Quilting for community—you get more than you give

The second round of quilt blocks for the Great Cuddle Quilt Quest (sponsored by the Choo Choo Quilters, Chattanooga) was collected last week. In addition to over 20 Friendship Star blocks (shown here), 2 quilt tops and 3 finished quilts were contributed toward our goal of 51 cuddle quilts for the children of Chambliss Center. Working together as a team, we should be able to meet and surpass this goal! It is heartwarming to be part of this generous group of people.

On Friday, I attended an open house tour of Hatch's House of Hope, a pediatric cancer clinic in Chattanooga. The tour was given by my good friend and stitching sister, Pat, who is the clinic's Director.

Pat welcomed a group of quilters and sewers who have been making quilts and pillowcases for the cancer patients and their siblings. She talked about the history of the facility, the services it provides, and shared touching stories about and Thank You notes from recipients of the quilts. My Round Robin quilt group created and contributed this quilt to Hatch's House.

In an earlier post, I offered a FREE lap size quilt pattern that I designed for charity and community services projects such as these mentioned.

This pattern (left) is "fat quarter friendly" and sews up quickly. It uses 7 fat quarters and the finished size is 36" x 48". Just e-mail me at veronicaquilts@gmail.com and I'd be happy to e-mail you a copy.

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Once upon a time, I worked with a person who grumbled when our group was approached with a volunteer request. "Someone wanting another handout," she muttered, "I don't have time for them." She claimed she supported certain animal shelters and this or that fund-raiser, but when it was time to "give legs to words" or to "write the check," she had an excuse of some sort and routinely made herself unavailable. She couldn't see the bigger picture. Co-workers thought how lonely she must be. It was sad.

None of us lives on this earth alone. It's more rewarding—and waaay more fun and interesting—if you give something of yourself along the way.

Folklore ATCs

Folklore reflects the culture and customs of a people through stories, music, dance, legends, proverbs and popular beliefs. These tales, fables and traditions from across the continents were captured in ATCs at the June FiberAntics ATC swap. Here are the illustrated stories from "Folklore Across the Continents."

Le Petit Prince/The Little Prince (left) "One sees clearly only with the heart," said the fox. "Anything essential is invisible to the eyes. People have forgotten this truth."

Belsnickle/Kris Kringle/Ginter Klaas (left)
The story of the Old Man who made Withered Trees to Blossom (right)

Impotency Cure—China (left)

Alligators in  the Sewers of New York City (right)

Robin Hood and Maid Marian—English and American Folklore (left)

Kimono—Japan (right)

Dragon Amulet for Protection (left)
Scottish Fairy from the Seelie Court (right)
The fairies help the poor with gifts of corn and bread.

El Chupacabra, The Goat Sucker—Mexico (left)
Voo Doo—Haiti (right)

 Faeries, sylphs, undines, elves, pixies, sprites or banshees...
they are eager to enjoy their new home with you! (above)

 And, as we all know: "Your face will stick that way!"

So, what's your favorite folklore tale?

Friendship Album Quilt

A long-time member of my fiber arts guild, the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild, was moving out of state. As a going-away gift, we designed a friendship album quilt for her.

A log cabin block was chosen for the center of the quilt. The bold, graphic nature of this block is classic and provided a variety of spaces for messages and signatures from guild members, friends and family.

The quilt top was a collaboration between my friend, Pat, and I. During the construction of the quilt, the piano key border strips and the quilt center were circulated independently to gather signatures from people in various places. Then, the borders were sewn to the center in preparation for quilting.

I free-motion machine quilted this quilt with a variegated 40 wt. cotton. Here is a picture of the pieced back. We need to come up with the name for this quilt. Any ideas? Then, we'll make a special customized label and it will be off to its new home.

"Friends and quilts become more cherished with time."

Make a signature quilt for someone special in your life. Here's a great reference to get started.

Quilting a Moda fabric garden

I had the opportunity to custom machine quilt this beautiful top for a quilting friend. She picked out a beautiful collection of Moda prints in soft pinks, greens and creams and surrounded the center squares with a coordinating floral print.

Here is a closer look of some of the fabrics.

I found the perfect variegated thread. A 50 wt. cotton in shades of pink with touches of sunshine yellow. The freeform feathers and swirls meander across the prints and paisleys of this 80" x 63" quilt. It was like strolling through a springtime garden.

I'm sure the daughter that gets this quilt will love it!