Fabric and news

I have been busy quilting and binding this week for Iowa Comfort.  I completed two more quilts and they are ready for donation.  

I am having problems updating the website so the finished quilts will be shown in the near future.  Don't know why every year I have trouble with the photo gallery.

Now the important news prior to showing you the rest of the fabric that was donated.

Most of you know that I fund Iowa Comfort by quilting for customers.  To my quilting customers:

There is going to be at least a six week period from Feb 26 to mid April, that I am not going to be able to quilt.  So if you have a top that you need done prior to May, you need to get it to me soon.

I know that is around graduation time and other events.  So just plan accordingly.

Lets look at fabric!

I love black and white fabric....but to be honest I decided to share the love with this fabric.  Jackie O makes comfort quilts for alumni classmates of ADM.  All of those quilts are made of red, black and white fabric.  That bottom picture can be used for backings on her comfort quilts.  One can never have enough variety of fabric when you are using three colors.  So I sent this fabric home with Jackie, I know she will make wonderful comfort quilts with it.

  
This fabric keeps getting moved around in my bins.  I can't quite decide it it is feminine, masculine or if it could be considered neutral.  

Determining that will help me know how to cut it.  Fairly confident that this fabric is going to be used for lap quilts for senior facilities.

 This is an entire line of fabric, in various color ways.  Each piece is a half yard cut.  While there is some floral in there, there is also more masculine fabric.  I should be able to cut at least 10 lap quilts out of this fabric.

Another line of fabric in multiple colors.  This fabric screams kids quilt to me.... how about you?  I do have some fun cats and dinosaur fabric that this would complement.

 Just thought I would show you a close up of the fabric.  Kind of reminds me of a night sky.  LOVE IT A LOT!

Hope everyone stays warm this week!  Have a great week, and I will try to get some of the finished projects on the blog next week.

A new quilt shop in De Soto?????

Well according to my husband there is!  This past weekend I recieved an email from Colleen T.  she had another donation from Fon's and Porter for Iowa Comfort.

I am sure you know that the Fon's and Porter quilt shop in Winterset has closed its doors.  Evidently fabric that wasn't sold was donated to several organizations that donate quilts of comfort.

Iowa Comfort made out like a bandit!  Take a look 

Yes those are bolts of fabric.  And since my customer base is down, and that is how I fund Iowa Comfort, this is my new backing material.  Colleen told me that the skull fabric would be perfect for doggie blankets.  It is the very first bolt in the top picture.  :-)

Just so you can get an idea of the amount of fabric, take a look at the side view.

32 bolts at least 5 yards on each bolt....that is at least 150 yards of fabric for backing.  Much of this fabric is floral and I have a lot of floral fabric for quilt tops.  I think the care centers will love them.

There were 34 fat quarters donated to us also.

A large stack of fleece was donated.  These will be used as covers for the doggy beds.  I plan to get them all sewn up and ready to be used as I fill the doggy beds.  They will look like this when completed.

In addition to the fleece donation we recieved this batting.

Colleen thought that the bumper pads could be used in the dog blankets.  I have never quilted anything with this thick of batting.  So sometime this week I am going to give it a try.  Skull fabric with thick batting.... note to self that binding is probably going to need to be bigger!

There is more fabric to show...but it will wait until next week.

I did get two tops quilted this week.  Only one has been bound, I needed to find a place for all of the fabric.

The goal this week is to quilt two tops, and make up all the fleece covers for future doggy beds.

Thank you just does not seem adequate, but thank you Colleen and Fon's and Porter for the donation.  This donation will help Iowa Comfort meet its mission for the next several years.

New Year, New Focus

Well sort of.  We are still going to be making quilts for comfort, I am just expanding our mission.

This past fall I was contacted about providing lap quilts for senior housing facilities.  Additionally I was asked to thinking about providing quilts for patients that were undergoing chemo treatments.  After giving it careful thought....all of about two minutes....<wink wink> I think those would be excellent projects to undertake.

We will continue to do our Hope Quilts for the kids as we have in the past. 

