Family Quilts

I quilt on Monday's with a group at our local Methodist Church.  We have all types of quilts brought into us to quilt.  Honestly some of them are so ugly you want to run out the door with them and throw them into the dumpster.  Many of them are so worn until the fabric starts tearing as you quilt.  But I have learned that each of these quilt have a story to tell and most of them were pieced by a family member who was loved and respected by the now owner of the quilt top.

This quilt top came into us by way of a middle aged lady who said it was pieced by her grandmother and great aunt.  It is one of the few things this lady has that belonged to her grandmother so it is indeed a special treasure. 

Our group quilted the top and when we spoke with the owner about the binding she started telling us where in her home the quilt would be on display on a quilt rack.  The bedroom is decorated in antiques and the iron bed is painted black.  In this quilt there are a few solid black blocks and a few printed black blocks.  The owner asked if we could sew a binding in black to coordinate with her bedroom decor.  I found the perfect binding, a small black and white print.  In this picture the binding has not been sewn to the back but you can see how it just brings everything together and tones down the bright pinks and blues.

Wish I could have shown you the full quilt but in my household now there is only one person with only two arms.  It is truly a sweet quilt and I know the owner with consider it a family treasure.

Back To Quilting

I haven’t blogged in the past month mainly because I had nothing to show or say.  I have been very busy trying to get my yard in shape for the winter.  Shrubs and trees have been trimmed and shaped.  Rocks have been moved in order to reduce the size of a flower bed by my mailbox and thirty bags of mulch have been spread in flower beds.  Because of the excessive spring and summer rains we now have excessive ant beds in the yard so I have been aggressively dealing with those little stinging creatures.  All quilting was stopped.

Yesterday I finally went to the sewing room and was successful in sewing a SOAR bag.  Our church helps support a mission project in Mexico.  Each fall SOAR bags are sewn by volunteers.  These bags are approximately 13 x 17 with drawstrings and marked with a child’s age and gender.  Our church members then take a bag or bags and fill them with gifts for that child.  Sometimes in December the bags are collected and transported to Mexico and given to children as Christmas gifts.  Most of the children live in small remote villages in Mexico.  I am going to try and make bags for next Christmas and the bag I just finished yesterday was a sample to see if I could follow the sewing directions I was given.  With a few modifications I can make it work.   

Fabric for a quilt is sitting on the cutting table and I am now motivated to get started planning and cutting into it for the next quilt.