It's a CQG Sew Day! Let's Play!

 The CQG had a sew day on the 17th of this month. Eight or ten people showed up with different projects to work on. I even brought Marley and "her" machine since she had the day off from school. 

Everyone thought it was just the best thing to see a young one enjoying sewing. She worked on a simple one patch baby quilt to donate to the CQG to be sold at our next quilt show. The plan is to have several small quilts, donated by members, that will sell and all profits will go to CQG to fund some of our educational programs.

As you can see from the photos, not everyone was working on donation quilts, but the three or four of us who did made some headway.   

Quilting teaches me.... Charity

Introduction
I've been quilting for a lifetime, literally, and have come to the conclusion that we do what we love in part because it challenges us to learn. Anyone who quilts can attest to the idea of learning about fabric and supplies, blocks and backings, sewing and making. 
I'm exploring the other things that quilting teaches.

I should not brag about charitable donations, I know, but I've been writing about what I've learned through quilting and helping others has been a big lesson for me. 

One of the ways that I've learned about charity is in supporting our church is through the items I make and donate to raffles and bingo. Most of those items are quilted but not all. I like that I can make anything I want, big or small, and they can all go to a booth as a prize.

Other ways I've been quilty-charitable is by giving quilts directly to someone in need. Several years ago to a student with cancer. Once a young mother trying to make it on her own. A veteran. Those people who truly appreciate that someone cares. 

A HST quilt in blue and white signed by classmates was a symbol of how much they loved and missed a classmate fighting cancer. Unable to attend school during his chemo treatments, he had a tangible item to remind him of his school family's support and concern. He graduated on time to walk across the stage with his childhood friends.

And so it goes with every item that I make and give to others. It's nice to sell on occasion, certainly the money helps. But knowing that I join a multitude of other quilters and sewists who donate their time and talent to help those less fortunate is what makes the true difference. Their lives may be difficult due to illness, disaster, finances, loneliness or a host of other problems, but I've learned that small gestures can make big changes. For them and for me.

Quilting teaches me...

Perseverance

Charity

Simplicity

Patience

Why

Authenticity

Courage

Contentment

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: M U D

Mud? I know, it's not something that most of us would consider a good thing. Maybe when were children playing mud pies, but not likely as adults today. 

But if you've seen pictures of the flooding in South Louisiana, you've seen mud. Muddy furnishings. Muddy clothing. Muddy appliances.  All sitting on the side of the street waiting for dump trucks to haul it off. 

And you've seen lots of muddy water. Water is naturally muddy here. Slow moving and muddy in bayous. Fast moving and muddy in rivers. Not moving and muddy in swamps. Every body of water seems to be muddy, especially when stirred up. Rain water stirs up the mud. 

It's all very sad for the families who have lost everything: homes, jobs, vehicles. Thankfully, help is arriving slowly; volunteers are pitching in with the cleanup. People are able to begin to rebuild their lives. But in the middle of it all is the mud. 

Stinky, smelly mud that will soon begin to rot and carry disease. Muddy water in every hole or bowl-shaped object breeding mosquitoes, which also carry disease. Mud pies may have been fun play when we were children, but it is not pleasant to victims.

But mud can be inspiration for creative endeavors, not just mud pies.  Here are ten quilts that could easily have been inspired by Louisiana mud. 

Please continue praying for the tens of thousands of displaced families who are still battling the mud and water of the floods. They need your help. Should you choose to donate money, please choose carefully. Two safe nonprofits are the Louisiana Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Capital Area Animal Welfare Society (CAAWS). In both cases you can include a note with instructions that your money is to help flooding victims. 

Updated NICU Gown Pattern

One of my most popular posts since I started this blog in 2010 has been the NICU pattern that I wrote about after our grandbaby was born weighing only 2 lbs. 4 ozs. This week I am washing and delivering 24 gowns to Cabrini's Women's and Children's NICU ward. 

the old version

While I am happy that so many people have been interested in making NICU gowns, I haven't necessarily been happy about the look of the pattern itself. So I finally got around to cleaning it up.

newer, updated version

To print the pattern simply click on the picture and copy it. Then go to MS Word (or whatever program you normally use) and paste it there. Enlarge the pattern so that it just fits inside of a regular 8½ X 11 sheet of copy paper. Nothing is exact--if you get close it will be fine, but remember that the pattern is half of the gown. (I print one but cut out two and tape them together at the center back.) You have a pattern that easily. One of the reasons that size is not terribly important is that the gowns aren't necessarily clothing the way we think of it. 

