Saturday, January 29, 2011

Comfort Pillows

Okay here are my pillows.





I used Michael Miller knits for one because the knit is so soft I thought it would be very comfy. My other pillow is Queen Street in periwinkle and aqua with Sisboom dots in pink and aqua on the back. This was a great project Patty! Thank you!

Spreading the Hope

Here is my contribution for January. Patty, I stuffed it loosely and sent it to you but I didn't close it up because I wasn't sure if I had stuffed it enough. I wasn't sure how loose was too loose.

IMG_3717

I bought this fabric a few months back because I fell in love with it even though the fabric is completely not me. But there was something about it. Then as soon as you announced this month's project it hit me... this was the perfect fabric!

IMG_3721

I hope it works. I really enjoyed making it and I'm planning to make more when I have some time. It's all packaged up and on it's way to you.

Pillows are Done!

Hello! Some of you will recognize these as the "extra" quilt blocks we made in this group last year. One is another block I had worked on and never made its way into a quilt. Hope these work Patty; they're on their way to you.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

a Quilt for China


Well I finally finished my December project. This is going to one of my quilters tomorrow and hopefully will be to you very soon, Gayly. Thanks!

Monday, January 24, 2011

a Dozen Quilters January Project - Comfort Pillows Part 2

Here is my finished Comfort pillow for January.
It's been washed, re-ironed to work out some of the wrinkles, and will be on its way soon!

Save the Ta Tas!

a Dozen Quilters December Project - Bibs Part 2

I finally finished and washed the boy bib for the December project. Both bibs will be on their way soon!



Happy Quilting!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Catching Up



Just catching up! Here is the pillow for this month. I chose to do a kind of wonky block for the pillow. And Gayly I chose to do some pillowcases and a tabby using some leftover Minky- so soft. Sorry for the delay. I will get in the mail tomorrow or Friday!
Take Care,
Marie

A big thank you!!!

I am loving getting all the packages in mail for all the kiddos at the orphanage for the Dec. project! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Soon I can share some more aobut this project and it's special place in my heart:)

Monday, January 17, 2011

A Couple Pillowcases. . .

For Gayly. . . in fun prints!  I think I might want one for my own pillow!

a pillowcase

Hey Gayly...this is (unmistakably) my first ever pillow case.  It is very far from perfect...but will it work for your collection for the orphanage? I have the bibs set aside to get mailed off to you as well.

Comfort Pillow Finished

I finished a pillow, Patty.  It's a little larger than 9½ X 12½.  I made it with Bliss by Moda.  It's lucious!


I'll pop it in the mail this week.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Comfort Pillows

I finished three comfort pillows this weekend for Patty's month. Patty, I don't know of a local organization who collects these, so I plan to mail them to you this week.





Had I been able to get a good picture of all three together, you could see that they are not all the same size.  ...sorry about that...but they all meet the 9.5 x 12.5 required size within 1/2 an inch one way or another.  For example...one is 12x10 I think.  I hope that is OK.

you might notice I am a little 'into' cross blocks right now...they will be making an appearance in February as well...that is my month!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

a Dozen Quilters January Project - Comfort Pillows

I wanted to give you a sneak peak of the pillow I am working on for this month's project. I know that comfort pillows aren't specifically for breast cancer patients but it's a cause that is near and dear to my heart. I have family and friends who have been affected by breast cancer. I hope one day people smarter than I am will find a cure for breast cancer, for all cancers. Until they do, my husband and I try to volunteer our time and money towards the cause.

So, without further ado....

a Dozen Quilters January Project - Pillows
I drew the template for the 'bras' myself. They are appliqued on with lightweight heat and bond so they are still very soft. I machine stitched around the edges of each bra before piecing the squares together.
a Dozen Quilters January Project - Pillows
I plan to embroider 'Save the Ta Tas' in pink in the center but I am not sure if I will do it in this 'font'.
a Dozen Quilters January Project - Pillows 
The final pillow measures 8x12.5. Most of the fabrics are from the Jennifer Paganelli Flower Power fabric collection but the back is from the Art Gallery Fabrics Sugar collection. 

I will take pictures of the final pillow once the embroidery is done.

Save the Ta Tas!

