Blogger’s Quilt Festival

I love Amy’s Blogger’s Quilt Festival.  Thanks Amy for setting this up for us!  You can be sure I’m cruising around the Internet checking out all the fun quilts!

Here’s my entry…but first a little history.

This is my fourth year having the tremendous opportunity to help out at the elementary school by making a quilt!  My favorite way to “help”!

2007 – 2nd Grade

Every year each of the classes create a wonderful piece of art which is auctioned off the night of Open House.

 
2008 – 3rd Grade

The funds raised go directly to the classroom and the Educational Foundation at the school.

2009 – 4th Grade

This is my last year at the elementary school.  My youngest is moving on to middle school in the fall! So this was my last quilt to make for this annual event.

2010 – 5th Grade

I had 31 kids artwork blocks to work with this year, so I had to be creative with the layout.

I’m happy with the layout and even happier that I got to use fabric I had on hand that I had received from an amazing seamstress that passed away last year.  It was perfect!

View Full Album

I had fun with the quilting too, wavy lines and bubbles added to the whole feel of the quilt.

I’m sorta sad for this chapter of my life to end.  I’ve been a mom at that elementary school for 12 consecutive years.  But at the same time, I’m excited for what the future holds for my family.  Two in high school next year: a senior! and a freshman.  And my youngest starting middle school.  I’m sure I’ll have many more years to help out by making quilts…I’ll make sure of it!

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Amy over at Park City Girl has set up this fun quilt festival which is running from October 9-16.  I participated in the Spring Festival in April, and didn't want to miss out on the fun with this one too.

Here's the little quilt I'm showing today:

 

But I'd like to start at the beginning with a story about my sister Trisha and I.  We both share the love of quilting...I believe it all started with a quilt kit I made for her many years ago:

 

She must have enjoyed it because she started quilting too and even jumped right into her own quilt business. 

Eventually she got burned out on making quilts as a business and wanted to enjoy the art of quilting on her own terms.

 

Trisha and I in 2004

One year we found some time to get together in WA (she lives in WA and I'm in CA) to work on a project.  And I believe we've been able to get together one way or another every year since.  Sometimes we've been able to get a project done or mostly done, other times we've gone on shop-hops or worked on our Dear Jane blocks or gone to Quilt Shows together.

Our first "sister quilts"- Friendship Star

We started our blogs at the same time last year and have enjoyed this world of blogging together.

I cherish her friendship and the love of quilting that we share.  We're able to learn from each other and have fun collaborating on projects.

Five years ago we wanted to make a small quilt for our parent's anniversary.  At the same time we were working on our Dear Jane blocks (and we still are!).  Somehow in one week's time were went from having the idea of making this little Dear Jane wall hanging, to having the little quilt that we both worked on (she in WA and I in CA) delivered to our parents for their anniversary. 

Both of us made blocks for the quilt in coordinating fabrics.  I sent my blocks to her, she put them together into the quilt, quilted and bound it, and sent it in the mail to our parents.  It was an amazing accomplishment with us being in different states to get all that done in such a short time.  And we had such fun doing it.

 

13 is a lucky number for our family because of our parents, so we took the 13 blocks from the 13th column in the Dear Jane Quilt and made this little quilt for our Mom and Dad.

Five years later now, they just celebrated the 45th wedding anniversary!

We were pretty gung-ho about getting our Dear Jane quilts done back then.  We need to re-commit ourselves once again.  Someday we'll both have amazing Dear Jane quilts that will hold many wonderful memories of working on them together.

Trisha and I a year ago

Quilt Festival - Spring 2009

Amy over at Park City Girl is hosting a Quilt Festival this week.  I'm a little late to the party.  Friday is the last day, and I'm barely squeaking my entry in.  It's been CrAzY at my house.  That's why I'm up at midnight getting this posted!

We are to share our "favorite" quilt.  Now that would be next to impossible!  So I'll just pick one of the many favorites that I have. 

Last summer I made my son a quilt for his bed (and his birthday).  I wanted it to be a surprise...so as soon as he left for his week long scout camp I got started! My original post about it is here.

I wanted to make him a saxophone quilt since he loves to play his saxophone and we were getting him his very own saxophone (no more renting) for his birthday.  So in my search for saxophone fabric I found this:


I decided to fussy cut the saxophones and place them into some wonky log cabins.  I worked like crazy all week getting the quilt blocks made and assembled into a quilt-top, layered and quilted.  Then after he got home I would work on the finishing touches after he was in bed.
The night before his birthday I was up way past midnight finishing hand sewing the binding. Here's the last corner!


I worried that it might be too wild and crazy for him...

And it would keep him up at night with all that color.

But he loved it!

He even gets it off his bed to watch TV, or when we go visit Grandma and Grandpa he brings it with him.  Now THAT makes a Mom and a quilt maker happy!

thanks for stopping by...