Thanks Everybody!

Thanks everybody!
we donated 70 quilts and I'm still focused on quilting for charity but Im no longer posting to this blog..
 Thanks!

Can you believe it?? Wendy Lou sent this in to us . A Bento Box style quilt made with designer fabrics and backed with Amy Butler. It's really lovely. It arrived yesterday with a lovely note. I hope that folks know that I find the quilts and notes very encouraging to my efforts. Some days I just feel kinda overwhelmed with all the quilting that needs doing.
A few days ago I loaded in a very long, long piece for backing. I will quilt several quilts this week, I'm currently on #2. It's been slow going.. but then yesterday I got this quilt in the mail. Now I'm encouraged. Fired up! Ready to go!
Thanks Wendy!
Btw, she did a tutorial of this quilt and has a great link to make your own laundry detergent!
Brilliant!

New Batch Delivered

This last week I delivered 16 finished quilts and a "small" (car seat snuggy or changing pad) 8 of those finished came from Donna in TX.
Donna from Austin, TX writes " ... For the last 20 years I have lived in TX but I will always be an Oregonian. I hope these quilts will keep other oregon kids warm. they aren't perfect and the quilting isn't professional but they were made with Love...."

Isn't the fact they are made with love what makes them perfect? I went to the post to pick them up on the way to Community Action. I sat with the ladies on staff and oohhed and ahhed and filled out my paper work ( I document that I dropped them off and they keep track of the in kind donation.). These quilts are lovely and will be just the thing for some kid.

Thank you Donna!

I will be starting a new batch of quilting soon. stay tuned.



We are getting so close to 50! I still have a large stack here to quilt. I'll keep working on this as long as I have quilt tops to quilt. I am working on getting another roll of batting as I have almost completely used the one I purchased for this project. Can you believe it? 40 yards of batting already! Who would have guessed?
I have decided not to re up my PO Box and if would like to send a finished quilt or a top Please Email me and we will send you our street address.
Thank you so much for participating and for your generosity!

Whew!

Okay things are busy here.... I have plenty to quilt, plenty quilted and I need to post something...
Its coming....
and I will update the numbers ...

Thanks!

Big Thank You!

Whew! has it really been 2 weeks since my last post? I guess it has. Well, the holidays are over and its back to business. I managed to get a large quilt back in flannel loaded up and am back to quilting. I expect to have at least 6 quilts quilted in the next couple days.

Since the last post I have received these great finished quilts. Thank goodness! I feel sometimes a bit overwhelmed and over committed, to tell the truth I have been feeling like the days are whipping past with very little result. Getting quilts in the mail gives me a boost and has really helped me get the work flowing again. I'm really grateful for your efforts and the support.
Thank You!
Watching the news this week has been tough for us all I know. Hearing about the depth and breadth of the poverty in Haiti and now an Earthquake on top of it ... well, its just all so sad.
Here in America one in eight is below the poverty line. In Haiti it's estimated that 8 of 10 are below the poverty line, not that they do a census.
Food and water are still not widely available in Haiti. Here on MLK day, hundreds turned out to help sort food at the Oregon Food Bank.
We may have some of the highest unemployment in the nation, but hey, at least we have an economy, right?
Please support the relief and recovery efforts in Haiti!
My favorite is the internationally effective and yet local Mercy Corps!

Happy New Year!

I had so much strips left over from a finished project that I am making Denyse Schmidt style free pieced blocks with all my extras. This is a blue one. I hope to finish the gray one I am working on and then crank out a green one, and an orange one. The sashing and and border is a solid that I purchased over the internet and didn't like. Looks fine here, so it just goes to show that every fabric can find a purpose. I have a bunch of stuff left over from this project, all of it will get sewn up into GAKAQ. I made many blocks and then abandoned a plan for a quilt and started over.

I took a break over Christmas. I did some personal quilting and then I didn't quilt or sew for 2 weeks. Tuesday before New Years we had some surprise snow that clogged up the roads and made driving all but impossible.

I took this photo as I sat in traffic less than a mile from my home. I thought this shot was so pretty. Then it dawned on me. "Hey, we aren't moving and that bus and fed ex guy are stuck! When was the last time this lane moved more than a few feet?" I sat here a few more minutes thinking a variety of stuff:
"good thing I got gas yesterday!" I tend to go smug early... don't hold it against me.
"crap, how am I going to pick my beloved at the airport"
"how pretty is this?!"
"I shoulda peed at the last place I was at"... seriously it only takes me 5 minutes to get home
"This isn't so bad"
"this sucks"
and on and on I went ... until it dawned on me "Go around!" I turned around, went back the way I came and went around this mess. I was home 10 minutes later. Go figure.
I walked into my warm, safe home with its wonderful luxuries and it dawned on me that some folks were spending the night in that snow. Some folks were not going to be warm tonight... they not get warm, really warm for several days.
Its time for me to get back to warming those kiddos with a quilt!

So, its a new Year and I'm back at it!
Thanks so much for wishing us well, sending us tops and keeping us in your thoughts.
Rachel

Whew! Its Cold!

It has been in the teens here and right now its 11 degrees Fahrenheit. That is super cold. This last week we got a load of flannel, which I immediately loaded on the long arm.
I managed to get 5 quilts on this one long piece of backing. Thank You! Thank you!
These 2 were whole cloth and will get a bright binding to make them pop. but I also use the same back to quilt this cute girly quilt:

Its adorable! Thank you!
We also got 2 finished quilts

Thank you!
I am so grateful to everyone who have sent fabric, tops, finished quilts Thank you thank you!
Every bit helps!

Here is the cookie monster getting quilted. Thanks Marsie and Sue! When I took it in, Lisa said "Oh, some one is gonna love this!" I bet they will.

I know its beeen awhile since I posted, besides doing this I'm trying to get my Xmas presents made. I know everyone is busy with Xmas and family so taking time and money to give some strangers some help this season is really generous and I can tell you every bit will get used.
Some quilts are being set aside to be used as Xmas gifts in the family shelter. Some will go straight to the warming shelter, some will be held for new clients.
I'm trying to get as many as I can done for Xmas giving. For the next 15 days or so I will post as many as I can to Flickr.com even if I don't get them all posted here.
Thanks for sending them and keep them coming!