Our first flyer for the group!

I decided we needed some publicity,mostly for new people even if it's in our own church. This is the front...

 Open it up and read about our Story....

Open the other side and the details are inside....

 Don't forget the back when it's closed up. Now just to figure an inexpensive way to print it....

Pocket Prayer Quilts

Or shall I call them "Silent Prayers To-Go", or "Quiet Prayers"... Not sure what to call them, but these are our latest creations.

 

I kept trying to figure out what we could give to those who wouldn't have a need (or who we can't provide for) a small/med/large quilt.  I came up with one you can put in your pocket (or purse) and take it with you when you visit someone ill, or in caring for someone in need, when (really) the one who needs the comfort is YOU.

Here are a few mini quilt blocks (5" square or so...) that I threw together today. I actually have several 5"-6" squares that I make from the scraps of my quilts. I throw them in a drawer in the hopes of putting together a quilt that makes me think of every quilt I've made in the past.

 Here are a few made with selvedges and fancy stitches.

 I think I ended up with nine of them....

 Of course, you knew they couldn't stay organized... Then you get to see each one of them. All they need is a tie in the center.

 

Okay..... I now have them tied and here is how I'll display them.

 This is the cute little sign in the basket.

Clean Sweep Quilting Event 2013

What a great day to have a quilting event! So much better than 95 degrees and humid (predicted for our original meeting last Sat). We did have some funny hiccups to start with...one person got the email switching the date but breezed over it and didn't realize it was starting an hour late until she showed up at 9am, left and went home to re-read the email. Good thing she showed up, as she had worked on so many of our quilts between meetings.

 

The ladies that showed were, Muriel (our oldest member at 85 yrs old), Margaret, Jane, Janet, Marilyn, Anna, Kathy, Mary Ellen, Nancy (me), Deanna, Delaney and Brenda. Hope I didn't forget anyone...

 

Mary Ellen brought back a quilt she finished binding. I think I'm calling it "Bow Ties and Borders". The center of the Bow Ties is made so it's 3-D... you can stick your fingers under it. Cute striped fabric from the back became the binding. Just needs a label.

This is a sweet one from Kathy's donated ones (that she did at home). She machine quilted it with a decorative stitch. We're calling it "Cherries on Top". Very Cute.

This is such a cutie... Little panel blocks with numbers and animals on it. Made and machine-quilted by Kathy. I wanna call this one "Counting the Animals".

 This one is a mish-mash of heartstring blocks. Some are put together as 4-patch, some are 16-patch separated by plain blocks. All machine-quilted with a decorative stitch. (Also by Kathy)

 

 Mary Ellen made this heartstring quilt as part of a Memorial day challenge on a yahoo group's site, Heartstrings Quilt Project. The challenge was to use brown strips for the center strings. I call this one "Line 'em Up, Hearstrings!" Makes me think of our bingo quilt blocks we made for a quilt several years ago.


The Cool thing about it is the back!! She used a really unusual fabric to 'spread it's wings' (to widen it). We made a gold label for it and it's looks super!! Great job, Mary Ellen!

 

 Here is Muriel doing her favorite thing.... binding quilts. She got this little one finished and then headed home after lunch. Good job, Muriel.










 Finished.... "Spinning Blocks".

 

 Mary Ellen worked on "Delaney's Decision", tying a soft yellow into it. This one we used our noodle method to sandwich the front to the back. Dee (below) finished the trimming of the ties. It got trimmed (batting) and backing and was taken home to have the backing rolled over for the binding.

 Anna spent some time ironing and sewing on labels.

 

 Everyone kept quite busy.... Margaret, Kathy and Janet are working on one that they were soooo nervous about; didn't think the backing would be long/wide enough to meet the edges of the front. It did (1/4" in a place or two). This one is made from various heartstring blocks that were leftovers from other projects. Not sure what we'll name this one.

 

 "Road to Oklahoma" is one Mary Ellen worked on and donated to the group. We had issues with the borders, but once they were fixed, Delaney and Jane (and Dee below) tied this one....So pretty, but you have to stand back to see the 'stars'.  We'll roll the backing around to the front.

 

 Janet and Margaret also did the tying on this Red.white and blue log cabin. The blocks came from various members of a quilt guild project years ago. It will be a nice wheelchair sized quilt for someone.












Then there are the various tops that Kathy made.... We'll call them Blue Belly #1

 Blue Belly #2

 and Blue Belly #3, since all the strips center around a blue square. These were made by Kathy (in her spare time, LOL).

