Blue Ribbon Winner

If you've read my blog then you know about this quilt. It's the one I made completely by hand that took me over a year to make. I decided to enter it in the state fair. I entered a quilt a couple years ago and didn't win anything. So this year my expectations were low. I mean, you should see some of the quilts people enter. Awesome! So when I entered it, I was thinking it would be nice to at least get an honorable mention. Never did I imagine I would win first place! One of my customers on my route went to the fair bright and early Thursday morning when it opened to see all the pretties. She had several items entered. Anyway, she told me my quilt won a blue ribbon, before I could get to the fair. I asked her several times if she was sure. Later that evening my grandson's other grandparents went to the fair and said it was in a glass showcase. My husband and I were planning on going Sunday, but when I found out I won, I had to go sooner. I am so proud!

Amy's Quilt

Amy's living room is red and she has a lot of black and white accents in there too. I thought she would like this quilt. I made it from a charm pack I got from a swap on craftsters. I had to add a few squares of my own. I also added the black and white solids. I threw in a red block and binded it with a red polka dot. I quilted it on my machine. I normally quilt by hand but decided I would try it on the machine. It isn't great but I think it looks pretty good. Amy loves it.

Steven

Time is funny. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday Steven was here calling me Mamma and giving me one of his wonderful hugs and other times it seems decades and decades ago since he was with us. Eleven years have passed and not a day goes by I don't think of him and hope he knows how much I loved him and how I never really gave up on him. I am happy he is at peace and doesn't suffer anymore. I wonder if he knows he was a hero for all the families that benefited from his death. His death didn't just change our family, it changed the lives of all the families whose loved one received one of his organs. When I think back to the memories of my son, I am not sad. I am happy for the time he was here and that he doesn't have to be here anymore. Be at peace, Steven and know that you are missed.

Memory Bears

All these teddy bears where made for a friend of my daughter's, Amy. A girl she worked with father had died. She was really having a tough time of it, as would be expected. Amy told her I had made memory bears before and she volunteered me to make one for her. They are made from shirts that her dad her worn and brought back favorite memories of him. I am happy to help ease the pain of someone grieving a loss. I hadn't expected to make so many, as I do it at no cost to the recipient. However, I couldn't say no. I do think from now on I will do the first one for free and charge a small fee for any more they need. Aren't they sweet? My dad died fourteen years ago. He and my mom had been married for over forty years. Mom was really grieving for him. My sister suggested I make one of these bears for my mom. She had heard about them from a friend of hers who worked for Hospice. When Mom died four years later, my sister got the bear. I was happy she could take a bit of solace in it. Seems like a great way to honor a loved one.

Grandmother's Flower Garden

I can't believe I haven't written a blog about this quilt! I have always loves this pattern. Looks so complicated but it's only one pattern piece. Before I started working on this I figured it would be simple enough. Boy was I wrong. First of all, I decided to make this quilt for me since I normally make quilts for everyone else. I wanted to make it for our bed and for some silly reason my husband had to get a kingsize bed. (He claims I have restless leg syndrome and kick him all night. However, I have yet to see that first bruise!) Anyway, of course I had to piece this beauty by hand. I know a lot of people use the paper piecing method, but not me. The more flowers I made, the more it seemed I needed. Finally after many months, I had it all pieced and ready to quilt. I tried it on my bed and it fit! Next came the quilting part. Now I am truly afraid of machine quilting. I have only dabbled in it a little bit. Of course I had to hand quilt this bad boy. First, I hand basted it. I know of lot of people like to baste with pins but for some odd reason, I still do this the old fashioned way. With needle and thread! Next came the hand quilting. I love to hand quilt. When I do this I do it in my lap. No frame, no hoop, just my lap. After months of quilting it was time for the binding. Some people may call me stubborn, but I prefer strong willed. I figured since I had pieced and quilted the entire quilt by hand, I should make and add the binding by hand too. I finished it and put it on our bed, and let me tell you, I slept really good under this quilt. A few months later, I decided to enter it in our state fair. So again, I added the sleeve to the back. (by hand) The fair is later this month. I'm kind of excited and certainly proud of this accomplishment. My fingers have developed lovely callouses because, once again, I am strong willed and do not use a thimble. I would say this quilt took me well over a year from start to finish. Of course there were many periods of time that I put it done and didn't pick it up for a while. Now, I'm getting ready to take it to the laundromat to put it in one of those triple machines to get it ready for the fair.