QUILTS!: January 2011 Archives

I have a friend named June who lives in Aberdeen Scotland. We have never met, but we have corresponded and shared gifts. She has overwhelmed me with her generosity in the past, with lovely gifts that show her Scottish heritage.

June and I share a passion for quilting. We've swapped fabric and pictures of our projects. She sent me two exquisitely done shadow quilted pillow shams. They are elegant and perfect for the guest room in my home. They took a lot of time to create, and I was bowled over when I opened the package and saw what she sent.

However, she has topped herself in gift giving! In November she sent me a quilt! I'd admired the pattern on one of the quilts she'd made for her daughter. I asked if she would make a quilt top for me. Now, you need to know that I'm not brazen enough to ask a friend to make a quilt top for me without intending to reimburse her. June was raising funds for a poly-house her daughter needed to extend their growing season. I thought buying a top that June had made so that she could donate to the fund was a win-win situation.

So, imagine my surprise when I opened this package and found a completed quilt. This is the very first time (I think) that I have ever received a quilt from someone. My mother made quilts for all the women in my family, but we ran out of time before she could make one for me.....so this quilt is very special to me.

Here's a picture (forgive my amateurish photography, please):

I LOVE the colors! I LOVE the prints that June used. She and I are as different as night and day in our choices of patterns and fabrics, and for that very reason, I treasure this quilt. I hope one day I'll get to meet June, and she can take me shopping for vibrant fabrics like the ones she has used in this quilt.

June.....thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Scraps on a Mission is the name of a group of ladies who are taking donated cotton fabrics and making quilts for those in need. It grew out of my friendship with a woman who is a member of the Empty Nester group at church, and is quietly taking over my life.

Two of my friends have donated hundreds of yards of fabric. They got to clear their stashes of fabric they were never going to use, and we got the basic material we need to make the quilts. I sorted through the fabrics and divided them up by color. I washed the very large pieces that will be used for backing, measured them, and stowed them away.

Today I spent a good part of the day cutting blue, gold and brown fabric into strips, the first step toward creating kits for inexperienced quilters to assemble. I have some more sub-cutting to do before I can bag the pieces. Many of the ladies who are working with us do not have any experience using a rotary cutter and mat, so I'm donating my time on this until I can teach them how to cut their own patchwork.

I believe that I have enough fabric sliced up to make at the very least six quilt tops! When I get a little further along in my preparations, I'll take pictures for the blog.