Pillow


I will try to get this in the mail to you soon.  I don't have a local group that is involved in this project.  I like the idea and I actually work as a therapist with a lot of pts going through cancer treatment.  Maybe this could be something to start in our community later on. 

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

pillow talk


Patty - Here's a sample of my pillows. The rest of them I will send unstuffed to save room. The fabric is 'Heaven Can Wait' by Ro Gregg.  I think I have enough scraps for 6 pillows.  And I will send money to help with the stuffing. This is such a sweet idea, I'm thinking of trying to do something for Alzheimer patients.

Gayly - I have my box ready to ship! I am sending 5 bibs, 3 blankets and a quilt, but I forgot to take a picture.  You'll recognize my name! Happy New Year!

Friday, January 7, 2011

a Dozen Quilters December Project - Bibs

I am extremely late in getting it done but hopefully it will still find a good home.

I made it using scraps from my bin and a variation of this tutorial by Sew She Sews. I wasn't able to use her template because the bargain ink I bought on Amazon doesn't work in my printer for some reason. I'm pretty bummed out about wasting money! Instead of printing one out, I drew one roughly the same shape and size. The reverse side is a geometric print in topaz, gold, and pink from Amy Butler's Midwest Modern Line.

I will also be making a boy version of this bib so more to come later but for now I'm off to bed again.

Hopefully to sleep away this cold.

Happy Quilting!

Natalie

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Last July's Project

I know this only applies to about half of us, but I hope the other half of last year's ladies still reads this. Here is Nathan's quilt, all finished up. And I do think it is BEE-YOU-TEE-FUL. Well in a boyish way anyway.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

January is Comfort Pillow Month

Hi to all,  after giving it much thought,  I decided to go with comfort pillows.  My guild supports a variety of causes and one of them is making comfort pillows for women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.  I'm sure that you all know someone who has been affected by  some sort of cancer. I personally have lost three aunts and a college friend to cancer, my husband has lost both parents and a sister. 
While the losses are many, there are quite a few survivors out there and comfort pillows are just a small thing which helps make the recovery process a bit more tolerable. 
A couple of years a go a co-worker was fighting breast cancer, and had to endure two surgeries. The first  surgery she kept very quiet, and I didn't know  until after the fact.When she was scheduled for her second surgery, I asked her if she had her comfort pillow, she didn't know what I was talking about. That night I whipped up a pillow for her and brought it in the very next day.  The note I received from her telling me what a difference the pillow made in her recovery is something I'll never forget.  To realize that this tiny little pillow helped ease so much pain was shocking and humbling to me.  The fact that something that literally took me about 15 minutes to make could profoundly change some one's life is astounding.

How to Make a Comfort Pillow
To be used for mastectomy and Lumpectomy surgery and biopsies

·        Pre wash all fabric
  •        Pillow  measures approximately 12 ½” X 9 ½”
  •        Piece, applique, or use any technique to make a top.
  •         Cut backing fabric after top is done and cut it the size of the top. Slight variations in the size of pillow are okay.
  •        Right sides together, sew top and backing all around leaving an opening of approximately 2-3” allowing for the filling.
  •         Turn right side out, press as needed, and fill the pillow with SOFT  polyfil.  Stuff looser than you might ordinarily stuff for pillows or other filled items. Squeeze to test for softness and adjust filling if necessary.
  •         Sew opening closed.
  •         Unstuffed shells are acceptable too.
Please Do Not Use:
            Fabric with metallic prints, these can be stiff and scratchy.
Children or Juvenile prints, these pillows are for adults.
Animal prints or flannels. 
If you have  any  extra blocks lying around you can use them.  If  you know of a local organization that takes these pillows that's great if not, you can send them to me and I'll bring them to  Guild, as we have about five or six organizations we distribute to.  Obviously, if you are delivering them yourself they need to be stuffed, if you send them to me don't stuff them, it will be easier to mail. Don't hesitate to email me or leave a comment if you're stuck. Thank you all in advance for you time, and effort.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Two Bibs, Two Pillow Cases and a Baby Quilt.



Finally  caught up.
This takes care of October and December obligations.  Will post January's project tomorrow,
Happy New Year to All.