I get by with a little help from my friends!
I admit, at first I worried about the ginormous size of the hunks in this quilt. But as a queen-sized bed quilt, it turned out wonderfully masculine and fairly contemporary looking even with all of those very traditional Civil War type fabrics in it.
I didn’t want the quilting to be too close – I just wanted to add a lot of texture that needed to be somewhat to scale with the sizes of the pieces.
I quilted with a taupe thread that blended in really well.
Dresden thinks HE should be the main event. LOL!
But he found he needed to move!
I had set the big board up next to the machine at cabinet height to help with the weight of the top while stitching it together, and now it helps support the quilt while applying binding.
It was a breezy afternoon -
I had a hard time getting the quilt to lay still enough for a photo.
Click to Play:
All in all, I loved making the Elvira quilt during our Quarantine Quilt Along. The pattern for Elvira is available as a digital purchase from GEquiltdesigns.com. You’ll find it in the digital patterns section of the online store.
The rest of my day is filled with this!
I have placed my stock of the Addicted to Scraps book on deep deep discount at just $15.99 (regularly $27.95) and it comes with a free PDF pattern download for my Wanderlust Table Runner.
If you've been waiting for this book - now is the time. Put your stash to good use while you retreat away at home.
You'll find it in the Quiltville Store along with other goodies you may want to add to your cart - check the NEW category to see what else we've added
Stay informed, take precautions, stay home, stay safe!
Wash wash wash your hands!
This is still in full swing!
I will be drawing Sunday for 3 winners to each receive an IronEZ spray bottle and caddy thanks to the kind folks at MyIronEz.com!
You can also save 15% by using BH15off in the coupon area of the checkout page if you decide to go ahead and order for yourself!
Today – Thursday. Wrapping my head around just what I get to do today. The USPS is only open until 11:30 so I think it will be mail order fulfillment until then, and after that I think I’ll come back here to the cabin and binge watch something on Netflix or Prime while I sew. And try not to think about being quarantined for weeks and weeks ahead.
I’m just thinking about quarantining for just TODAY. Do what I can TODAY. I’ll deal with tomorrow when I get there.
My mom posted the most wonderful thing to us in a family email and I wanted to share it here with all of you.
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But -
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood -
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary.
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting.
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way.
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality.
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul.
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic.
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.
Brother Richard Hendrick
March 13th 2020
This was the most beautiful thing I have read in a long time – and maybe it really does take looking ahead through the darkness to appreciate the light.
May it bring some comfort and hope to your hearts and a smile to your faces today.
How are you going to spend your Thursday?
Have you called a friend you haven’t spoken with in a while? DO IT!
Have you called a friend you haven’t spoken with in a while? DO IT!
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
These are the wisest words I have heard over the past couple of weeks
I don't remember who told it to me, but it has stuck like glue. Just do the NEXT right thing.
Have a wonderful Thursday, everyone!
35 comments:
Thank you so much Bonnie!
How would we get through quarantine 9or life in general) without you?!?!
I love that writing sent by your Mom. I am going to light a candle and say it out loud as a prayer.
Thank you for sharing Brother Hendrick's words.
Thank you and your mom for sharing the beautiful sentiments from Brother Hendrick. Something to keep in mind when the day’s events begin to be overwhelming.
Thanks for this great blog, I look forward to your words each morning. Brother Richard Hendrick is a wise and caring communicator. Be level and a positive place in uncertain times
It is going to be a beautiful day here in KC as we finally have early sun. It has been gloomy early morning until afternoon before sun comes out all this week. Everyone is out walking the neighborhood and saying hi as we pass each other distancing from each other. That was a beautiful writing and it is so true. You have a great day to Bonnie! And I love your Elvira quilt and I am sure your son and his girlfriend will too.
You are always so inspirational! Thank you. Love your quilt
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m enjoying the quarantine. It’s quiet in our neighborhood...except for my husband blaring music out of his shop. I’m comfortable with being by myself and not leaving the house. I guess that’s the key...being comfortable with yourself. This is a chance to get to know yourself again...
Thank You for the wonderful read.
Thank you for showing the quilting on your Elvira quilt. I am still deciding how to quilt it. Lovely letter. I have to say that I have been sleeping so much better because it is so much quieter in my neighborhood.The quilting community has been so great through this with all the quilt alongs and live events.
I called my in-laws to check on them. I would go see them but because they are in Independence, MO and I am in Lane, KS and I work for the county and we have been ordered to not leave the state. I can not go see them. They are doing fine and are hibernating. I am getting off my hibernation to go to work this weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) then back to hibernating til I work again on Wednesday and Thursday. My crazy schedule allows me to sew 7 out of 14 days. So I am making great progress on projects. I just can't quilt them or deliver them at.my machine is in Missouri by 50 ft and they need to be delivered farther into Missouri. So when things are settled, they will get quilted and delivered. Stay safe and thank you Bonnie for all that you do
Thank you and your mom for sharing Brother Hendrick's thoughtful words. My prayer is that this time will cause people to re-order their priorities and recognize what is truly important in their lives. So much of what we consider important really isn't in the greater scheme of life. Of course sewing doesn't fit in that category--it's essential! LOL
Loving the Elvira quilt. Turned out really nice. Even though the pieces are larger than you are comfortable with, you made it for someone you love. We have a niece in a Living center and is confined to her room so cotton masks were made, some books shipped via Amazon and game boards shipped, one for her and one for my husband to help her set it up via telecommunications so she has something to do other than stare at the walls. Thank you for Brother Hendrick words, very inspiring. May I pass them on to some folks who could use them?
