Category — Quilting

I’ve been slowly plugging away at my multiple craft projects.

I’ve made progress on my Wrapped in Hope quilt:

Progress on my 3-ply handspun sock yarn (I’m finishing the third bobbin of singles now):

And progress on my happy accident socks:

In other news, almost all of the February 2010 sock club is out the door. it should start arriving late this week. The colorway name is Pele’s Fire. I love it!

As of today, Fiberphile customers have donated over $4,000 to Haiti Relief! I’m accepting entries until Wednesday, so please keep them coming!

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, see this post.

modern signature blocks

The boys had the day off from school for Martin Luther King Jr. day, so I took a day off from my usual work routine to hang out with them, as well as make a trip to the dentist for our check-ups. For part of the day, I got to work on my Modern Siggy Swap blocks. This swap filled up in a matter of a couple of hours, so I was very lucky to get in. The project is a bit more labor intensive than I anticipated but well worth it.

I first saw a signature quilt in person last summer at our town festival. It was made by the women of our town in the 1800’s. I was enthralled with all of those signatures of women who lived their lives here over a century ago. It also made me sad that my family hadn’t been here then. So many of the names were familiar– Their descendants became my classmates, friends, and neighbors. How amazing would it have been to see my own great-great-grandmother’s signature on that quilt?

So now, I have a wonderful opportunity to have my own signature and home town joined with 99 others into 100 sibling quilts that will be assembled all over the world. It’s an amazing thought to think that maybe even a century from now, someone may find an old quilt in an attic and read my name among the others. I just cannot wait to have my own finished quilt in my hands!

Speaking of quilting, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you about the latest project from Margaret’s Hope Chest. This is an amazing organization that donates quilts to people who have experienced trauma or illness and are in need of comfort.

This latest project is called Wrapped in Hope. The aim of this project is to create custom-made quilts for children who have an incarcerated parent. I don’t generally share personal details about myself on this blog, but I will say that I have stood in these children’s shoes, and it can be a very lonely place. For this reason, there was no way I was going to pass this project up. I will be paired with a specific child and make a quilt based on information about favorite colors and interests. The last time I checked, they were still in need of volunteers. If you are so moved, I know that Carin would love to hear from you!

As I posted on Thursday, last night I participated in a virtual craft night, the Friday Night Sew-In. Part of the participation is posting what we accomplished so that everyone can share in the fun. So, here’s what I did!

the original design and squares ready for sewing

A little while ago, my son did a pattern unit in his first grade classroom. The teacher had all of the kids do a quilt design on paper. Knowing that Mom was a quilter, of course the first thing he said when he showed me was “Mom, can you make this into a real quilt?”

This was before Christmas, when Mom still had a lot of Christmas knitting and quilting to finish up, so I told him that I would try to do it before his birthday. His birthday is tomorrow, so Friday Night Sew-In was the perfect kick-in-the-butt I needed to get it done before the deadline!

I managed to complete everything but sewing the binding to the back, which I’ll probably do after the boys go to bed tonight.

almost done!

I’m happy to report that my little boy is delighted with his quilt (it was impossible to hide what I was doing until the big day) and, of course, is already asking when I will make a bigger one for his bed.

Yay for kids that actually appreciate handmade gifts!

One of my earliest craft obsessions was quilting. About ten years ago, I became completely enamored with the craft. With my usual enthusiasm for new crafts I decided, without ever making a single quilt block, that I was going to make quilts for my entire family for Christmas. I did make those quilts, and I think I did pretty well. I even made a lone star quilt for my parents. I learned a lot, and I enjoyed the process, but I was burnt out.

I didn’t do any more quilting until I made Sabine’s quilt this Christmas, but once I did, I knew that the obsession was back. I went in search of inspiring blogs and was excited to find that not only were there many blogs about quilting, but many in the fresh, modern style that I love, and that has become so popular since fabric designers like Amy Butler and Anna Maria Horner have come onto the scene.

Apparently, I picked a great time to return the quilting world. Not only is there now a Los Angeles Modern Quilt Guild, but they’re looking for organizers for new chapters. I’ve already been in touch with several other people who are interested in starting a New England Modern Quilt Guild and I’m hoping that there will be more. If anyone is interested, please let me know and I’ll put you in touch with Monet, our contact person.

Another well-timed discovery was the modern siggy swap. Based on the traditional signature quilts, this is a really exciting project that I was very lucky to get into, as the slots filled very quickly.

100 participants will each make 101 signature quilt blocks using modern quilting fabrics and white centers. We will all sign the white centers of the blocks, and include our city and state. After we all send in our completed blocks, Rachel will then send us each a complete set of blocks from all of the other participants. Once we put our blocks together into a quilt, we will have a signature quilt with blocks from quilters all over the world. How completely awesome is that?

The 101st block from each of us will be put together into a quilt for charity. I told you. Awesome.