Wednesday, March 7, 2012

What's Cookin' at The Sweatshop, Week #23 - A Whole Lotta Quiltin' Goin' On!

Hi, all!


Wow, it's Spring around here - and it makes me want to sew!  Does it do that to you?  We finished a lot of quilts since I last posted, and I'm excited to show them to you....


First up is this pretty quilt, made from blocks donated by Terri.  This is the second quilt made from this block donation and they both came out so nicely!  






But take a look at the back - a gorgeous piece from IKEA!  




I love that place for fabric - so unique.  This quilt is going to a 15-year old girl who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.   These beautiful bright colors should help cheer her up!


The next quilt was received as an anonymous donation, completely by surprise!  




This quilt is going to an older lady who struggling with MRSA and some other health issues.  This beautiful quilt should comfort her while she's recovering!


Now this quilt is a fun one - Deb and Katie Beth, a mother and daughter team in our quilt ministry, took the blocks and put them together.  The daughter insisted that the center block be placed in that position because of the little birdie in the very center.  And it's very appropriate, considering the border is all birdhouses!



    


This quilt is going to an older woman who just went through surgery for lung cancer.  Hopefully its cheery blocks will brighten her day!


This next quilt was pieced from blocks donated by Sharon, our out-of-state honorary quilt ministry member!  




It's going to a woman who just went through surgery for uterine cancer.  How can it help but make her feel better?  


I absolutely love the way the next quilt came out.  Michelle of The Jypsy Quilter donated these gorgeous star blocks, and the remainder of the background material that she had.  When I started working with the blocks, I wondered what they would look like "floating" on a sea of that background material....




One more shot - just 'cause it's pretty!



















This quilt is going to a 15 year old boy recently diagnosed with cancer.  I hope he enjoys it as much as I enjoyed putting it together!






This next quilt was also made with blocks donated by Sharon, and assembled by Tracy.  Tracy also added the heart block in the center.






It's going to a woman in Florida who had back surgery and is expecting a long recovery.  And yes, they do use quilts in Florida - feeling cold is a relative thing!  Having grown up there, I can tell you that I would get as cold at 60 degrees then as I do at 30 degrees now!


This last quilt is a beautiful Jelly Roll Race (or 1600) quilt pieced by Emilie, a quilt ministry member.  





It's going to a woman who recently went through surgery for ovarian cancer.  Its bright, cheery colors will hopefully comfort her through the remainder of her treatment!


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Things are rolling along for our space at church, too.  It looks like we might be getting in it sooner than expected, so we're starting to work on wish lists and ways to set up the room - - - always fun!

And this week was a great week for donations!  The Singer/Pfaff warehouse in a nearby town is being moved to a smaller facility, and a friend of mine was there and saw them throwing away 2 huge boxes of thread.  She asked if she could have it for the church quilt ministry, and they said yes.  Then they told her about some "quilty" stuff that they had already put in the dumpster, and went and pulled it out for her.  That turned out to be four extension tables for sewing machines!  Woohoo!!





When I inventoried the boxes of thread, it turned out to be 1366 spools of high quality thread, all different types (rayon, cotton, polyester, tweeds, variegated, hand quilting, even glow in the dark thread!) and when I researched values on the internet, turned out to be worth over $6400!!  And they were going to chuck it in the trash!


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One last thing....

....there's still time to enter into the giveaway for the "Pass It On" box - you can check out the blogpost here and get in on the fun!  I'll be drawing a winner on Friday, March 9th!!

Hugs!

Sarah

16 comments:

  1. I just love the first quilt - all of them are just beautiful. Yes, a blessing that your friend was at the right spot at the right time - all that thread!

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  2. You sure hit the jackpot with all that thread and tables - good timing, too, with the new space at your Church. It makes you wonder how much good stuff goes into the landfill. My son used to be a supervisor of roofers, and you wouldn't believe the stuff contractors throw away. He pulled out of the dumpster some perfectly good tiles (the homeowner didn't like them), and three "dead"
    rose bushes that we planted in my yard. They are gorgeous and vigorous growers. Seems like there is alot of waste of perfectly good things that winds up in our landfills. I could go on and on... (Sorry about the soapbox...)
    Love all the quilts you made, and I love that you tell who gets it, while still keeping it anonymous. Good Job!
    Hugs!!!

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  3. Looks like another productive week in your corner of the world :)
    Love the blue floating stars quilt!

    And what a blessing with all that thread - God works in mysterious ways!

    Happy Stitching!

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  4. That thread is an amazing (accidental) gift! I can't believe the tings that get thrown away!

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  5. Gorgeous quilts, The Sisters have been busy. I love the blue one. Great score on the thread and other "dumpster" items. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

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  6. Great week for the ministry on so many levels. Beautiful quilts.

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  7. So glad your friend was there when that beautiful thread was being thrown out and was able to save it.
    Love the first quilt, for the 15 year old girl, that backing is so cool.
    Great job to you and all the sisters in the ministry.

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  8. I love all the quilts your church has made for cancer patients. They will truly love them. I do the same thing for cancer in my own community but I am the only one and there is always need for a special hug.

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  9. Oh My Gosh! Throwing away quality thread and sewing machine tables. The ministry scored big time. Who says you can't quilt or piece with poly or rayon threads? I've never seen the quilt police yet. Love those quilts, too.

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  10. I like all the quilts and it looks like you did a great job of matching each to its new owner.

    And yes, I'm continually surprised by what people throw away. Foolishness.

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  11. Wow! What an amazing blessing!! Just goes to show that the Lord blesses those who bless those around them! Praise the Lord for His goodness!!! ... Also, the quilts you ministry gals (+others) have put together are gorgeous!! What wonderful blessings they will be for those who receive them !!

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  12. WOW!! Glad you saved the thread - what a blessing. Those quilts are amazing - I was going to pick a favorite - but I can't. What comfort you are quilting!

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  13. Wow wow and more wow! Thoses are amazing quilts. I am blown away at how the space/ star quilt looked from Michelle and the story of the 15 year old with breast cancer. I didn't know that could happen. God blessed you with that thread and tables. It will come to good use! Yea God!

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  14. What beautiful quilts they are really nice & i would be proud if i could do just one of them as good those
    Hugs Janice

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  15. Love all the quilts they look amazing!

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Comments make me smile!! If you want a PDF of a pattern, PLEASE leave your email address in your comment, or email me directly at salliesue57 (at) gmail (dot) com!