Work in Progress

I pulled out this.

And this, Tonya's fabulous book

And I made this. It fits in the center of my ribbon quilt.

And I got started on these.  Julie K sent me this package and then organized the box!

I'm on my way with the 3 day/60 mile quilt!  Betsy and Corel are both ahead of the game with donations this year.  You can watch their progress and/or make a donation here.  This quilt will raise $1200 for their team.  Thanks again to all who have helped with this project, it's really appreciated.
Sharon

Pink Ribbons

As quilters, I'm sure everyone has worked on quilts that have been donated to a cause. Maybe it was Katrina, or Japan, or the Nashville floods or Basics in NYC. Whatever it is, there was something about the cause that moved you to join in. Last year I donated a quilt to Betsy's 3 Day, 60 Mile walk for the Susan G Koman. We raised $1200 with this quilt, so I will repeat it again this year.

I recently shared with Julie K and within 2 weeks, this showed up in my mailbox.

That prompted me to open up this drawer and get busy. I had two sew days over the weekend. Sunday I cut and sorted for an hour or two.

Monday I did some sewing, pressing and trimming while at my friends place. We did more visiting than sewing, it was a great day with her.

When I came home, I started to lay out the pattern that I've sketched. I need to see where I'm at with blocks. I also found a stack of left overs from last years piece, but I still have a ways to go.

THANK YOU, Julie K. Your generosity is appreciated, not just by me, but for all the people this quilt will help. I use the opportunity to spread the word about self exams and mammograms. They save lives!
Sew for a cause, it feels great!
Sharon

This is Why I Quilt!

I quilt because I need to. When my friend Betsy started her journey on walking 60 miles in 3 days, I started putting together this quilt. 600 chances were in the box. I pulled Becky T's name. Betsy delivered the quilt this morning and took a few pictures. We raised $1200 for the Susan G. Koman foundation with this quilt.

Here is Becky T. She has kidney cancer. The doctor gave her 2 years and it’s been 8. She says she has too much to do to leave just yet! Her granddaughter has a rare kidney disease, totally unrelated to Becky’s situation and has required a transplant. Her son-in-law has lymphoma and leukemia. She recently lost her mother as well.

This is Karma at it's best!
Sharon

Sliding into August

So much for posting every few days, sorry readers! Life has been zipping by and I can't believe it is almost August. The air was cool this morning when I headed out to work. Just because I haven't posted doesn't mean I haven't been busy quilting. Here is the huge quilt that I finished this weekend. I have no life, well, I should say, "quilting is my life"

This back shot shows the quilting pattern quite nicely. The top was 108 x 130, I used circle templates, straight and wavy rulers, and freehand.

I love how this turned out. It took a long time to finish, but it is in the mail and should arrive at it's owners home today. Now she gets to bind and label it.

This is the latest swap I've participated in. I swapped out 48 Paducah 9 Patch blocks so my top is going to finish at 56 x 64. Perfect for a lap quilt. I only have one block repeated and since it was my block, I'm partial to the fabric choices so I kept it in. I was very happy with 45 of the swapped blocks.

In between Paula's big quilt and loading the next quilt, I managed to get this donation quilt quilted. It's a fund raiser for my friend Betsy, who is doing the 3 day/60 mile walk for Breast Cancer. It just needs the binding turned and hand sewn on the back.

And finally, a shot of my 4 legged kids. They love to play. Well, Annie loves to put Mollys head in her mouth, then Molly swipes at Annies nose, then they race around the house. Entertainment for the quilter.

Take a few stitches today.
Sharon

Staying Focused

Wow, I can't believe it's been over a week since I last posted here. Someone asked me where I find the time. I guess I really don't! Between picking raspberries and picking daisies, I've been quilting on my gal pal Paula's (no blog) quilt. It's slow going, all custom, and I'm working on it as much as I can. I also have taken some time to get this top finished. It's 56 x 77 and I couldn't have done it without the help of Deb S, Dani F, and Muriel F. Thanks for the blocks and fabric, your contributions truly made this quilt what it is.

Here's the story. My friend Betsy S has got a team, Safe at Second Base, and signed up to do the 3 day, 60 mile Susan G. Koman walk for Breast Cancer. She lost her mom during the time I was going through my treatment. I cannot walk 60 miles, but I can help raise money. We've attended a couple of Farmers Market events in our little town and made close to $500 through baked goods, flower baskets, and donations from generous people. Now with this quilt, we shall raise even more money for the cause. Once the huge customer quilt is done, this one will be quilted and bound and ready to go.
Credit on the pattern: I forget! I saw a work in progress posted on someone's blog. I emailed her to find out where she got the pattern so I could purchase it, but she replied that she was just messing around on her design wall. So I used it as inspiration. And I added the word, which came from a challenge I took this spring. And the word "Imagine" is so closedly tied to Breast Cancer awareness. Imagine a world without B.C.
That would be fantastic.
Sharon