Yesterday, I had to make a 3 hour/150 mile trip to take my elderly parents -of all things - toilet paper, thanks to the hoarders that carried it out of the stores 2 and 3 carts at a time. In early February, luckily, I had purchased the package that I usually purchase a couple of times a year at Sam's club so I was able to share with them and our son and family. I didn't want my 84 yo mother to be going out daily to stores in search of toilet paper, getting exposed to covid19! I did see though that Costco has said that they WILL NOT be accepting returns of paper towels, toilet paper, lysol, bottled water, etc! Good for them.
I completed my Elvira top today ready to be quilted.
Thank you for sharing such beautiful words. We should all use this time to reflect and embrace what is truly important. I'm making a list of folks to check on, also sending some real letters/postcards, and keeping busy in my sewing room. I am finding great comfort in the online quilt groups. I loved Gudrun's event on Sunday. Though I haven't finished mine yet, it will be finished before this "stay at home" time is over. Thank you so much for your daily postings and sharing real life with us. Stay safe and well
Wow! You really made quick work of your Quarantine QAL quilt, Bonnie!! Nicely done. Mine is still a pattern and a stack of fabric. :o((
Oh, well... tomorrow is another day to fill with hours and hours of QUILTING!!!
That is such a beautiful soliloquy . I wish I was tech savvy enough to copy it and share with others. Thanks for the peaceful moment.
Thank you for the wonderful words from Brother Henrick. I love your Elvira quilt.This pattern would look great with larger florals and you really can't cut up small and also a Quilt of Valor. Stay safe Bonnie
I was finding that it was in the late evenings when I was tending to get the most anxious, and tending to spend more time digging around the internet, read more articles telling me the same things, re-watch news programs, etc., so I have established a ritual in which every evening I settle in with a stack of notecards and write little notes to friends and family members to let them know I am thinking of them. I know that I would love to get "real" mail these days, when life seems to careen from boring to extremely stressful. I feel good about perhaps adding a moment of "cheerful" to someone's day, and it is good for me, too.
Wonderful uplifting words from Brother Hendrick, makes me feel a little better today. So many sad stories, it's hard to concentrate on the important things, like family and friendships. Thanks for coming into our lives each day!
Thank you for sharing Brother Hendricks words with us, it’s so true I’m sat here in my sewing room at 7.55 am in the Channel Islands and I too can hear the birds singing and only the occasional car.
I love how your Elvira quilt turned out, I too had a lot of fun making mine which is also Queen sized.
The blue binding look really good.
Thank you for sharing your positivity and happiness with us
Love and quilty hugs
Anne xxx
The Elvira quilt reminds me of a chain link fence. Especially of a fence woven with slats that I see sometimes when privacy is wanted.
Great reading from the Brother. I took your advise and called a friend several states away that I hadn't talked to in years. I'm so glad I did, it was the next to last day of her cancer treatment and I think it did both of us so much good.
P.S. I finally got my Elvira laid out yesterday. Still have to study because either I made one too many blocks of one of them because I'm coming out wrong. Hopefully I'm just missing one in the wrong spot and won't have to make a new block.
Hi, Bonnie - Love the Elvira quilt. I know it wouldn't fit a queen sized bed properly, but I really like the way the layout looks when it's on the long arm - horizontal rather than vertical.
Bonnie, that was beautiful, and I hope you don't mind that I shared it. Have a wonderful weekend. And that quilt is amazing, I'm sure your son is going to love it. I would love to see the back too!
Thank you for sharing Brother Hendrick's words today. His message really gets to the heart of who we are and what is important. I am a little jealous of how fast you get your tops quilted. I know you have a computerized machine so that helps. My longarm isn't computerized so it takes me much longer to complete a quilt especially if I don't do an overall pattern, but I enjoy the process.
Bonnie, do I have your permission to copy and paste Brother Richard's thoughts and send them to my church friends? Thanks so much for your messages every day. I don't know if I'm don't this correctly and that you will receive it. Edie
I hope to be able to go to my daddy and take care of him today as I have been doing for the past 6 years daily, but with the present lock down and new employees at the gate, we had a mix up and poor dad has been on his own. I hope I can clean up his wonderful apartment, wipe down surfaces, do laundry and then we need to hunt for his lost hearing aid. Bonnie, you are a gem
That is one nice quilt for a young man. You made the most of what you had on hand in true quilty tradition! Your blog is an essential part of my day, especially now. Thank you. Also thank you for sharing the post from your mother.
Morning. I know you like to wash your quilts after you make them. How do you plan on washing that monster? Thanks for having coffee with me every morning.
You are truly amazing. Thank you for this blog, it is a highlight of my day.
Bonnie.... My youngest son, 31, saw your shoo-fly and said "MOM!!!! I want one". He's loves my quilts but he's never been so excited about any of them until he saw yours. Guess it's what's for Christmas. I'm down for a mystery. This year is devoted to finishing projects half-done; which thankfully I haven't many. Bring it on!!
Bonnie, & (Your Mom), thank you for sharing the Brother Hendrick poem. Can we share it as well. Every one possible needs to read this, daily if needed to have the peace of mind & heart to get through this ordeal. Please let me know.
Thanks for sharing how you quilted the Elvira. I wasn't sure how I was going to do it and you've given me an idea. I've almost gotten my top sewn together - only 3 more columns to put together but I tuckered out on it yesterday. Mine is in nice brown/blue/gray tones too.
Thank you, too, for the encouraging words.
"Just do the next right thing." That line is in the movie Frozen 2 ❄️
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