Simple quilts bring so much joy!
A couple of weeks ago my friend Martha was struck by a compulsive desire to stop EVERYTHING and make a snuggle quilt from the scraps of other items she has made for her 4 year old granddaughter.
If you've felt that kind of "Drop everything, I have to do this RIGHT NOW!" kind of compulsion - raise your hand!
We were chatting, and I said - you don't need anything fancy for a 4 year old. They are not about the intricacies of the pattern, the size of the pieces or the overall appearance. They are about the colors, and the novelties and other prints included that capture their fancy and imagination.
Martha decided that a simple nine patch would more than suffice, and she headed to her Scrap User’s System - something she has just recently implemented and discovered the true benefits of - and simply pulled 2 1/2'' strips for some scrappy and colorful blocks.
In true scrap-lover's fashion, and during a pandemic when you can't just run out to to the store (And the nearest quilt shop is an hour away) to find a setting fabric - she combined a couple of different yellow golds as background to tie everything together.
All of the things loved by a 4 year old!
It was fun having Martha explain to me that "I made her a dress out of this fabric, and she loves to twirl in it!" and "I made her clothes for a stuffed bunny out of this fabric" and have all of these wonderful scraps come to play in such a marvelous simple quilt.
We chose to quilt it in an edge-to-edge design called Orange Blossom. Super girly! And quilted to death to survive many tea parties and many more washings.
While all of this was going on -
And Martha was minding the long arm -
I was dealing with incoming packages and outgoing mail order!
This little lovely for Quiltville Inn came from Mary!
THANK YOU!
The box had no return address, and there was no email or address inside - just a simple note.
Mary - I hope you see this! I love this so much, and have a perfect spot for it in the upstairs front landing. Your kindness made my day! (Along with copious amounts of quilting!)
As the afternoon light ran out, we hurried to get binding on!
TADA!!!
Martha is standing in front of my big picture window and you can see that daylight has left us, and darkness has taken over.
How many days until the Solstice when it starts getting lighter for longer?
I love my early morning sunrises, but the dark at 5pm just slays me.
On a side note - I caught ONE update from Martha on her instagram that the hand stitching of the binding hand commenced. "YOU GO GIRL!" was my thought as I headed off to bed.
This morning? Another update that she had finished that binding before she went to bed.
Never underestimate the power of a woman determined to finish a quilt for a 4 year old!
And today - we get to do it all again.
My friend Mona has been "self quarantining" at home as well so she can bring up a couple of quilt tops that need to be quilted before Christmas.
I haven't seen Mona in a long time either - and we will do what we have to do to be able to get these quilts done in time.
She has a new grandbaby (A BOY!) due to arrive just a few days before Christmas. We will be loading his baby quilt today, and seeing if there is enough time to throw another one on the machine after.
My house is a wreck. The floors need vacuuming and mopping. Things are covered with dust. The bathrooms really need a going over. But my friend is going to have to accept me as I am because there are just not enough hours in the day lately.
But somehow I know that true friends get that - and time spent together is far more important than a dust free house.
Did you see that we have a Quilty Box gift-away going on right now? You'll find the details and the place to enter on Yesterday's Post. Drawing to happen on Monday! And it's a great one - the fabrics are luscious!
Close up of what is in my Pine Tree Point runner!
Have you started yours yet? Yes, you can have watermelons and Girl Scout cookies in a Christmas table runner! I also spy a bit of St Patrick's Day shamrocks - I'm an equal opportunity scrap user.
I really want to make another one in blue!
You’ll find the PDF pattern for Pine Tree Point, including both the lap size and the runner in the Digital Patterns section of the Quiltville Store.
How do you plan to spend your Thursday?
One week from TOMORROW is Black Friday! Ooooh - getting so excited for our Grassy Creek Mystery to begin in earnest!
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
As we get closer to the holidays and fully recognize how different things are this year, I thought this was appropriate.
Ironic but true! It takes change beyond our control to appreciate what was in front of us all along.
What are you doing differently for Thanksgiving this year?
For us, the turkey has been put on hold and we are opting for steaks on the grill. Of course, there will still be pie!
No close relatives will share our Thanksgiving. Just family by heart. Our new friends here on our Mission. Yea for Martha! And Horray for a Mona day! Waving Hi from Omaha.
ReplyDeleteI have two friends who don't go out in public like me, that have some over recently to long arm some Christmas gifts. We got them done and had a great visit, they didn't care about the dust and messy floors at all either! I like the idea of this pattern in blue for a winter vibe! I have a blue scrap bin that's also billowing over!
ReplyDeleteI agree on the cleaning stuff.
ReplyDeleteMy mom always said " I don't mind a little mess, if it's my house you're coming to see, enjoy your visit, I'll be out somewhere living life".
She also said "I have never read in an obituary that someone faithfully washed the kitchen floor every Friday". I came home from school one day to find the mop in the bucket and the floor half washed. The note on the table said "out gallivanting with Betty, be back around 5" LOL
Never heard at a funeral: "Her house was always spotless".
