Sunday, February 6, 2011

Surfin' Sunday - Featuring Cheaper Than Therapy Quilting!


Hi, all!

Sunday has rolled around again, and I'm so happy to introduce you to one of my favorite blogs - Cheaper Than Therapy Quilting!

Meet its wonderful author, Mary Lou....


.....seen here with her three kids, whom she home schools!  

Mary Lou is an impressively prolific quilter - she claims to have 58 works in progress!  Here are just a few of her beautiful quilts.....

Her first finish for 2011....

How about a little Roll Roll Cotton Boll?



Don't you just love the triangle border on this one?

She also prefers to hand quilt - although with so many projects, she says she doesn't get to hand quilt as many as she'd like to.


But my favorite part of her blog is the little devotional-type message she puts at the end of each of her blog posts.  Each time I read one of her posts, I feel just a little bit more uplifted, encouraged, and inspired!  Cheaper than therapy, indeed!    Be sure to take some time and check out her blog
- you'll love it!!

Have a wonderful week!

Sarah

Friday, February 4, 2011

Can I get a Whoop-Whoop?? A Couple of Ministry Quilts!!

Hi, all!

It's Friday again, and time to get your whoop-whoop on!!  I can't wait to see what everyone's been working on this week - big or small, it's always exciting to make progress!  So be sure to link up and tell all!

Here's what I worked on this week - a pair of quilts that started at our January sewing meeting, where 22 women got together to make blocks from a big box of shirting samples that I think dated from back in the early 1960's.  We made 46 blocks that morning, and everyone had a great time!  The next week, a friend came over and we worked on sashing 32 of those blocks to be put into quilts.

Here's the first quilt - named "The Shirt Off My Back"....



This quilt went to a teenager in our church with some ongoing medical issues.  We hoped to create a quilt that would grow with him - that he can take to college some day.  Notice the letters on the quilt?  I found an unstitched part of the piecing in mid-quilting - those appliqued letters (the recipient's initials!) cover up that boo-boo!  Oh, the things we do in desperation.....  ;-)

The second quilt is going to an older gentleman who is battling cancer.  One of his nurses is a member of our church and after hearing about his recent test results, requested a quilt for him.  She told us that this was a very sweet couple who had been going through a lot recently.  We took some of the blocks that had been sashed and paired them with a vintage copper cotton to create this quilt.  The backing is a moose print flannel to add some extra warmth, because the gentleman had been suffering chills during his chemo treatments.  I've named this quilt "King's Cross".....



And because this request was brought to us referring to the couple, we decided to send a quilt to the wife, also - sitting in a chair in a hospital room is a cold and lonely place, and we thought a quilt might help make her feel a little more comfort.  My friend Debbie, who did the long-arm quilting on Savannah's quilt, donated this beautiful quilt that she made.  I'm calling this one "Peace, Love and Harmony".....


So that's what I've been up to this week - finishing up some collaborative effort quilts!  Now I want to see what everyone else has been doing - so link up!!  And don't forget to share the bloggy love!!!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Okay, everyone - here's an important note!!  
I just found out that the linky service is going to be charging
a monthly fee for the service.  It's not very much, and I don't mind
paying it, if people want to keep linking up.  

SO - this is the week to link up!  
Show me you're interested in this linky party!!  
If you've accomplished something this week you're proud of - 
and that doesn't mean you had to finish it - 
tell us about it!
Join in the fun!!
Get your very own whoop whoop!!

Later!

Sarah





Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Toddlerless Tuesday #19! Gettin' Better All The Time.....

Hi, all!

It's Tuesday again - and I managed to both load and quilt a quilt on my quilting frame!  Slowly but surely, it's getting easier to do this.


A valuable lesson learned today - the back of the quilt goes on with the right side DOWN!  I had the back 3/4 pinned on, then realized that while I was admiring the back, I shouldn't have been able to see it!  Oh, well, live and learn!  I don't think I'll make that mistake again.   This quilt is made with some more of the blocks we made at our January sewing class, and I backed it with some moose print flannel for warmth.

And I finally got some extra bobbins, so maybe I won't run out of filled bobbins with the next quilt I work on.....

So that's what I did with my Toddlerless Tuesday - hopefully I'll be able to use my Tuesdays to get not only one quilt quilted, but another loaded up in the future.  Practice definitely makes it easier!

Later!

Sarah

PS.  Be sure to check out the giveaway over at {House} of A La Mode - it's a good one!!

And the giveaway over at Lucky Duck Dreams!!  Fabric for the lucky winner!!