Helping Efforts

Both sides of our country have been hit with natural...or not so natural disasters that have shaken most of us rather hard.  Communities have lost people, animals and belongings as well as buildings and landscapes.
Starting with the storms back east, there are quilters responding with quilt making. Carole at From My Carolina Home has taken in blocks and is making quilts to be donated to those hit with loss from the storms.  She has all the blocks she can use at the moment to make the quilts she can do but has links of where to send completed quilts posted on her blog.  She is also linking other longarm quilters though with quilters who want to donate quilts to be quilted and donated. She has posted instructions for making the quilt blocks that were made for those hit by the Thomas Fires (and mudslides) last year. So there is lots of information there. Please go check out her blog posts and enjoy the comfort of being able to help out. From My Carolina Home



I had sewn some blocks to send but didn't like them.  I had pulled from novelty fabrics.  So I decided to pull more and just make a quilt for a child.

I've almost finished sewing the binding on and then it will be sent to:
Carolina Hurricane Q Project
c/o Catholic Charities
20 N. 4th Street, Suite 300
Wilmington, NC 28401

Next is an effort encouraged by Lori at Humble Quilts to help perhaps more specifically the quilters that lost everything in the Camp Fire in Paradise, California.  She is taking many of her own quilts and supplies, along with donations from some others, to Honey Run Quilts, a quilt store in Chico where much of the Paradise community is sheltering. She says they have all the fabric they can handle at the moment but can use some supplies like rulers, rotary cutters, thread, etc. (Update note: Quilty supplies can be sent to 
Honey Run Quilters  % Ronda 
2418 Cohasset Rd  Suite 100
Chico,CA 95926)
Someone had mentioned on their blog about hand sewing projects. So with some extra generosity from Julie at Julie K Quilts, I am sending on a ready to go wool project for someone to enjoy some hand work.
I had patterns and intentions of sewing this past free sewing mystery from Buttermilk Basin but didn't get very far.  Julie had shared many of the blocks...already prepped!...with me.  I prepped some more and stitched a few but still many of them sit here ready to go.  This snowman quilt seems like it could bring a quilter some needed joy of stitching. I need to prep the remaining blocks. but I'm going to send it packaged to the Honey Run quilt store and hope they can find a quilter who will enjoy it.

And last but not least, Lynn Wilder at Sew'n Wild Oaks is raffling off 2 quilts to earn money to give to individuals who lost their homes in the Paradise fire.  She will be drawing the winners on January 15,2019 so go check out her blog. The tickets are $5 and the quilts are lovely! Stitch Paradise Back Together!
OK another last....here is a great link for choices of how to help ...
How to Help Camp Fire Victims

November 2018

Scrrreeching in on the last day. It has been a full month. I'm happy to say that I've been able to sew and quilt and also enjoy some online fabric shopping :-)
Diamond Dash is a gift to newlyweds and I quilted it with a pantograph called Baroque Hearts. I used a neutral thread for the top and Rainbows variegated for the bobbin. This quilt pattern is from Missouri Star Quilt Company and my use of it was inspired by Vickie at  Vicki's Crafts and Quilting. Thank you, Vickie!

The backing looks a little purple here but is actually a dark turquoise blue.

Next, I finished sewing the batik blocks (with the cut off flying geese!) and quilted a watery looking pantograph with more Rainbows variegated.
This lovely is for me :-) as I love the colors in these fabrics!

The backing is a beautiful fabric from Edyta Sitar.
My sister purchased this quilt kit for me a couple of years ago at PIQF.  I remember being thrilled by these fabrics.  It is a poignant memory for me now as we purchased this from Morning Star Quilts.  I think their store had already closed but I think they were to continue at quilt shows.  They are located in Paradise, California though and so I don't know what fate their business has suffered in a community so tragically destroyed by fire.  California has been hit so hard this year, it is too much to take in.  And that along with the devastating storms and flooding on the eastern part of the country.  
So with so many opportunities to reach out and help, I hope we are all finding our ways to support, comfort and pray.  I will do another post to share some wonderful efforts going on where we can join in. 
So back to stitching....my DH likes a refrigerator towel...so much that I keep have to making them when I can't cheat and find them sold somewhere. It started with a purchased Kiblan the Cat towel long ago.  The towel wore out so I used the top over and sewed a new towel in.  This wore out and the top looked bad so I finally copied it and sewed another...and a back up. 

A perhaps silly, simple project that is making him quite happy.
I didn't take pictures but also made a heroic effort replacing a zipper in his Patagonia jacket. Not for the faint at heart! 
I hope you all enjoyed a sweet Thanksgiving. 
More later...I'll be back sooner than usual. 

I'm linking to Confessions of a Fabric Addict and to Busy Hands Quilts and What a Hoot:TGIFF.