Jean V donation part 2

Here is the other quilt top that Jean donated to Iowa Comfort.

Jean has made this pattern before, one of my favorites.

I plan to quilt this one with a light gold thread.  I have a new pattern called Breeze that I think will look good on this top.

I love how the placement of fabric changes how the block looks.

Take a look at the upper left corner, the block looks like a cross.

Jean also donated this backing fabric.  There are three pieces of wide backing.  Always a welcome donation.  I will be using these for the backings on the two tops that Jean donated.

Thank you again Jean for your generosity.

Jean V donation 1

It has been awhile since my last post.  To be honest my heart is just  not in it right now.

I did receive a donation this past week so I need to share it with you.  

Jean V. has been a long time supporter of Iowa Comfort and always makes the most beautiful tops for us.

Here is the first one:

This one is a little bigger than a twin size.  I plan to quilt it in August using a sage thread and a curvy pattern. 

She also sent along a couple of receiving blankets.

Once I have the top quilted, I plan to donate all three quilts to a local shelter.

Thank you Jean for your continued support for Iowa Comfort.

Wheel chair quilts

As many of you know we started a new project this year.  Our quilts are smaller but going to an under served population.  Our senior citizens.

This year we are concentrating on wheel chair quilts, and a slightly larger version of the quilts at 45 x 45.  So far most of our quilts have been 36 x 36.  I had 13 of the smaller version in my finished closet that needed to be delivered.

Several of my friends have had first hand experience with local care facilities.  It is really important to me that our quilts went to facilities that truly care about their residents.

I reached out to my friend Jackie.  Her father Jim was in a care center in Winterset.  Jackie only had wonderful things to say about the staff.  Being the great friend she is to Iowa Comfort she also contacted them for me to see if they would be intrested in our quilts.

This past Thursday I delivered our quilts to the facility.  I happened to arrive at the facility during a Bible study session.  So over half of the 29 residents were in the common area.  I immediately realized that all but four of them were in fact in wheel chairs.  At that moment I wished I had enough quilts for each and every one of the residents.  As I waited for a staff member to come and collect the quilts, I happened to see one lady in the back watching me.  As the staff member took the quilts from me, she reached out and asked if she could have one.

The staff member asked me to wait for just a moment.  When he came back he asked if I knew Jackie.  I told him that I did and he asked if I could possibly deliver the photo below to her.

Although Jim is no longer with us.  The staff happened across a photo of him during one of the facility outings.

Remember what I said about wanting to make sure that the quilts went to a great facility.  I think keeping this photo on the off chance that they might get it to Jackie makes this a great facility!

I look forward to visiting them again, with another load of quilts. 

PS.  Life is very hectic right now...so posts may be spuratic during the summer.

Owen

Oops you caught me.  I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago and set them for an auto post.  But life got in the way  this past week and I forgot to write the post.  Guess I better do that now.

Owen visited a couple of weeks ago, and after a brief nap he found me at my cutting table.  The conversation went something like this.

Owen: Grandma why so you have garbage in this bag?

Me:  That's not garbage Owen, those scraps are going to be doggy beds like Hawkeye and Frannie have someday.

Owen:  I don't know how these could be doggy beds.

Me:  I make a pillow and then stuff it with these scraps.  When I am done we give it to the shelter for dog's and puppies that don't have homes yet.

Owen: I want to help.

So we set out to empty that bag of scraps.  Now when we started the floor was clean...just saying. I cut the cases for the beds, and Owen stood by the sewing machine table and ran the foot pedal while I guided the fabric.  That was his favorite part of the adventure.

Then it came time to stuff the cases.  As you can see from the pictures above, that was not as much fun as he thought it would be.

By the time the two beds were stuffed, Owen announced that he was going to go find Grandpa.  Leaving me to finish them up.

Our finished projects, waiting for delivery.  Best part about it is that bag is empty once again.

Speaking of things we do for our four legged friends.  Carol W brought by a supply of fleece and batting scraps to be used in those projects.  The batting is being used today, as I make a few puppy quilts.  The fleece will be put away for future dog bed projects.  So much easier to only wash the case.

Thanks to Owen for his assistance in making the beds.  A very special thank you to Carol W for the supplies.