 

 This is a nice little quilt that I may name, "Fall in the Box" since the fabrics are fall fabrics inside a 'box/frame'. I believe this one ended up getting tied and someone took home to finish tying (probably my mom, Muriel).







Here are some other tops that were made at home and brought in (by Kathy)

 

 This one I think would look great with a 2.5" black border, and a wide outer red border. Very striking!















Another finish by Kathy....  "Maps in Blue".

 This one will eventually go to Alycia in CO for the quilts of valor quilts. It has a pillowcase to go with it. Nice job, everyone!

Our next project?

This may be in the making of some future quilts. It's a pattern on Bonnie Hunter's blog, Quiltville. It's called Scrappy Mountain Majesties. This was a sample of one that I found online...

It seems to be simple and fun!!

More quilts finished and Blessed

It's been such a blessing to see how many of these quilts can come to life and be finished!!

This one was created because of the beautiful fall fabric. Not wanting to cut up this fabric into small pieces, we used a large 8" square block, framed with fabrics that would match the leaf fabric. We put them together with a broder of the fall fabric, so it gives the illusion of the frames rising above the leaves. Makes me think of leaves floating under a bridge, which may end up being the name of this quilt. Green plaid is on the backing, with various strips of the frame fabrics as the binding. Two possible names...1. Leaves Under the Bridge, 2. Floating Leaves. 

 This  one is a quilt that Mary Ellen did using blocks that she'd made from a 'Block of the Month' project and it looks a little bit Asian, and is machine-quilted by Laura McCarrick with angel wings, hence the name, "Asian Angel Wings". Nice black and white florentine backing was used.

This quilt was a Black and White Challenge, done with Vernon Nutmeg quilters, when Nancy was a member. She had these blocks from the challenge and had never put them together. Considering them to be 'orphan blocks' from this project, she put them together with sashing to enlarge the quilt, then added a brilliant blue thin border, with a larger black print border. The backing is pieced and the binding is solid black. It's called "Challenge Me".

 

I love seeing them laying over the railings at church when they get blessed. It's such a special moment.

 These two are laying near the babbling pond in front of the pulpit. Love these.
Stay tuned for more....

Quilts being finished.....

There have been so many finished quilts that are quickly spoken for, that I've not always had my camera to take the photos.... However, here are some of the finished ones before they find a home.

This is one made by MaryEllen, called "Angels Among the Stars". It was a pattern that I saw online and sent the photo and what I thought would be good instructions for the group to make (wonky star blocks) and this is what she made with all her scraps! She had it machine-quilted by Laura McCarrick, co-owner of Quilting by the Yard quilt shop. Big AND beautiful!

 This one is finished... It was my experiment with the pattern "Trip around the World" (center design), but I found I didn't like doing it on a large basis, so I kept framing it with florals until it got to a nice lap quilt size. I had intended it to be used as a small tablecloth for my personal use, then decided to donate it to the group. It's called "English Gardens".

 The backing is a lovely rock garden fabric, widened by the green fabric.

 This quilt was made by Enid and brought in to be finished. We added a Fairy land backing and called it "Fairies in the Dessert".  Also a nice lap sized quilt.

 This quilt top was made by Marilyn and was brought in to finish. We used a striped backing and rolled it to the front for the binding. It's called "Pretty Boxes Tied with Riboons".

 This little cutie is called "Stop Driving on the Grass". Just a mishmash of leftover panel strips from another quilt. Great kid quilt.

This was discussed at our last meeting. This quilt was put together, but found to be wavy around the edges. I took it home to fix and after removing the borders, trimming the last row of the quilt's edges, when I went to measure the borders to re-sew I found them to be 3" longer than the quilt!! How they were put on without noticing, it a mystery. But it is now fixed and should be done in the next few months.

Quilts moved on without a photo

Some of the quilts that were camera-shy when they were finished, were the following:

Prisms, a heartstring quilt that went to a man who'd been very depressed lately. Scroll down to see it in the making. (This is an earlier photo of it before completely finished)


Generation Gap (although I think it's in the post called "Soup & Sandwiches"), was delivered by hand to a ladies porch in the next town. She was at the hospital when it was delivered, dealing with cancer. She came home to find it on her enclosed porch. Good timing.

Salt Water Taffy, you can see it in the post below in the making....was hand delivered after a Sunday service.