If you would like to provide a lap quilt for the senior centers here are the guidelines:

We will make two sizes for the senior centers.  I was specifically asked if we could make several for patients in wheel chairs.  

Because of the wheel chair these quilts must be a specific size, 36 x 36.  That is the maximum size they can be, otherwise they will wreak havoc with the patients mobility.

The second size for the senior centers is 45 X 45.  These will be for seniors that have no mobility restrictions.

Should you decided to make a donation top please remember that we will need quilts for both genders.... we tend to get for femine donations... so if you can keep the quilt gender nuetral that would be great.

For the chemo patients we need a little larger quilt.  I spoke with my Aunt and a friend that were undergoing treatment, and they agreed that a quilt to cuddle under while undergoing treatment is wonderful treat.  Now I am going to try very hard to use flannel as a backing on these quilts to make them extra toasty.

Here are the min. and max. for those quilts.

These quilts can be anywhere from 50 to 60 inches wide, and should be about 70 inches long.

The varying widths will accomodate just about everyone, and the length will make sure that a six foot person can be snug as a bug in a rug.

Of course we will still take other quilts outside of these projects...but this is where the focus will be this year.

Speaking of focus, with it being a new year I thought it was a good time to clean my quilt room and take inventory of what I have in the que.

I spent Sunday and Monday cleaning and preping for future quilts.  I discovered that I have 10 quilt tops to be quilted for Iowa Comfort ranging from Hope quilts to several bed size quilts.

I measured each top, found a backing for it, and cut the batting for the project.  Then the three pieces were placed in a bag waiting for its turn to be loaded on the long arm.  

The goal is to have all of these quilts completed by the February 7th.  Two a week, sounds like a reasonable plan to me.  Of course customer quilts will go to the front of the schedule...should any come in.

I have a bed size quilt on the long arm now.  Here are a couple of Hope quilts that I managed to complete this past week.

Well that is all for now.  I hope everyone stays warm this coming week.

Last post of 2015

It is really hard to believe that it has been three years since we started Iowa Comfort.

A group of volunteers, that donate their generous time and talents to bring a little warm and comfort to those in need in our community.  

That is what I like best about what I am doing, helping those within our own communities.

I have been busy working on quilts this past week.  This old dog even learned a new trick.  After years of people trying to teach me to machine bind.... I have finally mastered the techique well enough that I plan on using it frequently next year.

I have had this little quilt for a while now.  I was afraid to get it quilted because of the embellishments on the Sue Bonnet blocks.  The hat has a ribbon and a button. I took an afternoon and played with my computer program to find the right pattern and set up to miss those buttons and ribbons.  I was happy to get it completed and ready for donation.  I think I will send a puppy along with this little quilt.

Rozetta, pieced this quilt for Iowa Comfort.  I am ashamed to admit that I have had it waiting in the wings to be quilted for about 18 months now. I am thankful that she pieced it for us, and I know that it will be well loved by a small child.

This quilt is now finished also.  It is a double sliced layer cake.  We used fabrics that were donated by the ladies that attended Adel Quilting and Dry Goods 10 annual retreat. (they just had the 13 annual retreat.... )  That year everyone was asked to bring a 10 inch square in fall colors.  We have made several quilts from this donated fabric this year.  

Jan M donated the backing for this quilt and she also volunteered to bind it for me.  Actually she is the person that gave me that last little tip that allowed me to master machine binding this past week.

Jan also made this little quilt for a baby shower.  After I got it quilted for her she decided that the colors were not quite what the mother to be had asked for.  So she went home made another on and donated this one to Iowa Comfort.

Jan brought along 7 yards of flannel for donation when she dropped of the above quilt.  I have a special project in mind for that flannel.... but more about that next week.

As the year ends I want to thank all of my volunteers for everything they do for Iowa Comfort.  With out all of you we would not be able to help those that need our warmth and comfort.

I look forward to the coming year, expanding and modifing our mission just slightly.

Please drive safe during this winter weather event.

IT IS CHRISTMAS and we got a major donation!

Yes I know....I said that I wasn't accepting fabric donations....but for every rule there is a an exception.

As you may know Fon's and Porter have closed their quilt shop in Winterset.