Down to the wire!

I absolutely hate change!  I am a creature of habit, and learn by doing things over and over and committing it to memory.

So I am really struggling with Windows 10 and my new camera.  The downloading of pictures is now an evening event, what use to take me 5 minutes... now takes close to an hour or more.  

I was finally able to get the latest completed projects downloaded....just in time to get todays blog post created for posting.

I may have shown you these tops before, but here they are completed and ready for donation.

These three quilts were all donated by Jan M. the first two she used up blocks that were left over from previous quilts.  

The pictures don't do the quilts justice.  They are created with deep rich colors.  They could be used by either a male or a female, so make them perfect for our wheelchair quilt program.

The last quilt is bright and cheerful, and reads female to me.  I can see this quilt being a point of conversation with those bright elephants.

Jan always does such amazing work, and she is so generous with her time and talents.  Thank you so much!

Now I tried to mimick Jan's cut and sew method in the third quilt.  I am not very good at it.  LOL  I am much more comfortable with following a pattern, but I gave it a go with the quilt below.

I had some wine themed fabric samples.  Just enough fabric to stack and wack, and sew it back together.  I thought at the time that it would make a nice gentleman quilt, and it will.  I don't think that I will try this process again.  Hopefully it will still bring a smile to someone's face.

These quilts along with several others will be donated later this week.  They are going to a senior center in Winterset.

A special thanks goes out to Betty W for binding all of these quilts for me.

This week I am going to spend some time working on my other passion this coming week.  So next weeks post may be brief.

Have a great week everyone.

As promised

I am having problems with my computer this week.  So this post is going to be short.  Lots of show, and just a little bit of tell.

Last week I showed you the first portion of Betty's donation and I promised I would share the rest today.  So here goes.

Every time I get a donation from Betty, I sit and look at the design.  I know that Betty is working from her stash.  Now I have tons of stash, but I evidently lack Betty's vision.  She makes beautiful quilts and rarely do I see the same pattern more than once in the same donation. Each of these are simple and yet perfect for a small child. (glad I photograph them all.... I can go back and use them for inspiration once I start piecing again) 

I also have a several panels, but I never thought about using them like this.  These are just adorable.  I know that  Betty had a hard time giving a couple of them up.  I did also, they were just so precious.  But I know that whoever ends up with these quilts are going to love them so much more. It would have been a crime to have tried to hold on to them to try to find the right child to give it to.

This is my favorite quilt of the donation.  It was Betty's attempt at a Holy Scrap Quilt. A challenge quilt sponsored by Jacque J at Adel Quilting and Dry Goods.  I was physically unable to make that quilt (hence all the puppy quilts from previous posts). Betty had a few problems with it also so this is her version of the project.  BEAUTIFUL!

Thank you Betty for your generous spirit.  I know you have made many children very very happy.

Betty W was busy!

Betty is one of our most productive volunteers.  She has been with us since begining four years ago.

Now I love all of my volunteers....but Betty is in a league of her own with this donation.

She has been actively trying to reduce her stash for over a year.  I have tried to give her fabric, and she politely declines the offer.

Every couple of months I will get a call that she has quilts for us.

Here is a sample of the last donation:

Aren't they cute!  I love that this batch is mostly non gender specific.

I also love that they come to us, ready for donation.  Betty pieces the tops, quilts them and binds them.

Betty had called me a few weeks ago and asked if we had the need for these quilts yet.  Last week I saw a request on social media for small blankets for kids being placed in foster care.  I called Betty and told her that I was going to make a donation, and she got her quilts ready for us.

(see last weeks post if you would like to help out)

All of these quilts have already made their way to be put in backpacks to be given to a child in crisis.

Next week I will show you the rest of the donation.

Thank you does not seem adequate Betty....but I truly appreciate your generous spirit.

Quilts for kids entering foster care

This post is going to be a quick little post.  It actually has jumped in line, because it is of a time sensative nature.

Last week while on facebook, I came across a local post. Adel Family Denistry had posted that they were acting as a collection point for donations.  The Iowa Order of the Eastern Star are assembling "Kids Comfort Kits", filled with items of comfort for children entering foster care in Dallas County.  

