilting to look like on my quilts decades after they have been completed. Beautiful!

New and old, all mixed together.

I love driving the back roads rather than the highways. There is always something to see. Jackpot!

What a great pattern to use up tiny scraps!

There were so many things I'd love to have taken home with me, these 32 hand pieced blocks, for example. I love them, but I feel confident that I'll not piece these blocks on my own.

Oh, I LOVED this soft, worn earthy quilt!

but personal property taxes are due in a few weeks and I'm trying to be mindful of money. I patted myself on the back for walking away with just a bag of solid fabric scraps, something I don't have much of (solids, not scraps).

The big SALE sign at JoAnn's got me in the door. I was looking for more Quilt Patis to work on my Grandmother's Flower Garden hexagon quilt. No luck, but I did get two packages of batting for 40% off (I can't wait to get my needle into my Great Great Grandmother's Quilt!), two remnants at 50% off, and some flannel for $2.99/yard. I've got an idea for a rag quilt percolating in my little head...

So, while I'm missing my guys out here on the road, I'm taking advantage of being unencumbered by karate and cub scouts and the incessant "are we there yet?" and seeing where the country roads take me.

Despondency

Jason is despondent. School was closed yesterday because the roads out here in the county are still covered with snow. He's starting to think that the school week is only 4 days long because the bad weather we have had nearly every weekend has affected school nearly every Monday.


Donald was despondent. The thought of going to Pre-School while his brother was at home doing whatever he wanted made those big green eyes turn to liquid. Along with his eyes, my resolve, so he stayed home, too.


I was despondent. Things were finally a bit quieter at work, so I took Monday morning off - a little "me" time. Unfortunately, my kids don't understand the concept of "pretend Mommy is not here", so that didn't quite work out as planned. I eventually rode in to work with Adam so I could hang out with the Monday morning quilting group at the library where I got a tiny bit of hand quilting done, not nearly the progress I was hoping to get done yesterday during my time off.


And when I got home from work, the kids were ready to do something other than dress up and play superheros or watch TV (I'm pretty sure that is all they do when I am not here). So once dinner was in the oven, I took them downstairs to let Jason work on his flannel rag quilt. His quilt got kicked off the design wall when I started working on my Nickelmania quilt. (I think this is the pattern I'm going to go with, although I believe I'll put one more row around each side so that the white outline is complete)

We had quite a time trying to remember how it went back together until I remembered that we took a photo of it - thank goodness for digital cameras! He sewed until all of the pieces were at least sewn to one other piece, and then we called it quits - I could smell the lasagna and garlic bread in the oven and could no longer focus. Before putting it away, however, he made row labels so it wouldn't take us so long to lay it out next time.


In addition to restless children, there was a package waiting for me at home. I thought it would be my new Bonnie Hunter book, but instead, it was more flannel from Cheryl - thanks, Cheryl! My flannel buzzsaw quilt will get completed after all!


So, all was well in the Hutchinson household until I got the call this morning - school is closed again...

Never again!

I've been quilting during lunch this week, and I am happy to announce that I have finished quilting my flannel juvenile quilt, #2 of the 3 projects I committed to do with the New Year's Eve UFO Challenge. Once I get the binding on, hopefully this week, I can cross this one off the list.

Here's what else I'm going to cross off the list - hand quilting with super high loft batting. NEVER AGAIN! While I like the LOOK, the process was miserable! What was I thinking? The batting is taller than my needle. Now I know. And I think this will be a great quilt to put on the floor for a baby to roll around on - it certainly provides the necessary softness and insulation from the cold floor. I'll post a photo once the binding is on.

I leave you with this - a letter to Santa that my 7-year-old wrote this year that I found while cleaning the kitchen. At least now I have something to work with. (I've corrected his misspellings to make it easier to read - any misspellings you find are mine, not his.)

Dear Santa,

How have you been? I've been fine. Will you give my mom and dad earplugs please so they don't have to hear us (him and his brother) argue? Can you give my grandpa a coffee maker cause he likes coffee? Can my brother have a Tony Hawk Skateboard cause he likes to play? Willl you give my dog bones? Can my brother have a pocket rocket? (what the heck is that!?!) Can the factories have lids so the air is not polluted anymore? Can you stop people from driving animals off cliffs and not eating them, or killing the endangered ones and killing them for no reason? Can you get people to stop smoking? Will you get people to recycle and stop landfills? Can you get people to stop murdering each other and make love and peace through all civilizations and not war? And make little stuff appreciated? (uh, I think he actually knows what appreciate means... AND he spelled it correctly!) Let people who are poor have food and shelter and water for life, and clothes?

(finally he gets to what HE wants - and what a list it is! Two full pages of stuff! I won't wear my fingers out typing it all, but he closes with...)

Books about history, science, social studies and nature. Quilting book cause my mom likes quilting. (That's right, kiddo, you've got your priorities straight!) Can I have an Amherst College Basketball cause my dad lost his?

Santa, I'd like everybody to get what they'd like for Christmas. I love second grade even when it is easy. (OK, quite the nonsequitor)

Love, Jason

Friend and Foe

I had lunch at the home of one of my quilting buddies, Mamanance/Nancy, yesterday. What a treat! I went to collect a label for my comfort quilt (I got it sewn on today - plus, I got the bloodstain out, so it is ready to go join the ranks of other comfort quilts waiting to bring some warmth into someone's day) and some flannel for my buzzsaw quilt.

