Thanks to Madame Samm I won

Today on Stash Manicure, the lovely Madame Samm is featuring the talented artist Rebecca Barker.  Last month, when she was featured, I was lucky enough to win 10 of her beautiful quilt themed cards.  I was thrilled when I opened the package and saw that they were even nicer than I expected.  If you haven't already entered the giveaway, hurry over to Stash Manicure to check out the details of the giveaway.  I love my cards so much, I can't bear to write in them.  I have them in my sewing room so that I can look at them everyday.

  

They are much nicer than the above picture.  It was pouring rain all day yesterday and the lighting even with a flash was not complimentary.

Starting the Hands 2 Help Quilt

I have been searching for the perfect (if there is such a thing) quilt pattern for the beautiful, bright  fabrics that  Jamie, my Hands 2 Help swap partner, sent me.  She has already made lots of progress on the quilt she is making with the fabrics I sent her (with lots from her own stash added).  You can see the quilt on her design wall at  Baby Boomer Quilting Bee.  She does fabulous work.

These are the lovely fabrics she sent me.  They are actually much brighter in person.  I decided that the quilt on the cover of the Summer 2011 issue of Quilts and More designed by Cherri House is the perfect match.  You can see the picture on her blog Cherry House Quilts.  In addition to the yardage, I have cut some charms from a ZuZu Petals charm pack by Benartex.  The original quilt is 85" x 85" so my meager brain is working on the math to shrink it down to the 60" x 60" challenge size.

I have to put on some speed because the blocks are laid out on my daughter's bed.  She'll be graduating from college next week and will be coming home to continue her job search.  Using her bed as a design wall will no longer be an option.

A Little Quilt Finds a Home

So often when we donate quilts to charitable groups, we are not really sure what happens to them.  I follow the blog of Cherri House, author of City Quilts.  In March, Cherri posted a call for children's quilts on her blog Cherry House Quilts.  I didn't have anything ready, so it took me a while to get a quilt together.  One month later, I mailed the quilt I blogged about here (http://saltmarshpath.blogspot.com/2011/04/another-finish.html)  to the Early Head Start Program in Baltimore, MD. On Monday, I received a lovely thank you note in the mail.

As a retired nursery school teacher, I was delighted to know that the quilt would be part of the school's "Cozy Corner" In-Home Literacy Project.  Each child is given a quilt and a book to begin an infant/toddler library in their home.  Books are taken to their house throughout the year to encourage a love for reading.  Although I wasn't expecting a thank you for sending the quilt, it was wonderful to hear how the little quilt that traveled hundreds of miles would be used.

What was I thinking?

While searching for hidden UFOs in my fabric closet, I also went through the patterns I have been hoarding.   When visiting a LQS, I saw a lovely sample for a sweatshirt jacket called Sunset Strip by Moonlight Designs.  Unfortunately, they were out of the pattern and ordered it for me.  When I received the pattern, I realized that  I would never make it.  The same applies to the lovely 25" x 25" paper-pieced  Ginger Jar quilt pattern by June Colburn that I loved when I saw it at a quilt show.  Check the links and see if you would like to have one of these patterns.

Another Finish

I finished this baby quilt yesterday, but it was so nasty out I waited until today to take the picture on my front stoop.  While searching through my UFOs, I found a bag of 4 inch insect and sea creature strips.  Packed along with the strips was a group of 4 patch blocks.  I have no idea what they were originally intended for, but it seemed as though they were meant to go together.  I used 2 inch strips of Kona aqua to break up the prints so it wouldn't look too jumbled. I practiced  FMQ on some quilt sandwiches to warm up, but decided to use the serpentine stitch on my Sapphire to quilt it.  I used 6 full  bobbins and emptied 1 full spool of thread and 3/4 of another.  Hopefully, some little person will love it.

This is the back

Unexpected Pleasures

In February Cara of Cara Quilts held a Charity Challenge to encourage quilters to donate to shelters for abused women/children or the homeless.  I never got a chance to blog about it, but I put together 3 canvas tote bags filled with basic toiletries and brought it to the closest Women's shelter. The items were things we take for granted, but need in our daily lives.  Each of the bags held:  a toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, a bath scrubby, body lotion, body wash, a bar of soap, lip balm, and deodorant.   My husband and I also brought a large shopping bag with extra toiletries, canned goods and old cell phones which the center converts to be used for calls to 911.   It wasn't a big deal for us since we try to buy extra items when they are on sale to donate through our church.

Over 200 people responded to Cara's Challenge.  She held a drawing and her sponsors provided lovely prizes.  I was lucky enough to receive a $50 gift certificate provided by 1 Choice 4 Quilting.  I was thrilled to visit Shawna's  lovely online shop and chose a French General Maison de Garance jelly roll and 4 Fig Tree Strawberry Fields charm packs. When the package arrived 3 days later there was a pretty Thank You card and a package of Schmetz quilting needles inside.  I immediately opened one of the Strawberry Fields packs.  It's a beautiful collection.

Sarah over at Confessions of A Fabric Addict gave away 2 Moda Jelly Rolls as part of the Hands to Help Charity Challenge and I was lucky enough to win the Origins by Basic Grey jelly roll donated by Judi of Green Fairy Quilts.  Thank you to these generous bloggers for encouraging others to support people in need.  I can't wait to use these very special fabrics.

Fun Link

I found a great site that I would love to share.  If you love to make bags and totes, this site is a great resource.  DIY Bag Lover has links to free tutorials for every kind of bag and tote you can imagine and a few you never knew you needed.