DeleteGood. Since I am like Bonnie. I live alone and not letting anyone in or out unless absolutely necessary, like the guy who came to fix my internet today. We were way further than 6’ apart, both of us masked. He fixed it and I was relieved for him to be be gone even though he was a perfectly nice young man. My house is on a low priority now. There is always something that needs doing.
DeleteThe words on the cross stitch perfectly describe what I feel when I gift a quilt. So sweet.
ReplyDeleteJust finished a scrappy leader ender for my grand baby 3yr old, off to the quilter today, thank you so much for the inspiration that we all receive from your daily blog!
ReplyDeleteIf you want to spend time with me, take me and my home as I am!! More time doing what we love is far better for our psyche than a spotless house!! I love the fact that Martha and Mona are getting to spend quality quilting time with you. My Thanksgiving will be with daughters and hubbies only. Looking forward to the mystery again this year. Thank you, Bonnie for your willingness to give so much of yourself to ALL that love you!
ReplyDeleteTell Santa Hubs you really, really need a Roomba under the 🎄. Have you been good this year? Less housework, more quilting!
ReplyDeleteI love it! My kids got me a Roomba for Xmas last year. I just let her go to work and I go sew. I don't know how I lived with out her. Keeps on going while I keep on sewing!! Now if I could find something to load the dishwasher and empty it I would be a very happy sewer.
DeleteWe have friends who share our "bubble" and we will do thanksgiving with them, as our children all stay at their homes out of state. I like Blue trees for January and February!
ReplyDeleteI hate time change. I'm still getting up on the same schedule as a month ago, which means I'm wide awake 3:30-4:00. "Not enough hours in the day to get things done?" Those hours are hiding in the darkness, LOL, which tells me to go to bed. Have a great day. Sunny and cool here.
ReplyDeleteI love you quote today. Our Thanksgiving will be spent with my husband's sister and husband. They live here. None of our kids will be here, but they are far away.
ReplyDeleteI figure if they are coming to see the house, they should make an appointment. If they are coming to see me, they can come anytime, so dust, pet hair, or whatever doesn't matter. That is friendship.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be just us for the holiday, so we are also going to opt out of the turkey this year and have a beef roast with trimmings. Pie is also still on the menu for us, as well.
Who is the calico kitty atop the boxes?
ReplyDeleteWe'll still have turkey. But, it will be just the hubster & me. I'll probably put on Christmas music & start the undecorating so I can start the Christmas decorating. Joy to the world has a whole new meaning this year. Let's be grateful we still have a world to spread joy to.
ReplyDeleteMy mother would come to visit me when I was a new mother myself. I would apologize for how the house was so not up to snuff. She would smile and say that it was fine and that she wasn't going to be cleaning it for me. LOL She would put my S&H Green Stamps in books for me though. LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on dusting. It just comes back anyway! I'd rather be quilting!
ReplyDelete"Dust is a protective covering for furniture".
DeleteWe're having roast beef for Thanksgiving. No one in my family likes turkey, so we have broken with tradition and don't bother cooking one. I have been petting my fabrics for the mystery quilt. I am crazy about this year's color scheme and can't wait to see what we do with it. (I have also been working on my flying geese.)
ReplyDeleteI agree that spending time quilting is better than any day spent dusting and vacuuming. I belong to a group where the men make doll cradles, the ladies make doll quilts and dolls are donated for little girls whose families may not be able to afford Christmas. I spent my time making doll quilts and somehow the dust in my house did not disappear.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Bonnie. You keep it real (dust and mess, haha). Pine Tree Point will be gorgeous in the fall colors as well. The turquoise colors with the green were a real pleasant surprise. Another winner!
ReplyDeleteI always tell people that if they want to see my house, make an appointment. If they want to see me, come anytime. Of course that’s changed a bit because of covid.
ReplyDeleteHubby and I are also planning a steak-on-the-grill Thanksgiving! We're planning to bake potatoes with the pie and grill asparagus and apples with the steak! I am loving how easy this year will be leaving lots of time for quilting! This may become our new tradition!
ReplyDeleteJust love reading your blog everyday while I eat my lunch. We are having lasagna (at my 50 yr old son's request) for Thanksgiving with my son and his wife, but there will also be pumpkin pie - maybe with a streusel topping!
ReplyDeleteSame here. No turkey or ham. Just the hubby and I and I am going to try a new recipe for Cajun Salmon and shrimp. Also one pie—apple. Things are very different when you are unable to be with family. But we know this too shall pass and the celebrations will be so sweet.
ReplyDeleteGoing to make the Cajun salmon and shrimp too along with a few duck breasts - my first time for both. Can't stand the turkey cooking smell, all the mess cleaning up and the turkey flavor. We have had homemade tacos before and thoroughly enjoyed it! :)
DeleteYour priorities are in place..... PIE
ReplyDeleteA very small Thanksgiving is not new to me. Since we moved to Oregon 23 years ago, it's been just the two of us. Holidays became a time for me to quilt, since family was 3,000 miles away, and work did not provide a lot of free time. After about 5 years, I began to look forward to my dedicated quilting days. Even though I recently retired, I'm still looking forward to my dedicated quilt day. My husband does most of the cooking, but this year, I'm making southern fried chicken - his favorite!
