Fabric Tuesday!!!

 Some of you may recognise some blocks from this quilt -- since you made them! That's right, Rosemarie's Cancer Killing Quilt and Katee's matching one are very nearly finished!!! I was on a major time crunch to finish Katee's (it was just a strip of blocks and an idea a week ago), since she and I will be working on hand stitching the bindings down on these two this week at Thanksgiving! All I need to do before we leave at the crack of dawn tomorrow is sew on that binding to Katee's quilt! I hadn't been worying too much about getting Katee's done too, but then my mom (who watches Katee while her parents are away with Rosemarie for her treatments) mentioned that Katee's really excited to see her quilt! I couldn't let that sweet 10 year old down!

Stopping in for the first time and don't understand what I'm talking about? Here's the first post and all the others. The short end of the story is that my four year old niece has cancer. She's been battling for three years and it makes me crazy that there's nothing I can do to make it better. We've rallied the forces and people from all over the world (I think like 6 countries... though I'd have to go back and count) have sent me pink and purple quilt blocks to make her and her older sister (Katee) quilts (since of course you can't make something for one sister and not the other). This project has warmed my soul in ways I can't describe. You all are amazing!

 Here are those raw edges, soon to be covered over with binding! It looks great doesn't it? The bindings (and back of Katee's quilt) are very scrappy. I used up almost all of everything that people had so very generously sent along with the blocks. These quilts are going to make AWESOME Christmas gifts! :)

Don't forget to head over to Quiltstory to see all the other goodies linked up for fabric Tuesday!

A post to make up for my last one.

Last night I sat down and designed Katee's Quilt. I intend to finish both Rosemarie's Quilt and Katee's for Christmas. I'm going to make them each a matching pillow case too, and it's likely going to take me really buckling down to get it all done. I just haven't been very inspired on the bigger projects recently. If you don't remember, here's the link of posts about the Rosemarie Quilt, Katee's quilt is being made from the remaining blocks. Hers will have a touch more adult to it (more purples, more saturated colors). I'm planning on embroidering her name there on that strip on the side. I think it'll be sweet yet not baby sweet (since she's 10).

This was my sketch of ideas for my sewing machine cover. I decided on the two ideas that are circled, and then winged it from there. By the pictures it looks like it could be three different covers all together, but instead each side is mostly monochromatic.

Here's the blue side. My favorite side. All my fav. fabrics. AMH little folks and good folks, grey (duh) and also those little owlies are adorable.

Here's the pink side, which I love, but it's a bit more busy than I'd like. Yet again lots of AMH, even some Chocolate Lollipop in there. The black safety pin fabric is amazing and I'm almost out of it. The top panel is composed of random blocks from my scrap bin, including bikes, 1/4" patchwork, and grass green. It's a little out of place but, whatever.

Here's the reverse side. I made use of those few little hexies I made way back (before I decided I don't like hand sewing enough). They didn't match anything I had so I decided no harm in sewing them onto the back here. Grey matches everything.

Now I just have to go ahead and bind it up!

One Thing One Week Challenge

Amy over there at Amy's Creative Side is hosting her One Thing One Week Challenge again. Last week when she posted about it I committed to doing this:

I”m going to get started on quilting my neice’s cancer quilt. And finalize my projects for the two swaps I have ending soon. Oh maybe I can be superwoman and get it all done?

Yep I can be superwoman I have finished up/gathered up my swap things, and completely finished free motion quilting Rosemarie's quilt!!! I can't believe it either. I have pictures to prove! :)



Scrappy Pincushion Swap - ready to send!



Scrappy Mug Rug Swap



And finally, here's the quilting all done on Rosemarie's Quilt.

As my regular readers have heard, this quilt is a compilation quilt made with blocks from people all over the world. It was organized via a flickr group, and is being made for my niece Rosemarie who is 4 years old and has been battling Neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer for the past three years. She's a strong girl and we're hoping and praying for a cure. This month is childhood cancer awareness month, are you aware that each day 7 children die of cancer (yesterday one of them was a cancer crusades friend of my sister's). As you're getting out of bed this morning, the parents of some 40,000 kids are facing yet another day of treatment...of wondering, hoping, and fearing. Will this work? Will there be serious complications if it does?Did I make the right choice? FORTY THOUSAND kids who don't get to be kids today, they have to be cancer warriors instead. For them--conquer childhood cancer.

Today to help conquer childhood cancer, Chili's restaurants are donating every dollar they make to St. Jude's Research Hospital, to research for a cure to childhood cancer. Today Chili's will donate more money to find a cure than the American cancer society will. Will you help them? You've gotta eat right? Go eat at chili's and while your at it, hug your kids.

Gold is the new pink. I wear gold for Rosemarie (she's here in this video, wearing her super girl outfit). She really is my hero, she fights cancer every day.

My daughter, Allie playing with Rosemarie on our recent visit.

**Added to Fabric Tuesday, over at Quitstory. Go check them out - lots of creativity there!!

Mod Bento Block Swap

The giveaway post is here.

As the Doll Quilt Swap 9 winds down (yep I just finished the quilt yesterday), I've been thinking about joining another swap or two. I'm not really sold on the whole "quilting bee" although I think I'd learn a lot, I don't really have the fabric or postage to be doing that sort of huge project. I like the idea of doll quilt swaps because I like the finished product... neet and tidy. I've decided to join the Scrappy Pincushion Swap, which not only inspired me to make these,

but it is also hosted by the same people as the Doll Quilt Swap (lots of the swappers are the same too). The scrappy pincushion swap starts up as the DQS9 winds down, which is perfect!