In the NICU, still not wearing clothes

Preemies are all sizes (generally 1-6 lbs) but most weight 4-5 pounds before the nurses put clothing on them. This is because when tiny babies are irritated, they fidget and cry, and any irritation slows down their weight gain and development. 

Christmas (almost two months in NICU)
wearing a gown I made

We couldn't touch or hold Catherine for the first few weeks. It's devastating to think that just your touch can delay her progress. Because the gowns are designed to cover the baby rather than fit tiny bodies, there's a little wiggle room . 

Catherine at 5 years old

NICU babies are kept at an exact temperature, so the gowns aren't even meant to keep them warm. Their job is to help the parents cope with having a preemie in such delicate condition. 

Catherine now at six years old.

Young moms and dads come into the NICU and, seeing the baby with clothing, begin to see her differently. There's a renewed hope that the baby will survive. They've been touching and holding her for a few days, and this is one more advancement. They eventually practice putting clothing on her, changing her diaper, nursing or giving her a bottle--all while a nurse is close by to help them. Even parents who have older children are afraid to handle their frail, tiny infant. A two pound baby can be frightening! 

If you are interested in making NICU gowns for your local hospital, first call and ask if they prefer a particular pattern be used. If this pattern is acceptable, you can find the tutorial here. 

Sad Little Quilt ~~ A Finish

It's done.  All finished.  Well, almost...I have to put a label on it. Unfortunately I don't have a name.  



Because of the quilting, I called it a sad little quilt earlier today, but that's not much in the way of quilt names.  


I guess that for now it's just not going to get a label.  

 I don't like the quilting since it not the style I've become accustomed to and love.  I think it's pretty bad, actually.  Richard disagrees with me, but I see every crooked line.  Note to self: no more stitch in the ditch quilting.  

I haven't decided what to do with the quilt, so I suppose none of it really matters.  I am considering donating it and will think about where it should go.

Although I don't care for it very much, I'm sure someone will appreciate it.  I'm also proud that I finished it.  It's difficult to see a quilt to the end when I'm not happy with the outcome, but I'm getting better at pushing through the problems.  Most of the time I end up liking the finished product, but not with this little quilt.  

As I said earlier, "Sad little quilt."  
Lots of linkups tonight!  Go by for a visit!

Linking up with

Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts 

Off the Wall Fridays at Creations Quilts Art Whatever

Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

http://whatahootquilts.blogspot.ca/ for TGIFF

Church of the Little Flower FAIR

Last weekend was our church's annual fair.   Richard and I worked both days. We generally help with the Bingo game on Saturday evening.  On Sunday we make cold slaw for the dinner.  Of course, mixing the slaw is only part of the job.  The other part is serving it!

Keep in mind that we usually have 1000 plates to serve.  That's a lot of slaw!  I don't have photos of working or fun from Sunday.  Three was no time for that.  10 or 12 people serve lunch continuously for hours with only a couple of very short breaks when we run out of food.  Of course, we laugh and joke, catch up with each others' families, visit with customers, and adore the children who occasionally pass through to give a hug to a hard-working grandma.  

 Our fearless leader calling numbers in this next photo.  Angela works hard all year long to secure great prizes for Bingo.  Some people come for hours and, actually, days to play, visit and win.  We could not find someone willing to work so hard or who could do a better job of getting prizes, workers, and everything else we need for a successful Bingo at the fair.

Here's my little crew of kids and grands playing Bingo.  There was no conflict of interest with Richard and me working and our family playing!  We openly root for them and, when I call, I tease them on the mic.  It makes for fun and transparency in volunteerism.  

 One fun, crazy gal and the cutest hubby around working.  Gotta love those money aprons.  Our fair is a typical country fair: low tech and high fun!

Children's games!  Mostly it's just kids running around, occasionally getting prizes for no reason, and making lots of noise. 

How do they not get into trouble?  Well, part of the shade has some "granny chairs" so grownups can keep an eye on whichever kid happens to be running past.  When granny gets tired, she goes play Bingo and grandpa has to sit a round or two.

One of the things I do to help out the fair is to donate a small quilt to the Bingo table.  This is the one I decided on this year.  It's a long lap quilt in blues and greens with a touch of yellow.  The idea is that the blue squares look like flowers.

I can say with a sense of pride that my quilts are a winning prize.   Players begin asking us to put it up as a prize on Saturday evening, but we make them wait for Sunday.  The hope is that people will come back to play again on Sunday if there are some great prizes available.  I missed the game when it was put up since I was serving lunches, but it's okay: I didn't donate it for the recognition. 

And so another fall fair is behind us.  That means the weather will be getting cooler and the holidays are not far behind.  The year is rolling by pretty fast.  I hope it's going well for you and yours.