ReplyDeleteI have that same cross stitch piece hanging on the wall in my bedroom. My daughter stitched it for me many moons ago on linen. Each time I look at it, I see her love for me in making this special piece. So happy yours will have a special place to hang in the Quiltville Inn.
ReplyDeleteLove the little quilt! Great idea! It's 6 plus our 1 yr old g'daughter this year. Same menu, but a lot of social distancing! If it's warm enough (San Diego), we may be able to eat outside
ReplyDeleteDust is a protective layer!
ReplyDeleteWe're doing Thanksgiving for four. Me, my two girls and my brother. I'm doing turkey dinner but we're playing with dessert options. I'm nearly done setting up my first long arm machine so that's my weekend plan... leftovers and long arming!
ReplyDeleteI just read a quote "If I clean the house it just gets dirty again. If I make a quilt, it stays made. I love that"
ReplyDeleteHOPE MARY SEES THIS!! I would love to know who publishes the cross stitch pattern she made for you. I need to make it for my sewing room. Jan. jlrhodes@chartermi.net
ReplyDeleteI was so looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. We were all going to be together for the first time in years. No longer. Yesterday my husband said, " let's have ribs for Thanksgiving! " Done. And I'll still make his favorite pumpkin pie. How nice to have Bonnie Hunter and her long arm for a friend!
ReplyDeleteThank you Sewgranny for the suggestion of ribs for Thanksgiving! I read that and ask my husband if he would smoke some ribs for turkey day he said "Sure, but I'm a traditionalist I still want pumpkin pie!" I said "Done"!! It's just the two of us, our kids with families all live many miles away, Iowa, Hawaii & New York.
DeleteThank you Bonnie you are a blessing I enjoy all year long!!
I'm retired, I don't sew as much as you.... and my house is still a mess. I've found if I try to do one room a day, one burner on the stove, one load of clothes washed, at least I've done that!
ReplyDeleteWe will be just the hubby and myself for Thanksgiving. Our Great-Granddaugher, Kymbre'(pronounces "Kimber") age 13 has come down with Covid. Please pray for her and her mother, Danielle(granddaughter)that is pregnant with little sister. She has month and half to go, Dr told her if she has the slightest symptom to straight to hospital for delivery! Naturally the family is not gathering! We are all praying for this family, there is a 10 year old little brother and Dad!
ReplyDeleteBonnie, these patterns that are coming out one after another are so much fun. Now we are just waiting for the Mystery!
Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving regardless of your circumstances! We are still "grateful for so much!"
Just remember, "dust" is a four-letter word. And, it should not be mentioned out loud!
ReplyDeleteWe do our steaks on Christmas since I decided years ago that I was tired of cooking a huge meal and not being able to enjoying the day. I don't mind cooking on Thanksgiving because as soon as the meal is over, I stop cooking until Sunday. We had a Thanksgiving baby and this is the 3rd time in 28 years we will celebrate his birth on Thanksgiving. So it will be a full on Thanksgiving dinner. And very likely a roast and homemade noodles will be on the menu soon for him. Just because.
ReplyDeleteLet me see....steaks on the grill vs turkey...STEAKS BABY!!!
ReplyDeleteI've never really liked turkey. So our Thanksgivings have always been a little different. Now with it just me and hubby this year is wide open!! He's going to have a smoked turkey breast for sandwiches (his favorite) and mine...SHRIMP! OH YES!! and queso dip, spicy bean dip with fritos, cheetos for hubbster and a bonfire in the backyard. And I would gladly trade everything if I could have my babies at home.
Great gift from Mary. I can help with the designer’s name: Judy Whitman of JBW Designs.
ReplyDeleteYes, Quilts Are Love.
I bought a turkey breast to cook. I like instant potatoes and instant dressing and have cans of vegetables. However I do have home grown cherry tomatoes still producing here. It will be my Mom and my DH and I and one daughter who all live in three houses on our farm. Yes pie. Low key day and easy for me.
ReplyDeleteWe will have a small turkey with several trimmings this year. Our son and grandson and one other will share our table.After they take home some leftovers,we enjoy a turkey sandwich or two after Thanksgiving. However, I make "turkey/veggie pot pie filling" and freeze in two person size containers for later use. It goes with mashed potatoes, rice or noodles for those days when I am able to sew again!Happy Thanksgiving to all!
ReplyDeleteAs I was cleaning & dusting before my long-time friend arrived for a crafting weekend, hubby said, "It's Sandy. She knows who you are and doesn't care about the dust on the floors." So true.
ReplyDeleteOur family all live quite a distance away so it's been just the 2 of us for years. We celebrate by trying one or two new recipes. Some of the experimental recipes have been used over and over. Others were a one-time trip to the dumpster. But they're all fun.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
A spotless house is a sign of a misspent life.
ReplyDeleteI have more important things to do. Like sewing.
Marthas quilt is so fun and cheerful sure to be a winner.
ReplyDeleteThe cross stitch is beautiful what a lovely addition to Quiltville inn
Stay safe
Love and quilty hugs
Anne xxx