Back Packs

A group in my Church is collecting items for childrens school kits. The list included crayons, pencils, rulers, erasers, scissors, etc. At the bottom of the list they asked for cloth, draw string back packs. I knew right away that I had the perfect pattern for the back packs. A few days ago I cut 4 of the back packs out. Yesterday we had an open sew at Guild. I was able to complete 2 of the back packs and get a good start on #3 there. After dinner I finished #3 and made back pack #4. I would like to make a few more but if this is all that I can get done I will be very happy and proud of myself.

Three More Afghans Delivered

Today I delivered three more afghans to the gal who distributes them to veterans. The variegated afghan was made from yarn I had here at home. I had started an afghan some time ago, tore it apart and recycled the yarn. The other two are made with yarn scraps from my Mom. I am using this ripple pattern because it goes quick and because I like it. I started one using black, red and cream colored yarn. I think I have enough of my Mom's yarn to make one more multi-colored yarn. Then it's back to Mom's Yarn Shop in her upstairs. I am doing some quilting but it is harder in the summer. I have discovered that it is nice to be able to pick up the crocheting and add a row or two when I have time. It is also a nice road trip project as long as it doesn't get too big.

A Little Bit of Sewing Time

We were hit with the big heat wave here last week like in so many other areas. I spent a lot of time at my parents pool. But I also set in front of the sewing machine and the fan to finish this charity quilt top. It is the Jelly Roll 1600 pattern. I had to do a little adjusting as I used left over bindings that are 2 1/4 inch wide instead of 2 1/2 inch wide. It was a valuable lesson in the importance of a 1/4 inch. In a previous post I showed pictures of the charity day at Guild where we worked on this pattern. A couple members of our Guild are friends with a couple of gals from another group down state who are making quilts for an orphanage. We decided to offer some assistance in making quilts. A long arm quilter has offered to quilt the quilts. Hopefully some kids will enjoy the "fruits of our labors".

Water Fun Day at Tiger Paw Park

Our small community is very fortunate to have a beautiful park for families to enjoy. When the Township bought the park several years ago it had 3 base ball fields. With the help from some very community-minded folks several grants were written and awarded and the park now also has a very large playground with lots of fun things for the kids to climb on, swing on and twirl around on. There is also a very nice concession building with bathrooms. Three years ago the Township board began hosting children's activities for the months of June and July. Yesterday was Water Fun Day and about 35 kids participated in the activities. There were able to swim in a small pool, play on a slip and slide, run through several sprinklers, slide down a water slide and enjoy a water balloon toss. Snacks were also provided. Since we in a major heat wave right now the water part of the day was perfect timing.

I posted a week ago about my brother-in-law undergoing major surgery in Boston. He is doing great. He spent 5 days in ICU, and 3 days in a step down unit. He was released from the hospital and is now staying in a hotel close to the hospital. The nurses go to the hospital to check up on him. Today he sees the Dr. so we are anxious to get the report. Family and friends put together a benefit dinner/live auction/chinese raffle to help my sister and brother-in-law with expenses. It was a crazy day but also a very fun day. We fed close to 700 people and collected a very nice sum of money to help with expenses and bills. Of course, being a quilter I decided that we needed to do a quilt for Perrin. I cut 4 1/2 inch squares of muslin and asked people to sign quilt blocks. Since Perrin is a hunter I decided to used camouflage fabric for the sashings. I was at Delphine's Quilt Shop last week for the Prairie Women's Sewing Circle Club meeting and was telling Delphine and Donna about my project. Donna suggested that I use the Fun and Done - quilt as you go method to complete the quilt. I have two of the Fun and Done patterns but have not tried them yet. Donna showed me a sample in the store. So when I got home I did some experimenting. So far I am liking the way it is turning out, although I have only completed two blocks so far. I am going to make the quilt reversible with camo on 1 side and black on the other. I have to do some un-sewing as I had already started adding sashings to the blocks but that is ok. I think I am going to like this method and the outcome. I was hoping to have the quilt done before they came home from Boston - I guess I had better get cracking.