Then I started looking for other swaps... and a friend from the DQS9 swap told me about the Mod Bento Block Swap. It's a pretty cool setup. You make as many mod bento blocks as you'd like to recieve, then send them to the swap mama with a self addressed prepaid envelope, and she'll send you that many blocks from the ones other people send in! I like that there's really no rules other than fabric choice (which is right in my comfort zone), and date of sending (which is two weeks from now - perfect).

So yesterday I set out to give it a try! We're using Film in the Fridge's tutorial, which is awesome! Here is the block I made yesterday, and the two I made today! I've been taking extra care to measure/cut/sew/trim meticulously... and mine actually ended up at the prescribed 16" square! Pretty awesome!

French Seams!

I just made something with french seams! Really! For some reason I thought they'd be harder than they were! Earlier this week I had made a pillowcase for DH... with awesome bike fabric trim. Well today I wanted to sew, but being that I just embarked on a huge project for Rosemarie, I don't want to start anything else big. So I decided to make myself a pillowcase. I used this great fabric that I got from the One Yard Wonders sweepstakes win (one yard of fabric delivered to my door each month for a year - awesome right?), "Sparrow" by Alexander Henry. I love the fabric but the colors aren't really something I can see myself using in a quilt... so I chopped into it and used almost the entire yard for my pillowcase (just a little two inch strip left, from the selvedge).

I used a 1.5" strip of black and white saftey pin fabric as an accent, and used this tutorial from Film in the Fridge. It took just a little more time and energy than the other pillowcase I made, but it was well worth it. I wish I had seen this tutorial before I'd made DH's pillowcase!

Notice the bike fabric on Wally's pillow. AMAZING! I loooove it! Now to go sleep.

You're probably wondering why there's no pictures? My camera battery is dead and I've had to order a new charger since it has been lost in the land of "the two year old picked it up." lol. I'll have Wally take a pic on his cell phone tonight to be posted.

****Edited to add pics****

(magically neither pillowcase matches anything else in our bedroom... they don't even match eachother. lol.)

A Quilt for Anne Michelle

Anne Michelle's Quilt - top
Originally uploaded by emedoodle

This week I threw myself into a project, not simply for the sake of sewing, but for the sanity that sewing gives me. Monday morning I got a text from my best friend Michelle -- we live about 400 miles away from each other, so understandably we have many other best friends too --- anyway, her very good friend Leslie (and husband Kevin) were anxiously awaiting the arrival of their first child, and I was excited to hear the news that he/she was born. Instead I got a text that I hope no one else ever has to read. Leslie's baby was stillborn. She was full term and had a completely healthy pregnancy. No sign of any problem until just a short time before Anne was born, when they lost the read on her heartbeat. She was born via C-section although they had already found out that she was no longer alive.

My friend Michelle was there as Leslie's secondary support person. She got to hold little perfect Anne Michelle just once. They were given time with her to accept the loss, and to marvel at her perfect beauty.

I can't explain how it feels to recieve this news. I mean, my own daughter was born with hearing loss - something that never crossed our mind during the pregnancy. My sister has a child (now 4) who has been battling cancer since she was a year old. I know that parenting comes with a lot of surprises. But this was/is too much. Leslie had the most joyous day of her life taken from her. This is her first child (second really, after one miscarriage) - her first chance for that happy memory. It's shattered.

After hearing this news I knew immediately that I had to start a project to keep my mind busy. I knew it was going to be something little and delecate, and pink. This is what I got from there. A little (22" x 25.5") quiltie for Leslie and Kevin. Although I have never met them, I feel like I know them very closely - through my friend Michelle. All I can think of is that they left the hospital without a baby to hold. So empty, at least this little quilt can be something to fill their arms. Even though she's not here to enjoy it, I felt that Anne deserved a quilt for her own too. Something that can just be a gentle reminder of the joy and excitement and sorrow that came with her little life, that was shared completely within her own mother's body. I wish there was more that I could do, but this is my talent, and it's for them this week.

A little more on the details, I made this out of some leftover fabric from a shirt I made Allie when she was a baby, I didn't have very much left, and I really had wanted to bind it with the pink too... I ran out. This is my first real attempt at embroidering words onto a quilt, and it's pretty cool... not perfect, but pretty. Also my first attempt at close strait line quilting, and before doing more of it I'll definately invest in a walking foot. (duh)... it got a little wonkified there in the middle and I had to scramble to fix it. The back is some of the "lorenza" by Alexander Henry that I got from winning the one yard wonder thing. I wanted the back to be free and fun, as Anne is now up in heaven waiting for us.

For the souls of the faithfully departed, by the mercy of God, may they rest in peace!

It must have been a busy month...

Because I just got another yard of fabric from the One Yard Wonder giveaway and I hadn't even had the chance to post a picture of the last one! Here they both are. Last month's fabric was the lighter one, this month's is the one with the women shopping. Thanks Storey Publishing!

More belts...

I had the most productive naptime ever yesterday. I finished these belts up - a nice little gift for two special people! I really enjoy them. I'm a little jealous though that I hadn't thought of adding scraps to the back of the one for myself! :)

Did I mention that I won?!

A while back while lusting after the book "One Yard Wonders", I found that on the publisher's webiste they were having a one yard a month for a year - giveaway (to celebrate the book). Well... Naturally I signed up... and WON! lol.

I got my first yard about a week ago. It's a yard of Alexander Henry's "It's a Hoot" which is home dec. fabric. I'd never sewn with home dec fabric before so I decided to start small. I made a belt with "D" rings.

I didn't use any interfaceing and it turned out great. I would use a bit of interfacing next time though... but I don't think it really needs it. Pretty cool. I might make one for a friend who loves owls. I've still got nearly the whole yard left (since I only cut off 4" to use for this project!).