monkey hands

Sandy Relief Quilts: Finish Line in Sight!

Quilts one, two and three were delivered long ago. Quilts four and five are on their way! Quilt six is back from Quilter's Pantry and ready for binding, and quilt seven is assembled and on its way to talented, generous Phyllis for longarm quilting (contact info link at end of post and in side bar under Quilter's Pantry).

Anne Marie from Lisbon, Portugal made all 42 beautiful blocks for this quilt! It's number five of the seven I'm assembling and binding for the relief effort.

This is  the quilted (ready-for-binding) Sixth Sandy Relief quilt, with blocks from the North Hills Quilt Guild.  This picture only shows half of the quilt drapped over a stair railing.

This is the back of Sandy number six. The color doesn't show well here--it's a warm brown with a cheeky green dot.  I love the pattern Phyllis (Quilter's Pantry) chose for this!

And another from members of the North Hills group:

 

This is one of three quilts made from blocks the North Hills Guild sent from Pittsburgh, PA.

This quilt top (only half shown--it's Sandy #7!) is also made mostly from blocks from the North Hills Guild. It's almost ready to be sent off to Phyllis (Quilter's Pantry). 

I've included a couple links below if you want to read more about this incredible effort to bring 5,000 quilts to families affected by Hurricane Sandy. 

 

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Friends

 

big beast meets little winged turtle

 

 

three year old Nellie (lab) and 14 year old Peanut are good buddies

 

 

Sandy Relief Quilts #4 and 5, back from Phyllis at Quilter's Pantry and ready for me to bind them

 

 

Longarm quilting (and this photo) by Phyllis Dewey at Quilter's Pantry

 

Morphing Beast; Teaching: Third H.S. Quilt Finished

This little beastie started out with an odd kind of menacing face that never seemed right (see the before face here). A small scrap of fabric and a new face later, this little beast now seems more friendly, even a bit curious. With an ode to Jude Hill's "Beasts" class, and now the Spirit Diaries Course, online, more info here at Spirit Cloth. Check out "Classes".

Tomorrow, after living and working in Beijing for two years, I return to teaching--part time, not full time anymore-- at Keene State College. With temperatures in the teens during the day and the single or negative numbers at night, it's going to be a rude start for an 8am course. Nevertheless, it will be good to be back on campus with colleagues and students, and I'll still have time for fiber and textile work/play.

These generous folks:  

made most the blocks or longarm quilted this great quilt, now on its way to a happy recipient!

Here's to the generous world-wide community of quilters, including longarmer Phyllis Dewey of Quilter's Pantry! Three quilts are totally finished, two more are quilted and waiting to be bound, one more is pieced to send off for quilting, and the blocks pressed for the seventh and final quilt, soon to be squared, cut, and stitched together.  

our favorite room on a cold winter night

Two Sandy Relief quilts are on their way to warm new owners, a third is on its way back to me from the longarm quilter (hurray Phyllis! see contact info below) for binding/finishing, and quilt tops four and five have been assembled and sent off for quilting. Now I'm working on quilts six and seven--a bit dizzy from all these wonderful, wonky blocks! The global quilting community continues to amaze me!

Sandy Relief Quilt One

Sandy Relief Quilt Two

Entire Sandy Quilt top sent from Portugal

and the Rainbow Quilt for, and designed by, my niece:

top half (held on side)

bottom half (held sideways)

All quilts were longarm quilted by generous, talented Phyllis Dewey of Quilter's Pantry! She's really helping with the Sandy Quilt effort. You can find her website at Quilter's Pantry and her blog at Quilter's Pantry Blogspot. Phyllis, you rock!

North Hills Quilt Guild, Green Giveway

Pittsburgh, PA's North Hills Quilt Guild has outdone themselves with beautiful blocks--nearly enough for two quilts! (I lived in Pittsburgh from the late summer of 1985 to the early summer of 1993--three of my four children were born there.) I have begun pressing and trimming, and I will start sewing tonight! 

Meanwhile, my slow slog through my studio continues, and the theme today is "green."  Green, like birds and bulbs in yesterday's post, is to me a hopeful symbol, a sign of renewal, growth and life. This next giveaway will be on my sister-in-law's birthday, December 20th. You know the drill. Leave a comment before noon EST, I'll chose at random, ask for a mailing address, and send the fabric out pronto, anywhere in the world. Why not? It's fun to share, and it's good to send fabric I like, but am unlikley to use, off to a good home!

some yards, half-yards, fat and long quarters, a smaller piece or two--all new

Log Cabin Quilts, Winter Sunshine Giveaway

I'm still chugging way, working on finishing the next couple quilts (numbers four and five for me) from donated blocks sent from all over the world as part of the 5,000 Quilts for Hurricane Sandy Relief goal (also see the box at the top of the side column).

