A BEAUTIFUL BROKEN HEART FULL OF LOVE

I have the best quilty friends.

Huge hearts, sometimes broken, that know the meaning of giving.

How to pay it forward…in times that’s aren’t easy! 

I say that because this year one of them donated

SEW MUCH FABRIC to CHARITY!

Her name, Susan Blalock.

This photo was at a party I hosted a few years ago. 

Susan recently downsized from a home 

she shared with her husband for 42 years.  

In 2023 she lost her husband and now resides in a condo. 

She asked me if I could help her find the fabrics new homes.

OF COURSE!  I can't imagine how overwhelming her

life was during this time.  She not only lost her husband to Parkinson’s 

but after years if living him and caregiving she 

sold the home they shared home and 

had no where to keep years and years of fabric hoarding. 

 I was happy to help her.

She made 3 trips to my home, 

with several bags of fabric in each trip.

Each time my porch looked beautiful.

I sorted thru all this and divided the treasures for different charities.

If fabric was t suited to quikting I donated to

A thrift store, who feeds  the community, thru their sales 

Some went to friends who also do charity sewing.

Look at all these batiks.

Over 100 FQs ended up at Stitching Sisters.

And over 100 traditional print FQs 

With Susan' permission I kept a few things back for 

my two nieces who are learning to quilt. Christmas prints

are usually not appropriate for charity donations.

 I loaded a cart in Joanne's Fabric and Craft Store

with mostly children's novelty prints.

Those fabrics went to Project Linus!

She had a lot of unfinished blocks in the fabrics she donated.

I decided to finish them and make a quilt for charity.

This finished top will go to Stitching Sisters. 

Sew its SUSANS BATIKS that will warm

a cancer patient when the quilt reaches their lap.

I had enough fabric for the top, backing and binding.

Susan doesn't know that I actually took some of her

donations and made her a quilt top.  She had started this work

and I found a way to finish it.  

I now have some backing sew I think I’ll quilt it first her before she gets it back. 

It’s the least I could do...I think she'll be very surprised.

WHY CHARITY QUILTS HAPPEN!

There are many reasons WHY Charity quilts happen.

I'm gonna tell you how they happens in MY sewing room.

I begin a project and then loose interest or just don't like how it's coming together.

For instance, I can’t even remember when I began working on this Plaidish 2 quilt!

I thought using up my OSU Buckeyes scraps would be the thing to do.

Add a bit of red, black and gray…TOUCHDOWN!

And I tried I really did!

Draggin it back and forth to several quilt retreats.

 

Then the lightbulb went off!

I just wasn’t feeling it. WTH?

Sew…I donated it to Project Linus 

with instructions on how to finish

the blocks and the top!

Sometimes it's a touchdown, sometimes a bad call.

My point here is...

IF you aren’t feeling the creative juices flow

 when working on any WIP...let it GO...to charity!

The Crushed Pistachio pattern caught my eye

at a LQS and ohhhh....

I loved the LV background and

I knew I have scraps to use!

I made the blocks, but the unfinished size was just a bit off.

I know now it needed a scant 1/4" seam allowance.

Sometimes patterns dont' indicated this and WOW they should.

Guess I should have done a test block.

I kept saying...I can make this work!

I sewed it all together, but it just wasn't working for me.

Maybe the sizing, maybe the colors...

I have several quilts already in this color palate...

therefor the scraps.

Whatever the reason, I was NOT going to send it out to a longarm quilter!

SEW OFF IT WENT to CHARITY!

I will revisit this pattern at another time as I do love it.

Sometimes MY charity quilts happen

because I am a very lucky pattern tester for

Frannie B Quilt Company!

Recently I selected 2 out of 5 patterns to test for Corrine.

I like this pattern and could see behind the symbols 

for a great pattern to use up scraps and FQs

for Stitching Sisters Chairty efforts.

The quilts go to cancer patients going thru chemo treatments

sew the Peace and Love appliques weren't

gonna make the cut!

Corinne Wells, pattern designer, always lets me make these

tops to the specifications I need for my charity efforts.

I love her for that, among other 

HOW COOL IS THAT!

Look how beautiful this turned out!

The second pattern test was for Holding Hearts!

I knew immediately I didn't want to set these hearts on point 

OR use the small hearts.

I was correct...here it is on my design wall

and I'm building it out, with sashing,

to a rectangular size I need for Stitching Sisters Quilts.

Both turned out great!

And I provided my feedback 

as I tested thru the pattern block units.

I usually get Stitching Sisters fabrics from their Sewing Center.

They get sew many donations it seems like the right thing to do.

AND after I am finished with the top, back and binding

I return it to them for a volunteer longarmer to quilt.

WIN-WIN-WIN!

PATTERN TEST - HOLDONG HEARTS

I love to 

Pattern test for Corrine Wells at

Frannie B Quilt Comoany!

I recently tested this pattern…

I needed it to fit the perimeters of my charity quilts

for Stitching Sisters. 

I wasn’t crazy about the small hearts or 

Setting the blocks on point. 

I cut and labeled the pieces I would use for the various blocks.

I am using fabrics I got from the Stitching Sisters stash.

Fabrics sorted and labeled for 3 blocks 

Block A

Block B

Block C

Because there were a lot of pieces that needed diagonal line sewing

I used my handy dandy tape for fast and easy units. 

Lots of chain piecing went very fast. 

Building blocks and taking notes about the test.

Love these colors. 

Sashings for the background were all white. 

Colors are popping!

I even had a pretty backing for this one,

Also from Stitching Sisters Stash.

It’s why the top and backing and binding

will all go back to them!

This is where the pattern design changes.

I did NOT make the tiny hearts.

I did NOT set the blocks on point.

I DID add sashing to build the quilt to size I needed.

I love it!

And so will a cancer patient, going thru treatments.

It’s off to a long arm quilter, now for final finish. 

PEACE OUT !

I just finished a pattern test for Frannie B Quilt Company.

One of the best thngs aobut testing for Corinne Wells is...

she allows me to do what I need to do

to make the quilt better suited for charity.

Sew for this I didn't do the Peace Sign or Hearts

on the quilt.

But I was able to sufficiently provide feedback

that she always appreciates. 

This top will go to Stitching Sisters here in CBUS.

We make lapquilts for cancer patients.

They have a sewing center and I pick fabrics from

their huge stash....donations from others.

These colors are gender neutral

and bring happiness galore!

Four patch blocks are quick and easy!

The sashing is white and the backing in the

Navy and white-ish print, also from the sewing center.

I use a PDF on my iPad for my testing.

I make notes as I go thru each step.

Design wall layouts are always fun for me.

This one was very quick BECAUSE I didn't do the applique.

But its SUCH a GREAT pattern for making quilts

for this particular chairy.

Backing and binding is made and this

bundle will go back to the sewng center

for a longarmer to quilt.

I love to pattern test.

Its a WIN-WIN for everyone.

I get to support my designers efforts,

I get to support my favorite quilt charity,

I get to learn new quilting techniques,

I only have to provide my time.

And yes I am busy, but I make time

to 'pay it forward'