Thursday, April 28, 2011

Long Over Due Update


Hi Everyone! I have been (trying to) working on my daughter's "College" quilt. As you see I have a helper, named Emma, today and haven't gotten very far. My daughter wanted me to do some sort of butterfly motif quilting. I don't know if you can see it in this photo yet or not. When I finish quilting it I'll show you.
I've also been working on the "Civil War" blocks being put out once a week by Barbara Brackman. I have caught up on all of them except the last one which is about half done. I think I might have mentioned before, that I am hand piecing these blocks just as our ancestors would have done. I'm not using Civil War specific fabrics, but I am trying to use only reproduction fabrics for these blocks. :0)
Next up are a couple of quilts made by some of the women in my quilt "Bee" . We had a meeting this past Wednesday. The one above is done all in batiks. The one below was a mystery quilt one of our members participated in while she was in California visiting family and friends. ( It looks like yummy chocolates and blueberries to me! ;0)
You might have heard that our state of North Carolina has been bombarded with unusually strong and mighty tornados. The one came within about 5 miles of us. We had extremely heavy rain, and very strong winds as well as dime and nickel sized hail, but were untouched by the storms. I have been finding bits of house insulation in our yard from the surrounding homes that had been damaged. Every time I pick the stuff up I am saddened by the devastation it has caused for so many in our area. You may have heard about "Serendipity Drive"on the News as being hit pretty hard. My daughter has a teacher whose home was on that street. Her house was demolished. She has a son and a daughter between the ages of 8 and 10 years, I believe. My daughter wanted very badly to do something for her.
We ransacked my closet of quilts and came up with this one. It was something I had designed and made quite a while ago, but it seemed the most appropriate to give to this particular family. It made my daughter happy to be able to do "something " for her.
This is a set of basket bins that I store my scrappier fabrics in. My Kitty has claimed it as hers. If she isn't helping me quilt she's taking a nap in one of the baskets. Her nest! I think maybe Emma is trying to tell me something! "You have enough purple and pink scraps now to make a special quilt just for me!" Or maybe she is just a happy cat in a basket full of scraps!! LOL!! :0)

5 comments:

  1. Lots of quilty stuff going on at your house, it's a good thing you have Emma's help! The quilts are all beautiful. It is wonderful to hear that the heart one is going to cheer someone who recently lost so much. It really is hard to imagine that kind of destruction. My heart and prayers go out to those affected.
    Your CW blocks are adding up. The hand piecing is a great way to enjoy the process.
    Love pats to Emma for me please :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cats and quilts seem to go hand in hand. I don't know why they like to get in the middle of sewing projects.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Can't wait to see the quilting on your daughters quilt. Your cw blocks are coming along nicely. How thoughtful of you and your daughter to give such a beautiful quilt to her teacher. It's sad to see the devastation in that area. I'm glad you are all safe. Sweet Kitty.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You've been very busy, all the quilts are wonderful. Cats really love snuggling in fabric, mine likes to be inside my closest on top of my fabric. Emma looks pleased with herself.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey Karen,
    I thought I had left a comment on this post. I have popped over several times to see if you have posted. I have missed you.
    Hope all is well.
    Great quilts and what a fun spot for kitty.

    ReplyDelete