Pictured above is a not-so-great night time shot of Sandy Relief Quilt Three, spread over a couch (part of the quilt is not visible).  I will post better pictures once these tops are quilted and bound.

Corner of quilt one, quilted by Phyllis Dewey of Quilter's Pantry

This is a sneak preview of quilted SRQ One, sent to me by the wonderfully talented and helpful longarm quilter, Phyllis Dewey of Quilter's Pantry. If you're one of the block makers, or if you just appreciate this effort, please stop by her website or her blog and tell her thanks for helping out with this project! 

Now that I'm home in New Hampshire (after spending most of the last two years in China), I'm going to be doing major studio cleaning and culling over the next few months. This little bundle of five sunny fat quarters seems like a good place to begin. Leave a comment here on this post by noon EST on my mother's birthday (December 19) if you'd like to have these. I'll choose at random and send them off---nationally or internationally-- the next day!

Thomasina supervises my efforts

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Three

  Blocks for Sandy Relief Quilt Three, waiting to be startched and pressed, then trimed and sewn. These gorgeous blocks were made by Julia from Perth in Western Australia, Heather from Charleston, SC, and the Triangle Square Quilt Guild in Shelby, Montana. It's fun to look at the many different bits of fabric in each block and wonder about its origins or original purpose--a girl's dress, perhaps, or another quilt project?

 

This is the third night of Chanukah. The flickering glow reflected in the brick-framed window  conjurs up winter stories and fables in my mind. I imagine a cold, weary traveler finding her way up the hill by following the light in the window of this close-to-the road farm house (built in 1705).

 

SRQ Two--the top is nearly finished.  I will also post pictures of each finished quilt before they are sent off.  The rich, varied colors and wide variety of patterns show that many hands worked to make this quilt!

Two

Tonight is the second night of Chanukah. The candles really do seem to bring warmth and hope. It's good to be home in New Hampshire once again. 

 

The 42 wonky log cabin blocks for Sandy Relief Quilt Two are starched, pressed and trimmed--by the end of the day they'll be sewn into the finished top and ready for quilting. The block-makers for this quilt (names and national/international  locations) are listed here (in the previous post). Beautiful blocks! 

A new beastie creature is growing on a small bit of cloth.

Sandy Quilt One

Fuzzy pic--sorry--husband was standing on a chair with the quilt in his upheld arms, urging me to "hurry up" and take the picture. 

Made with beautiful blocks donated by quilters across the country--see this post for names/places. This top is now on its way to Phyllis Dewey at Quilter's Pantry in Tennessee. Phyllis is the amazingly generous longarm quilter who has volunteered to do the quilting! Look for pictures of the finished quilt here and on the Quilter's Pantry website. 

More blocks are arriving each day from all over the country and beyond, some from as far as Israel and Australia! I'm pressing and trimming blocks as they arrive. The next quilt, Sandy Quilt II, will be made from lovely blocks made by Sally in Los Angeles, Christine in Jerusalem, Bonita in PonpanoBeach, FL, Carol in Boynton Beach, FL, Ruth in Alma MI, and Carol in Centreville, Va. Thanks to everyone!  Look for pictures here soon!

Blocks Galore

Strips of blocks for the Sandy Quilt effort

I signed up to be a "team leader" and put together some quilts to bring warmth and cheer to some of the people worst impacted by Hurricane Sandy (see this link and/or click on the cute dog in the box at the top for more info).  Beautiful long cabin blocks have started arriving, and I have been spending my days starching, pressing, trimming and sewing.  Blocks for the first quilt (sewn into strips, above) arrived from Stacey and Gyll, Sharon, Cathy, Gladys, and Lisa in Carmel, CA, Sugarland TX, Springfield, MO, Kent, OH and Porter, OK, respectively. Wow--42 blocks will make a 72" x 84" quilt. I'll try to get borders on some of them so they're big enough for double beds.  

Longarm quilter Phyllis Dewey of Quilter's Pantry in Tennesse has quilted many of my quilts, and she's most generously offered to quilt some of these once I get them put together--what an amazing, generous gesture, especially at this time of year when longarm quilters are so busy! Thank  you, Phyllis, and thanks to all of you who have made (or will make) blocks and quilts!