I not only got that but also a pattern that she had accidentally bought two of (caution: lousy photo alert!)

and she lent me her copy of Clare O'Donohue's The Lover's Knot, which I thought I had read until I read book two of the series and realized I hadn't. Great timing, as I leave for a quick trip to Atlanta tomorrow, and this gives me something to read on the plane. (by the way, I LOVE these Clare O'Donohue books!) She also lent me her copy of Walk the Line, the Johnny Cash movie, which I haven't seen yet. That will have to wait until I return, but I'm sure it will be GREAT in my new home theater.

So, that is the friend. The foe is THE FLU which has my children home for the week. You would never know they were sick by their energy level - they never seem to slow down - but they both have fevers and coughs and snotty noses. As a precaution, the entire family is being treated with Tamiflu. Hopefully, none of us will get terribly ill like the folks in the stories they have on TV daily.

No new sewing, other than the comfort quilt label. And for my trip, I am bringing karate uniforms that need patches sewn on - bleech! But it must be done; provided we are all well on Saturday, Jason and I will be testing for our PURPLE BELT!

Quilt Fiction Catalogued

A local quilting friend, Mamanance/Nancy, recently shared that she had catalogued her quilting books on LibraryThing. With my desire to collect quilt fiction, that seemed like a pretty neat idea, since I have purchased a book I already own on more than one occasion. I set up my own Library Catalog this morning, and I was THRILLED with how EASY it was. Type in the ISBN number from the back of the book, and Voila!, there's a thumbnail photo, the title, the author, everything. I'm so tickled, that I put a widget on my sidebar so I can share some of my quilt fiction. Right now, there are 49 titles, but some are out on loan so they aren't all in there yet. Hopefully, this will help me acquire some of the other quilt fiction titles that I know are out there.

After work yesterday, I did a little more piecing on my flannel buzzsaw quilt. I also rearranged the blocks into 2 fabric blocks to see if I liked more orderly scrappiness. I'm not sure. But I do know that I'm going to have to put this project on hold until I get some more flannel scraps for additional blocks. I have lots of juvenile flannel, but I'm making this quilt with other prints, of which I have much less. I also may decide to make this into two quilts, one with the softer colors, and one with the bolder colors. We'll see.

In the meantime, I plan to work on my Scrappy Stars some more today, and possibly revisit my Bonnie Hunter "Virginia Star" since I now have more neutral scraps to finish up some blocks. And speaking of Bonnie Hunter...my guild is working on getting her as a presenter and teacher in early 2011. Hooray! I told them I don't care when she comes - consider me already signed up! What a treat that would be! My quilting hero right here in person! My fingers are crossed that it works out.

One UFO done!

Remember I joined the New Year's UFO Challenge? I chose 3 projects to complete, and today I finished one. Yay! With all that was going on this week, I felt moved to finish the flannel "Love Crumbs" comfort quilt I began nearly 2 years ago. It is far from perfect - I goofed on one corner while attaching the binding, so it will never be described as having square corners - but I don't care. If it will make some little girl's eyes light up like the kids to whom I gave comfort quilts earlier this week, then it is perfect in my eyes.


(Do you like the action photo with the dog and the kid playing with the Batmobile in the foreground?)

I have to work this Saturday (of course, ugh!), but I plan to do some sewing this weekend. With so many projects in progress, I'm not sure what I'll do. I guess I'll just see what I feel moved to do.



And finally, I just have to say that the memorial service yesterday was both much harder and much easier than I expected. I am so proud of my strong friend, who stood up to speak and started with "I am so blessed." I was so caught up in what she has lost that I wasn't paying attention to what she has. Even in her grief, she is an inspiration to me. After the service, Jason and I stuck around until the place cleared out - Jason playing with his friend and me entertaining and being entertained by the twin girls. With all the grown ups talking, it was nice to be there for the kids. And you know what? My friend is going to be alright. She IS blessed - with a wonderful family, supportive friends, a strong faith, and 18 years worth of memories of her precious, special, first-born daughter - and she is going to be just fine.

I've accepted the New Year's Eve UFO Challenge

This week away from home and away from quilting is killing me! Thank God for the internet - at least I am caught up on blogs and am finding more wonderful blogs to follow. (just what I need, right?) Anyway, I'm at least thinking about quilting, if not actually doing it, so Finn's UFO Challenge appealed to me - I work better with deadlines, and I have so many UFOs floating around out there.


I decided that it is reasonable to expect to finish 3 UFOs by New Year's Eve, and I'm going to focus on my flannel tops.


This one should be easy - I am already halfway done quilting it. However, since I am using a super high loft batt (the only thing I had available when I was ready to start) and am a hand quilter, it is slow going. I just need to jump back in the saddle and complete it. It would help if there were something I wanted to watch on TV while doing it - that usually keeps me sitting still long enough to make some progress.






Then there is this top that is already quilted and just needs to be bound (not in the picture, but in reality, it is). Should be easy, right? In fact, the binding is already sewn on in the front. However, I sewed it on wonky, and need to take it back off and put it on again. I hate un-sewing, so that stopped me in my tracks. Get over it, Erin!




And finally, there's this flannel buzzsaw quilt that is still in the piecing stage. I was hoping to receive some more flannel scraps because my motto is "the scrappier, the better" and I am on a self-imposed "no-buy" since all of my money these days is going into finishing our basement (there will be a sewing studio in there for me when done, so the least I can do is not buy fabric!). However, I am thinking I should just make do with what I have.



You know what? While going through my photos, I came across this flannel Strawberry Shortcake top, too. I should finish it up. Maybe I'll keep my total goal at 3, but this gives me options, I can just finish any 3 of this 4 that strikes my fancy. I love having options. Of course, that is probably why I rarely FINISH things.

OK guys. I'd love some cheerleaders to help me finish these, help me stay on task. Of course, I will still be working on my GGG quilt and my scrappy star quilt, but I want these to get done. Wish me luck!