Expect The Unexpected

Usually I have an idea, theme or at least some kind of a plan when I make a Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt, but this one just sort of happened without a whole lot of thought.  I was sewing a few pink selvages together and noticed a curve in the edge and thought it might be fun to add a couple of free pieced curves.  It was then that I thought that the project might make a nice Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt...all it needed was a little quilting and a binding.  The quilting was easy...I just echoed the curves.  The binding is where the "unexpected" part came in.  I first thought that white would make a nice binding, but then I noticed that a couple of the selvages showed just a bit of lime green and thought, why not?  Lime green wasn't my first choice, but it did make me smile, so I went along with it.  Just like when a loved one suffers from Alzheimer's Disease, you need to learn to "Expect The Unexpected" and go with the flow and you may just come away with a smile now and then!

Silent Sunday

6 In 6 Challenge: Week 1

I didn't have to dig very deep in my stash to find six yards of fabric to use in the 6 In 6 Challenge.  In fact, I found a bag of assorted flannel scraps that easily contains six yards (probably double that) on top of the pile of fabric totes in my closet, so I decided to focus on using up my flannels for this challenge.  This was a super simple strip quilt that only took a few minutes to stitch together.  All together, I will have used 1 1/4 yards for the top, 1 1/4 yards for the backing and a 1/4 for the binding once the quilt is completed.  I'm well on my way to using six yards of stash fabric in six weeks!

More At The Linck Hill Inn

Anya has put together a wonderful slideshow of our quilting day at the Linck Hill Inn, so click over to Hills Creek Quilter if you would like to see more of our excursion.

Three Springs Ministries

Three Springs Ministries is a wonderful Christian retreat center set in the mountains of north-central Pennsylvania that caters to teens and young adults, but also offers the beautiful Link Hill Inn to small groups of adults for personal retreats.  Yesterday a group from the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild met at the Linck Hill Inn to help make quilts for one of the bunkhouses on the property.  The surroundings of the restored Victorian mansion were perfect for a day of quilting and we produced 15 twin sized quilt tops...enough for all of the bunks!  It was a fun day and I was happy to be able to help with the quilts, but I was even happier to get a sneak peek at the place where the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild's fall retreat will be held in October.  (Where's the sign up sheet?)

For more information about Three Springs Ministries or the Linck Hill Inn visit www.threespringsministries.org

Another Ugly Duckling Has Hatched

This is number two of the four ugly duckling orphan tops that I found at the second hand shop awhile back.  It still needs a binding and even that won't make it the most beautiful quilt in the stack, but I have no doubt that someone will love it once it is finished! 

Happy Mother's Day

6 In 6 Challenge

How do you justify a fabric shopping trip when you already have enough fabric in your stash to last a lifetime?  Easy...create a challenge with a few friends and use fabric shopping as the reward!  What's the challenge?  Use 6 yards of fabric from your stash over the next 6 weeks.  Easy...right?  At the end of the 6 weeks, after my quilty friends and I have each stitched 6 yards of our stash fabric into the projects of our choosing, we will spend a fun filled day of fabric shopping together.

An Unexpected Thank You

The other day I found a package from Moda in my mailbox.  As I was walking back to the house, package in hand, I was trying to remember what I had ordered and couldn't think of a thing that Moda should be sending me.  Was I ever surprised to find a pack of 2 1/2" squares of Moda's Countdown To Christmas fabrics along with a thank you note for the Just One Star block that I sent to them last month!  Moda deserves kudos for sponsoring the Just One Star Challenge for Quilts of Valor in the first place, but I think they should get double kudos for sending everyone who contributed blocks a thank you and fabric!

God Bless The USA

The fight against Bin Laden is over, but the war against terrorism continues. May God bless America and the men and women who so bravely serve to protect us all!