Both Canada and the United States (and other countries) have organizations that specialize in making or collecting quilts to present to wounded soldiers and veterans. In Canada, it is Quilts of Valour. I've been involved with QoV for a few years, mostly in a minor way. One of those ways is helping to host a quilting bee where we make quilt tops.
We just finished a marathon two days with 28 quilters. Some stayed both days. Others came for one or the other. The work was fabulous and it was God-blessed all the way.
On Saturday, a few had completed their tops from the kits and so on supplied by the QoV past president, Lezley Zwall. I'd brought the red top I'd made from red scraps. I'd roughly followed the idea of slabs that has been promoted by a quilter from Calgary, Cheryl Arkison. Lezley had bins of scraps leftover from other QoV bees and they were sorted by color, ironed by a volunteer who does not sew but came to help, and several of the quilters quickly discovered how addicting these 'slabs' become.
I brought my bin of purples (with pinks and all sorts of related prints) and got a good start on a quilt that will be the right size for QoV. Here is the photo of a few of the blocks laying on the fabric that will become the sashing. Wanda at Exuberant Color often says that purple does not photograph well. She is right! But you get the idea. The sashing will be wider than it shows here, likely 3" or so. The blocks finish at 12" and are much more purple than they appear here.
It was a wonderful time. This is the second one we have had and they are already saying things like "next year . . ." However, right now all I can think is "how soon can I have a nap?"
Cobblestone Lane (or whatever I wind up naming it) is going slow, mainly because those blocks have no 'one size fits all' quilting design. Each one is a puzzle and my experience is not extensive on this sort of quilt. However, it it happening... slooowly! I'm into the second row of blocks so have done about one third.
My side table has a pile of fabric to make a BOM, the one from The Quilt Show designed by Sue Garman. It is a medallion that could be any size, depending on when you stop adding rounds. I like her design, colors, except the red borders that too me are too much contrast. After much thought, I decided to give it a go with softer colors in taupe with some yellowish and greenish tossed in. The entire thing is paper-pieced, which is one of my favorite techniques and one reason for the decision to make it. The other is that Sue Garman passed away a few weeks ago. I have never met her, but for some reason shed some tears and wanted to do this because of her.
On the back burner collecting fabric and courage
- King-size for son Scott, who wanted a beach scene landscape. I drew the scene, had it enlarged full size (cost about $50) and am staring at it in fear and trepidation.
- King-size for daughter Karen, who wanted a minimalist 'subway tile' look in using dark to light shades of taupe. I have 1-2 more fabrics to find, a dark and a light.
- Several baby quilt panels to make for Basically Babies
- And prep for Quilts of Valour sewing bee near the end of this month... which I'm hosting and our Canadian past-president is working with me. We did this in Nov/2015 and had a wonderful time. Even presented a quilt to a PTSD soldier and his buddy who stayed most of the day and help the volunteers cut out fabric.
- And about a dozen project boxes with patterns/fabrics ready to go
- And about three dozen 'I'd like to' patterns, some with fabrics or in kits
Now I need to make supper... that list makes me feel a bit weak...
