This is a pic of my first quilt! I was 20 when I made this in 1982 as a baby quilt for my baby sister when she was born. It's faded over the years of course, but it touched me when Mary sent the pic that showed she still had and treasured this little humble quilt. DH's grandmother showed me how to make cardboard templates, trace them and then cut the pieces. It's a wonder I ever finished this thing at all because I really hated that process, but it got me well on the way to my quilting obsession, and I haven't stopped since! The fabrics came from a children's clothing outlet in Boise, Idaho. They would sell the bags of factory scraps, I had bought two bags, one pink, and one blue floral stripe. I guess I didn't know too much about contrast then! I quilted it in the ditch, not knowing any other way to do it, and learned to do prairie points for the borders. Oh, my quilting thread? Regular sewing thread, a double strand! I'm not sure I buried knots on the back either...Oh how far we have come, and enjoyed the journey!  

Read More»

Some stars for Finn! I have been participating in a monthly block lotto with a group of online friends. Sharon aka Quilt Granny from Quilt Mavericks is also in this list! This month's lotto fabric is the blue shirting fabric you see common in all the blocks. You use this lotto fabric, along with go-withs from your stash. the first of the next month, the winner is drawn and the blocks are sent to her! Then SHE chooses the next lotto fabric for the next round and sends a fat 1/8th to everyone participating. There should be more blocks coming....this is just what has come in so far! I have no idea how I am going to set them...I just ordered a couple of books on settings from Sharyn Craig, hopefully they will help me come up with something. These are all 9" blocks....a great size...not so big as 12", and not so tiny as 6". 

Read More»

My hands, on the news :c)

Yesterday I worked at the school clinic.....as a fundraiser. All money from massages went towards people who have been relocated to Columbia after Hurricane Katrina. Little did I know when I went into the clinic that a news crew would come in! After getting home, I tried as best as I could to stay awake to see the 'film at 11'....but I was too exhausted from the day. I hope someone has taped it!

However I did find the article online!! They didn't mention me by name, but these are my hands...I was the only therapist that they taped :c)

The article reads:

(Columbia) - Thousands have put elbow grease into doing what they can for Hurricane Katrina's victims. One group of students is taking that task literally."I'm getting a massage and relaxing while donating some money to a good cause," said one massage client.

The Southeastern School of Neuromuscular and Massage Therapy opened it's doors Sunday for a special fund raiser."We're having students come in on their own time and give treatments in a student clinic," said Elan Schacter, the school's anatomy and physiology instructor.For each massage, the students get educational credit and the hurricane victims get a $25 donation.

"We're gonna have money go to specific families that are in need that are in the area, here in Columbia," said Schacter. "And we're hoping to be able to try to help as many people as possible yet without spreading it all too thin."

All 24 time slots were filled for a total donation of at least $600, since some people gave a little extra."It's a terrific idea. You feel doubly good about spending money to help other people and yourself," said a client.

Schacter said this is one way to keep donations coming, "At some point, we've gotta jump back into life, do what it is we do and if we can do it at the same time as donating, that's fantastic." After 50 minutes of relaxation, the school's clients probably agreed.The Southeastern School will have another fundraiser in two weeks. To learn more, call 798-8800.
Ashley Yarchin, Reporter

Read More»

Update from Houston!

I just recieved this post from Quilts, Inc. They report:

"Due to the overwhelmingly positive response from quilters worldwide, the Quilters Comfort America project has received more than enough quilts to place with evacuees. If you were planning on sending us a quilt but have not yet, we urge you to find use for it to help those within your own community. Thank you for your efforts."

Wahooooo!! This is just OUTSTANDING! And I'm oh, so glad that I decided to donate my quilts here locally. On Sunday my massage school is having an open house kind of thing, we are doing massages for 'donation' and anything that comes in will be donated to the relief effort here locally since we have had busloads of transplantees from the disaster. I'm glad to help that way too!

Bonnie

Read More»