May I have your attention please?

The message below was posted on the QOV site. As I understand it, 200 quilts are still needed. Please contact your guild officers and/or local quilt shops to see what can be coordinated expediently. Every single quilt counts, just like every single service member coming back counts.

Thank you - Dolly

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12.8.11

Thank you for taking the time to find out about my request. I hope after reading this, you will send a QOV or more so we can cover those touched by war.

In October, I was contacted by a chaplain at Ft. Riley, KS about the 4-4 Cavalry Brigade returning in February. This particular Brigade has made national news headlines as they have suffered such heavy losses during this deployment. They have averaged 2 a week!! The chaplain told me that every single person in the unit is suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from being on their second or third deployment and loosing so many of their buddies. He has requested that we present quilts to the entire Brigade (that's 400) people when they return from their block leave in March.

Since providing comfort to the wounded is our primary mission, and there is no doubt these 400 have been seriously affected by their time in a war zone, I agreed. Now we are asking for your help in reaching the goal of 400 quilts. We have circled the wagons here in Kansas and are feverishly putting the miles on our sewing machines to try and reach this goal. As of December 1st we have 75 quilts so far. That still leaves us far short. We recently had a Wichita quilt shop donate 36 quilt kits to us. All of them were checked out by members of various local guilds and they are starting to come in. So we'll be making requests for long-arm help too. If your Bee has time to make us a quilt (or more than one) we'd sure appreciate the help!

Please send any quilts to:
Martha Smith
2364 Cardinal
Wichita, KS 67204
unicornut@hotmail.com

Thanks for your help!!
Katy Vickers
RC - Kansas

Recently, I pulled out another baggie . . .

. . . which held 44 hourglass blocks, leftovers from making my dad a quilt about 9 years go.

They needed a home. Using graph paper, I came up with a simple layout. Dark 2-1/2" square cornerstones will be placed at each intersection. One light plaid will be used for all of the sashing.

I started with two 7-inch squares, light and dark. After assembling the hourglass blocks, they were trimmed down to 5-3/4 inches. The quilt top requires 182, so I have a few more to make. Everything was starched heavily before sewing. Starch makes the bias edges very crisp and keeps the homespun from unraveling quite so much.

A ribbon pinned to the back of my pincushion keeps it portable and easily accessible on my design wall. (Why did it take me so long to think of this idea?)

Simple cuteness, that's my Dolly.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

It's a good thing Amish colors . . .

. . are timeless.

This was the first top I made while attending Harriet Hargraves' class back in 1985. That was even before she had written her first book! So I can truly say, "I knew her when."

I could never decide exactly how to quilt it. Perhaps I should stipple the whole thing and call it done!

In preparation for setting up my pinning table, I moved the coffee table. "You know who" decided to make the spot her own. Who can blame her when it's 39 degrees outside.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

4,768 pieces . . .

Plus borders, but who's counting?

A tidy little stack

of quilt tops going out to Alycia for our soldiers.

Six have lighter shades on the borders, lots of fun and wacky fabrics. Those are for the gals coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. Three have warmer colors for the guys.

And then there's Dolly, the perfect quilter's puppy. She can sleep even amongst the chaos of stacked fabric! What a trooper.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Every quilt has a story . . .

And this one could write a book!

Begun in the spring, I had great hopes of making this streak of lightening large enough to fit my bed, while simultaneously using up a LOT OF blues. (You may recall I own a surplus of older fabrics.)

So I cut and sewed with reckless abandon minus the benefit of a design wall.

When viewed from a distance, the error of my ways becomes quite evident.

In order for the design to flow well, blues that read as solids or near solids must be used. No multi-colored prints will work here.

So the question remains, do I take it all apart and start from square one, or finish it as is and donate it?

Stay tuned for the next episode of "I've Got the Blues!"

Meanwhile, our resident weather forecaster, Dolly, is on the lookout for snow flurries due in tonight.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .