Christina's Baby Quilt

As a prelude to talking about Christina's Baby Quilt, I do want to mention that Elijah's quilt was delivered this past Wednesday.  Elijah showed emotion the minute I began talking and opening the quilt.  He was quite touched.  I was not quite prepared for his reaction but so greatly enjoyed the time together.  Elijah is slowly beginning to talk and they are working with him to apply weight to his legs.  He will be transferred to Craig Hospital on July 7th.  Such an exciting step for a young man who was diagnosed to be a vegetable the remainder of his life.  God is faithful!  Thank you for continuing to pray for Elijah and Autumn.   Autumn's quilt was delivered Friday while I was in Denver with my husband on business.  I had to leave it at the nurses station as Autumn was in therapy but did have opportunity to speak with her father the day prior.  He was very touched and very real about his reaction to all that has happened within his family.  We look forward to seeing both Elijah and Autumn improve under the hand of God.

So......I made this baby quilt for a sweet friend of mine who was having a baby girl.  I LOVE baby girls.  Now, I love baby boys too, but baby girls are super fun to sew for with all the lovely bright girly colors. I live with three boys:  one husband, one son and one dog.   So I took a couple of charm packs of Scrumptious along with some white background fabric and made half square triangles.  Hence, this quilt is made completely from half square triangles.  I absolutely love this quilt.  The free motion quilting is an all over heart with swirls, surrounded by what I call pansy feathers.

I love what you can do with half square triangles.  The whole pattern depends on how you rotate the blocks.

This quilt turned out so pretty that I put it on my google plus main board.  

Join me this Wednesday as I link up with http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.com, Needle and Thread Thursday at http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.com and http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com and http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com on Friday.  So come join the fun and see what other quilters are up to.

Fabric Baskets!

Before I get into my fabric baskets, for those interested, Elijah has started laughing and has brought great joy to his family.  I am so excited to get to go see he and his mom tomorrow morning and deliver the quilt.  I hope he has a good night's rest so he is doing well.  My son will be joining me and is really looking forward to seeing his friend.  I will be contact Autumn's family to see if I might deliver her quilt Friday morning while in Denver on a business trip with my hubby.  You can find out about Elijah and Autumn in prior posts.

FABRIC BASKETS

I took a little bit of time these past couple of days for myself and made some adorable hanging fabric baskets for my quilting room.  They are a tutorial taken from The Mother Huddle and posted on this website:  http://www.u-createcrafts.com/creative-guest-hanging-storage-baskets. I had been wanting something for a while that I could have close by to dump scraps from cutting.  Using "Nesting", by Patrick Lose, there is now a large one to the right of my pressing area:

That was so much fun after finding the forgotten hanger, that I made another large one to the right of my cutting area using Summer Song 2 by Zoe Pearn for Riley Blake Designs ( I love this designer):

Now I was REALLY in the mood and decided I needed something next to my Sweet Sixteen in which to drop my tension gauge, gloves, bobbin case screwdriver, scissors, etc.  So a smaller one there using Just Dreaming 2 by Riley Blake designs:

Did I say I love Riley Blake designs?!

Since I am left handed, I also needed something to the right side of my Sweet Sixteen right in which to drop threads with my right hand when quilting.  This one needed to be hanging down but I didn't want it flopping forward so I hung it on a cheap toilet paper holder and taped it under my Handiquilter table with Gorilla Tape.    I thought this was incredibly inventive.   

OK, so why stop at four?  I need a  weee bit more organizing above my pressing area.  I stepped WAYYYYY out of my comfort zone and added a new Kaffe Fassett fabric into the mix.  When purchased, I though it would make an awesome tote fabric as well.  

I just LOVE all my new fabric baskets!  These were sew fun to make.  I made them hanging because I really don't have much room to  sit them down on cabinets.  

I've made so many changes to my quilt studio since remodeling, I may have to take new pictures!

I'll be linking up Wednesday with Let's Bee Social at  http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.com, Needle and Thread Thursday at http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.com and http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com and http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com on Friday.  So come join in the fun and see what other quilters are up to!

It's a finish! - Elijah's quilt!

Yes, Elijah's quilt is finished and has already been signed by some pretty awesome friends with some pretty awesome notes of encouragement!.  Read my early posts for information and updates on the stories of Elijah & Autumn.  Elijah improves almost every day; yesterday he received a breath of fresh air as friends joined him for a time outside in the refreshing Rocky Mountain sunshine and air.  He is still not totally coherent but is responding to some commands and I hear his  smiles and smirks are a riot.  I also have Autumn's quilt in my position with signatures and hope to get both delivered within the next week.  Check out their stories here:  https://elijahandautumn.wordpress.com

This quilt contains an amazing amount of love in the hearts of those who gave their written encouragement.  Both young and old showed up at a local park on Wednesday for a time of fellowship and games.  Both quilts were made available for signatures and it was amazing to see everyone so thrilled with the opportunity to show their support.  

Because I wanted to keep the background fabric free from stitching, most of this quilt is stitched in the ditch.  The colored patched were quilted with an eight sided figure.......

and the borders were quilted with a simple "I" (or l) and "e"

Thank each of you for your support as I made Elijah's quilt and as Debbie in San Antonio made Autumn's.  It was a blessing.

Now it's time to move on!  Quilts are awaiting'.  I hope to spend some time working on a hunter's star but for contract quilting, this will be my next friend...and it's a big one

The quilt block is a disappearing nine patch and it was made with some lovely batiks as well as a moda marble.

And the quilting?  This swirl seems to be popular lately and I can certainly understand why.  It's beautiful and a great overall design.

This quilt is for a young boy so because of the colors, I tend to call it  "army".  

Thank you for joining me as I link up with    http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com and http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com

Elijah's Quilt & GOOD NEWS!

If you've been following my blog since early May, you are probably very familiar with the stories of Elijah & Autumn.  These two young adults, ages 19, were in a tragic automobile accident Friday, May 8th.  Autumn was not expected to live but is now in Craig Rehab Hospital in Englewood, Colorado and is improving daily.  Elijah has been unconscious since surgery the night of the accident.  His legs were crushed and he received multiple lacerations.  He was recently transferred from ICU to a longterm acute care center.  Within days of the transfer, Elijah began tracking people with his eyes and moving his head and arms.  He continues "inching" forward every day with progress.  His caregivers feel it will not be long before he is fully "awake".  The tears still flow every time I think of him starting to gain consciousness.  You can follow Elijah's and Autumn's story here:  https://elijahandautumn.wordpress.com

If you haven't read my blog before, check out my prior posts for pictures of signature quilts being done for both Elijah and Autumn.  I was so very blessed to have my quilty friend in San Antonio volunteer to complete a quilt for Autumn.  It is in the mail as this blog is written so I will have it delivered to Autumn soon. You can check out my previous post for photos of Autumn's quilt.

I have the honor and privilege of completing Elijah's quilt as my son has been friends with him since childhood.  As is always the case, I don't seem to be content with anything "easy", so I offered for the family to advise me of anything they would like to have "written" on the inside border of the quilt.  The family chose two Bible verses: one was 1 Peter 5:10 which refers to our suffering for a short time and then being strengthened by God.  The other is Elijah's favorite verse, which is Galatians 2:20 referring to a believer in the Lord Jesus being dead to their own desires so that Jesus Christ might live within them to complete the walk of faith.  After much quandary, I ended up free motion quilting 1 Peter 5:10 around two sides and the bottom of the quilt.  It fit EXACTLY.  I also wrote Elijah's name at the top center of the quilt.  Then to the left and right of his name, with my Bernina 9mm stitch, I wrote Galatians 2:20.  Here is a photo of the whole quilt sandwiched and ready to put under my Sweet Sixteen.

Following are photos of the free motion embroidery/writing.  The name Elijah is at the top middle of the quilt:

To the left:

to the right:

Starting at the top right hand corner  and going all the way around the bottom and up the other side is the verse which I free motion quilted:

Besides the fact that I still have to cut some threads, the excessive stitching pulled the corners of the main body in just a bit, which is why it is not laying completely flat in those areas.  I used two layers of stabilizer but still had the pulling.  I chose to do the lettering prior to sandwiching for fear it would look even more uncomely if it pulled together when sandwiched.  Oh well....if you do a lot of free motion quilting like I do, you will probably agree that once it is quilted and washed, it will probably look great.  I hope so!  It's good to admit that sometimes our projects aren't always "perfect".  

So I hope to have this less than perfect friend of mine quilted soon, bound and delivered to Elijah along with "Jesus Goggles" (see prior post) for his mom.

So have a great Thursday and Friday and join me as I link up with  http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.com   http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com and http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com

Autumn's Quilt / Jesus Goggles & Completed Top Hat

 I know it's probably not a great idea to include so much information in one post but it seems to be feast or famine with me.   Perhaps eventually I will be able to complete single topic posts.

This week has been a week of quilting accomplishments both for me and for my friend Debbie in San Antonio.  You can check previous posts to read about the quilts we have been making for Elijah and Autumn, who were involved in a serious automobile accident in early May.  We have been friends with Elijah and his family for probably twelve to thirteen years.

Autumn has brain injuries but is in a rehab facility and is progressing rapidly in her healing process.  Elijah is still not conscious and may be moved to a long term acute care facility soon.  Please continue to pray for these two young adults and really pray that Elijah will become conscious.  You can read their awesome story here: https://elijahandautumn.wordpress.com   Just reading the blog is awesome.  The families have difficult times but are such an encouragement as they continue learning to totally rely upon the Lord.

My friend Debbie, who volunteered to make a quilt for Autumn, has completed her task.  These are signature quilts so that friends and family can write a note of encouragement in the open blocks.  So Debbie left the larger background space open.  We will also provide them with fabric markers for use on the quilts.  Here are some photos of how Debbie quilted Autumn's memory quilt:

Autumn's quilt will hopefully be delivered to her next week while my sister-in-law and her husband are in town.  They will be bringing the quilt with them from San Antonio.

Elijah's quilt is still being completed.  I will be adding some words of encouragement on the inner border and will try to get most of it completed next week.

We are also both preparing a small memory quilt for the mothers of Elijah and Autumn. After reading a post by Elijah's mother, Brenna, this past week, inspiration struck as to what to do with the scraps from his quilt.  The title of the post was Jesus Goggles.  Elijah's parents had been given some devastating news by a new neurosurgeon called in for a second opinion.  She explained how hearing the news brought upon her and her husband, some of the darkest moments of their life.  As the information began to be processed, she received inspiration to look at the situation through Jesus Goggles, or through the eyes of faith that God was in control.  And looking through those goggles brought hope.  After reading this post, I looked at Elijah's quilt, and saw a magnificent sight.  Staring me in the face were:

Jesus Goggles!

I had exactly two blocks remaining from construction of the quilt and they worked perfectly.  So although this portion is a surprise for Mom, I don't think I am in danger of risking the element of surprise and am in the process of hand stitching the binding on a very simple but very poignant:

This wall hanging / runner is about 20"  x 25".  The quilting is very simple with i's and e's.  The words were free motion quilted on Nina in zig zag mode.  I love all that this little memory quilt stands for and know that Brenna will ever remember the grace God has given her to walk this path.

And finally......TOP HAT

I showed Top Hat recently as a customer quilt but had trouble completing it as I worked on a quilt for Elijah.  Top Hat was finished this morning and I love it!  What a lovely quilt.

Here is a close up of the quilting:

The backing was a simple polka dot that blended nicely with the quilt top:

Top Hat is a five yard quilt, one yard each from five different fabrics.  I might try this with some of my stash yardage!

So have a great Thursday and Friday join me as I link up with http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.com, http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com and http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com