Christmas in November!

So - I still send letters and packages via snail mail, guess I'm old fashioned.  But I LOVE getting packages in the mail! And look what just arrived from Barb (from Fun with Barb) - wonderful, yummy scraps!

And when I say "scraps", let me just say, that Barb was very generous!  In addition to actual (little) scraps, Barb included several fat eighths and fat quarters, too!  See all those fun fabric designs? And the AMOUNT of fabric? Yay!

I had fun going through everything (my friend calls it "petting" the fabric).  Check out those great lime green prints (my favorite color!), fun novelty fabrics, gorgeous modern prints, and a nice selection of reproduction fabrics, Civil War, I think. 

I sorted them, made piles, thinking...what SHALL I do with these? !!! I don't know yet, but I know it will be fun!  

I saw this Churn Dash on a Barb's blog - I love the old-fashioned simplicity of the block, and the fan quilting is so lovely.  Maybe these fabrics will become a churn dash quilt one of these days?
Regardless - thank you Barb, for bringing some of your "fun" into my house!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 

Scraps giveaway, design wall progress, Ethan's gift

Do you ever hope that you will win a giveaway on a blog? on one of your favorite blogs? Well guess who just won a package of scraps? I did, over at Fun with Barb.  I wasn't the first winner, but Barb is sending me a package of scraps, too! Yay! I LOVE scraps, and scrap quilts - and Barb's scraps will be yummy, I am sure! Everyone's stash is so different - almost like a fingerprint.  I wonder what I will make with them???  Barb's blog is terrific, always filled with inspiration and lots of fun, too.  Her quilts are stunning, and her workmanship is exquisite.  

And - to "pay it forward" - I will be sending out a package of my scraps to someone who responds to this post.  I will mail to anywhere in the U.S.  Please make sure that I have some way to contact you - like your email address. I promise to send a nice assortment for some fun playtime.  Thank you!

My design wall has been frozen like this for a while...I know we are ALL busy, but I literally do not have more than maybe an hour of free time each day, after my two jobs.  This colorwash quilt will be a wedding gift for my lovely daughter, Emily, and her wonderful husband, Matt.  I wanted to make them a wall quilt, and something that would complement their modern house and design scheme.  I showed Emily some colorwash examples, and got the thumbs up!  Then I got a nice selection of batik pieces from my friend Wanda of Exuberant Color.  Wanda is an excellent quilter and teacher, and an expert at the colorwash style.  Check out her blog for many fabulous examples! 

Another project for my spare time - this is a small quilt made for some dear friends who suffered the most profound loss:  both of twin girls that they were expecting.  I stopped my other quilt projects and made this - I just had to do something, you know? Just a small thing, to show them that we love them.

They do have a darling 3-year-old son, Ethan, who wanted to give something to his angel sisters, in heaven.  So, after the memorial service at our church, there was a balloon release of pale pink and violet balloons.  A few appropriate words were spoken, and then Ethan gave the signal for all of us to release our balloons, and we watched them climb upward, between the bare branches of a big tree. I am adding a few soft pink sequins, denoting the sun glinting off the balloons. 

"Ethan's Gift"