Dream Big

I made a quilt. It's taken me almost a year. It was very intense to make. Both in terms of the effort in the quilting and the emotions it brought up. It's finally been delivered to the recipients.

Last August Jennie's husband died quite suddenly. He was helping his daughter on her bike on the streets of Brooklyn when he collapsed. Jennie was only someone I knew through her blog, tweets, and the occasional email. But I, like many others, needed to rally around her in a mass of support for this unexpected loss of the love of her life. We made pie, we sent notes, we read her posts about the grief. And I, well I did what I do, I sewed.

I think it was the fact that Jennie could have been me. Two young girls, a vibrant writing career, and a relationship with a great husband. Her story was tragic and life-altering and it could just as easily have happened to me. I've never met Jennie and so embarking on a queen sized quilt seemed overly generous to people I know. But it felt like the right thing to do - for me, yes, but for Jennie and her girls.

Grief can be all consuming and very lonely. It matters to know that people are thinking about you. And even though it wasn't my intention to take so long to finish, it is nice to have these gestures after the fact, when the initial support has gone away. I hope to meet Jennie one day, give her a hug, and watch our girls feel each other out then walk in front of us, hand in hand in their coordinating Saltwater Sandals. For now, I can only encourage her on her journey to Dream Big.

Dream Big

Approximately 80'' by 90"

Scrappy letters in low-volume fabrics, pieced then fused

Machine quilted at home with Aurifil 50wt

Fabric contributed by Jen Yu

Wine Gums in Progress

When we were writing the book I was in awe of Amanda Jean's quilts. She specializes in making use of the teeny tiny scraps. It's a great use of fabric, but all those pieces do mean that even a small quilt takes some effort. Don't be fooled by the size. You get great impact and an amazing use of fabric. And truly, it is hard to appreciate the scale of some of these quilts from the book.

It wasn't until we were giving our schoolhouse at Market that I could appreciate this. And now that I am out and about giving trunk shows I realize that I need to share these quilts to show more quilters the awesome opportunity presented by these designs. The first of Amanda Jean's little pieces quilts I'm tackling is Gumdrops.

I actually started this quilt in March, when I got my new scissors. And when cutting up little pieces of fabric was about all my big ol' pregnant body could handle. The little pieces then got put aside in favour of the baby and other work. But after my last trunk show I decided they needed return to daylight and be put to use.

Of course, I had to do things differently than Amanda's pattern. I have such a hard time following patterns. This time, however, it was unintentional.

In the pattern Amanda suggests fusing the scraps to a lightweight fusible BEFORE cutting the shapes. I neglected to read these instructions before I started cutting out my gumdrop shapes. That meant I would have to add fusible in tiny pieces, after the fact. That bit of work did not appeal to me. But, I do think you need some stabilization of the pieces to the background prior to assembly.

This piece has you sew down your applique and quilt as one step, so the pieces need to be stabilized prior to basting.

Instead of fusible I rummaged through the girls' craft supplies for a glue stick. Yup, a plain old glue stick. A little bit of glue on the back of each piece tacks it to the background. Then you can sew your strips together, baste, and quilt. As long as you don't coat the back there is no residue left after quilting and washing. You also don't get the stiffness associated with even a lightweight fusible.

As a bonus, this becomes a craft project with a bored preschooler missing her big sister at school all day. An excellent alternative to the endless tea parties.

Cosmos Blocks

 

Isn't this fabric loverly? It is the new Cosmos Collection by Laura Gunn, produced by Michael Miller. Paired with her awesome Painter's Canvas.

I must admit that while I've always loved Laura's fabric and have purchased bits and pieces before, I've never used it. It is just so different from the rest of my stash that I felt unsure what to do with it. There is a clear painterly quality to the prints that set them apart. Not surprising considering Laura is an artist! So this time, when Laura sent me a charm pack of her latest collection, I decided to stop fighting my stash and use Laura's fabrics with Laura's fabric. And what a smart decision it was.

Such a simple quilt. The charms, in both the Painter's Canvas and Cosmos Collection, paired with big chunks of Painters' Canvas in vibrant colours. I think it is a rather modern bit of piecing that really does highlight Laura's fabrics. Admittedly, it felt kind of lazy to do something so simple. But I don't care. I love the big blocks of colour, the texture of all the prints, and the final result.

Once quilted, this one will also be destined for Camp Kindle through the 100 Quilts for Kids blog drive.

Laura graciously shared the charms with me. I purchased the additional Painter's Canvas from Hawthorne Threads.

100 Quilts for Kids - The Donation

The wonderful Katie at Swim, Bike, Quilt is hosting the 100 Quilts for Kids blog hop and quilt drive, along with the DC Modern Quilt Guild. Have you heard about it?

A series of posts from a tonne of bloggers highlighting great, and easy quilts. Perfect for easy construction or group work. In other words, perfect for quick, gorgeous quilts. Perfect for donation. Rather than a central quilt drive and delivery, however, she encourages us to make and donate a quilt locally. (After having done the work for Quilts Recover, I completely get this!)

Today, rather than highlight a specific quilt, I want to highlight the giving portion of this project.

Recently, my husband and his crew had the muddy pleasure of working on the new buildings at Camp Kindle. Camp Kindle is the summer camp built and run by the Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta. Nestled in the foothills, surrounded by aspen and spruce forests, the camp is a refuge for kids and families living with and surviving cancer.

We look at our own kids and know that we are tremendously lucky. We also know that should we face the challenges of cancer so directly that a place like Camp Kindle would be a lifesaver for all of us. As one family shared with us, camp is where you can go and not have cancer.

The camp ran all summer, even as the finishing touches remain. As Hubby and his crew grumbled about the mud and hour long drive to get to work each day the first campers started to arrive. And when they saw the first kids, some with IVs and chemo treatments, they immediately shut up. That's when Hubby came home and informed me that I needed to donate some quilts to the camp. He well knows the comfort of a quilt, of something handmade wrapped around you.

Today we were able to visit the camp. We gathered the kids, the rest of Hubby's employees and their families, and journeyed to the gorgeous fall vistas provided at Camp Kindle. The camp, Foundation, and many volunteers were hosting the trades that worked on the camp for a BBQ. It was merely wonderful to finally see the place and more importantly, speak to families and counsellors who truly make the camp what it is. Hubby and his colleagues may have used their tools to put the buildings up, but it is the campers and counsellors who make the camp what it is.

And I took a quilt with me. The camp staff decided that it would be best used in the Rekindle Clinic - the on-site medical facility. Luckily for the camp they do have 4 quilts for the 4 hospital beds - donated by the wives of a local fiddle group! But when they have to change over beds the quilts aren't available.  And having extras to cuddle are always welcome.

It is such a small thing, really, to make a donate a quilt. Early on in my quilt career I gave everything away - baby quilts, wedding gifts... Then I started hoarding the quilts because I couldn't pick a favourite. But now is the time to pass on some creations. And to keep doing so. Such a small thing.

The quilt I donated is the bold and rather easy To a T quilt. 

Made from a pattern I drafted for the Modern Blocks book.