Do you belong to a Quilt Guild?

Yesterday was our monthly Quilt Guild meeting. I truly enjoy my Guild and all of it's members. Yesterday we had 37 members and 1 guest attend. We discussed our annual picnic that will be held later this month. We also discussed our annual county fair and the Guilds involvement in the fair. We will have a lecture and a class in August with Klaudeen Hansen of Wisconsin. We also received the dates for our fall camp. And then the show and tell began - I am always in awe of the beautiful items that members share during our Guild meetings. I have to admit that I came away a little "down in the dumps" yesterday. This always seems to be a busy time of year and I have very little time in my sewing room. Our Guild has been doing the Banners of the Month and since I am helping my sister Carol, our project chair I am pushing hard to keep up and get the banners made before each meeting. I do love the summer but also love a little down time and more time for sewing. Do you belong to a Guild? If not I highly recommend you find one to join or start one. I really enjoy the frinedships I have made with fellow Guild members and I always love the inspiration.

Technology

I do not consider myself up to date on technology, not even close. I won an I-pod a year ago and still don't even know how to turn the thing on. But yesterday proved to be very interesting in the technology department. My brother-in-law had major surgery in Boston. His wife (my sister, their 3 kids, their sons girlfriend and my two other sisters (all from Hillman) were there and still are. I spent the day with my parents here in Hillman intercepting, reporting and responding to texts from my two sisters. I also took my lap top to my parents and read posts that my sister has been posting on www.caringbridge.com It was a wonderful way to keep up with what was going on. My parents even said it was just like being there for the surgery. My brother-in-law is doing very well. He had to have his left lung removed because of mesotheleoma. He is in ICU right now and as he progresses he will be moved to a step down unit and then released. They have to stay in Boston for up to 4 weeks during his recovery. But with phone calls, texts and website we can stay in touch. On a personal note, I had both the cell phone and computer out by my parents swimming pool and was also able to enjoy some pool time with one of our grandsons, one nephew and 3 great-nephews.

Annual Bridge Walk

Sometimes I think our small town has its disadvantages but I think the disadvantages are far outweighed by the advantages. Last weekend was one of our small town annual events. Lots and lots of events were held for the Mill River Days. Our grandson London and I participated in the Annual Bridge Walk. I am not sure if this was the 4th or 5th Bridge Walk but I have participated in all of them. And I felt very honored to participate in the walk this year with Mr. Willard Klein of Hillman. Willard is 94 years young and is a wonderful man. He and his wife Margaret raised a very large family here in Hillman. And I understand that has applied for an elk permit out west and plans to go on a hunting trip there later this fall.

Another Quilt Guild Charity Sew

Sixteen members of the Thunderbay Quilt Guild gathered last week for a Charity Sew. We used the Jelly Roll 1600 hundred pattern and it was fun to see how they all turned out so different. Some of the gals used jelly rolls and some just used fabric from their stashes. The idea is to use 1600 inches of 2 1/2 inch strips. We decided that we needed to use more than the 1600 inches to achieve the size we needed. These quilt tops will be quilted by a very generous long arm quilter and then donated to an orphanage at Christmas time. Charity work is always so heart warming.

Shipshewana Vacation

Here are a few more pictures of our vacation. Because we know that the streets pretty much roll up after 6 p.m. in Shipsi I took my sewing machine along on our vacation. In the evenings I sewed and Steve channel surfed on the TV (just like being at home). I worked on a very scrappy quilt. I didn't get it finished yet but I will. The pattern is called Jelly Roll 1600 and uses a jelly roll. I used left over bindings from my scrap basket. While there we also particiapted in a shop hop involving 8 quilt shops. That was a lot of fun.

We stayed at the Amish Country Inn, a very beautiful hotel. The hotel included an indoor water park but we did not try it out this time.