Here is a link to the post:

https://www.facebook.com/AdelFamilyDentistry/?fref=ts

What caught my eye was that they were looking for small blankets, pillow cases and small stuffed animals.   As luck would have it we have some of those items available for donation.  Their project married well with our Hope Quilt donations.  

I spent a portion of last Wednesday, getting our donation ready.  Thursday morning I delivered these to them.

There are 17 quilts there.  15 pillow cases, and a bag of Beanie Babies.  

They were very grateful for our donation, and I am hoping that we will be able to assist them with future donations.

Please take a minute and check out the items that they are hoping will be donated.  Many of the items they are looking for are hygene items.  The targeted age group is 4 to 12.

Next week I am going to show you the awesome quilts that Betty W. donated.  All of which are part of this donation.

Have a great week!

puppy quilts

See this mess of fabric?  I keep adding to it with the intention of creating puppy quilts.  Puppy quilts are used in a child wading pool. Amy and the staff at AHeintz 57 contain new mommies and their litter in them when they are very young.

Well slightly before my surgery I dedicated a couple of days to clean up the clutter of this stack.  There was also a drawer full of binding tails that needed tending to.

The third week after surgery I was finally allowed to take the stairs, and I spent three glorious days just sewing fabrics together willy nilly.  I paid no attention to seams, colors or even fabric types.  I just sewed little strips to make bigger pieces.  

I was WAY OUT of my comfort zone.... but somehow it was really a lot of fun.

This was my first quilt I made. I started with those binding tails.

  You know I realized when I started working with those tails that over the years I have moved from 2.5 to 2.25 inch strips....and why I had 3 inch strips in there is beyond me!  But since I wasn't worried about matching up my seams, it was all okay. I even had some precut blocks that I threw in that quilt. 

The backing for it was two chunks of backing fabric that I had cut off of other Iowa Comfort projects.  They don't go together in any universe....but they were fine for this project.  After all the puppies will have their eyes closed, and they are just going to pee on them anyway. :-)

This is puppy quilt 2.  Not quite as busy as the first one, the backing was pieced together from the first picture.  Remember I was tidying two stacks with these projects.

The third quilt was made out of blocks that have been sitting in my room for at least 6 years.  They were originally going to be HST off set blocks for a 30's quilt I was doing.  They didn't work.  Then I thought I would use them in another challenge I am in.  The quilt called for an hour glass block.  After I cut and sewed them back together I realized my placement was wrong.   So puppy quilt it was.

Now I need to talk about that backing.  I have a whole bolt of it.  When Colleen brought it to me, she specifically called it UNIQUE, and that it was uniquely qualified for the doggy beds and quilts.

By the time I started piecing this quilt I was running a little low on the binding tails.  So I broke up the different sizes with the white.  I don't know why....maybe it was just to make the width that I wanted.  Proud to say 13 years of binding tails are all used up. 

 Again the backing was left over pieces of backing from other projects. That thin star print, is what I trimmed off the first puppy backing.

These are the last two completed projects.  I have one more to quilt and get bound this week.  

I am happy to say that all of my binding tails, backing chunks and batting chunks have all been recycled into these projects. Making my room a little less cluttered.

All of the puppy quilts are quality reviewed by a very picky inspector.  Mork is never very happy with me when I tell him his inspection time is up.

I really enjoyed working on these.  If you have chunks of batting that you have saved thinking you could do a wall hanging or table runner with, and you decide you want to declutter your room.  I can help you out.

Think something like this.  At least 10 inches wide by 20 long. (longer or wider would be even better)

If you are anything like me.  I am guessing you have chunks of fabric that you have been aging in your stash.  It is that fabric that was donated to you  That you inherited from a family member...or even that fabric that you purchased and now years later you are wondering what possessed you at the time.  

I challenge you to use it.  Make a quilt for your local animal rescue.

  Don't want to do the whole project?  I will accept  puppy quilt tops and assembled puppy backings and get them married together and donated to animal rescues.

IF you are wanting to donate puppy quilt tops, they should be around 36 X 48.

Puppy backings should measure about 48 X 60.

Hope you all enjoy the sunshine this week.