Colleen T. has had the fun task of dispersing some fabric to local organizations that provide comfort.  She thought of us again this year.

Take a look.

These are all wide backs.  

Full fat quarter bundles and another wide backing.

These are all 1 yard cuts, of color coordinated fabric lines.

Also recieved some color coordinated thread to match the fabric.

And as if that wasn't enough, Tony also sent along some flannel.

I have pre cut bricks ready to be sewn together, and several large pieces that can be used as backing.

My mind has been swimming with idea's for this fabric....and it is going to merry very well with next years focus....but that is another post.

All and all there is over 75 yards of fabric.  Pretty and soft fabric. (in my mind I am singing a version of soft kitty....you know the one with the lyrics about fabric)

I feel so very fortunate to be the recipiant of this donation.  We are going to make a lot of people smile next year.

Thank you so much Fon's and Porter, Colleen and Tony!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas with family and friends.

overflowing scrap basket

When I am in the quilt room, sometimes I get a piece of fabric that is thin or I just can not imagine how I am going to use it.

Often it may be a small piece left over from another project or part of a panel.

These types of scraps go into a basket that sits to the right of my sewing machine.  Well that basket has been overflowing for about a month.  So this week I decided it was time to do something with it.

Here are three doggy beds that will be donated to AHeinz 57 today.

https://www.facebook.com/AHeinz57Pets/videos/905188332851214/?theater

I hope that link works.  At about the 27 second mark there is one of our beds being used to provide comfort to rescued dogs.  Amy and crew do such a good job.  In this season of giving, please think about remembering them.  

Here is the other project I worked on yesterday fresh off the long arm.  These are those scrap pieces I was talking about earlier.

Originally I had planned on the green fabric being the back to this little project.  So I spent time at Open Sew this past week, creating a pieced (CRAZY) top.  I got just a little carried away with my piecing and the top became the back.  I also had to add a little more fabric to the green to truly maximize the backing.  No I didn't want to start putting scraps back into that basket already.

These are the size battings that I piece together for the doggy quilts.  
Tonight I will be squaring up and preparing these pieces for the next doggy quilt.  They are just the left over batting from other Iowa Comfort projects.   No I really don't throw much away.

https://www.facebook.com/AHeinz57Pets/videos/905188332851214/?theater

These quilts are made with the intention that they will be used in the puppy pools or cages.  As you can see in the above video, regular blankets bunch up.... our puppy quilts tend to lay flatter because of the multiple layers.  I have been told they work really well.

Not sure if I will have a post next week as things are getting a little crazy around here.  We will see how it goes.

Wishing you all Merry Christmas, filled with love and family.

Delivery this past week

I delivered all of the Christmas quilts to the center this past week.  The delivery also included pillowcases and several bed size quilts.

Here are the last two Christmas quilts that were completed.

This one was pieced and quilted by myself, and Kathy B volunteered to bind it for me.

Oh this picture is not very good.  Note to self make sure to check the photo before I deliver.

Like the quilt above, I pieced and quilted this top.  Lonnie K. provided the binding and talent for adding the binding.

Kathy B also has been collecting stuffed animals.  I donated all of these this past week also.  I was told that the small ones will be used as stocking stuffers this Christmas and larger ones might be used as gifts.

This past weeks I quilted two hope quilts.  I also have a bed size quilt that is on the longarm now that will need to be bound in the near future.

Thank you Kathy B. and Lonnie K. for the donation of time and talents.

Hope everyone is having a joyous holiday season.

Check this donation out

I went to the mail box a couple of weeks ago and was surprised to see that I had a package to large for my box.

When I unwrapped the package, this quilt and pillow shams are what I found.

Nancy L. had originally purchased this set for her son's bed several years ago.  She no longer needed it at her house, but since it was still in beautiful condition she sent it to us. 

Nancy said she just felt better sending it to Iowa Comfort, than putting it in the Goodwill bin.

Iowa Comfort truly is blessed!

Thank you Nancy for thinking of us. This quilt will be delivered before Christmas, and may well be under a Christmas tree for someone starting over.