Off To Auction!

Today  I dropped of my "Up Up and AWAY" quilt at The Boyer Children's Clinic. It is headed for their 2013 Inspiring Journeys Auction and I couldn't be happier. I packaged it in a gift bag, with crisp white tissue. Since quilts are a little tough to display without hanging them on a clothesline, I supplied some flyers that describe the quilt's features, dimensions, and shows some full scale color photos.

This is how I described this quilt on the flyer: The vision for the Up Up and AWAY quilt is to inspire feelings of lightness, transcended upwards, with wings free to fly. This quilt captures the unlimited capability to succeed that we all posses.

Up Up and AWAY!

Oh I love this quilt! One thing I consciously try to do with my quilts is capture a feeling or a theme. Up Up and AWAY is a quilt that (I hope) makes you feel light, transcended upwards, with wings free to fly.

 ::The fabrics that make up the flying geese design are::

Orange scallop - Dear Stella "Piper" in orange

Rainbow feathers -  Studio Bee "Beloved" Robert Kaufman fabric co.

Turquoise criss-cross - Bella Woven in turquoise by Lotta Jansdotter

Bright yellow - from DS Quilts collection for Fabric Traditions.

::The above are bordered by Kona White and Kona Baby Blue::

::And on the back::

Bridges on white - Waterfront Park by Violet Craft

Orange chevron - Riley Blake

Turquoise lines: Glimma in jade by Lotta Jansdotter

And the back -

And more pictures of the front - 

And the binding :: Kona Royal Blue

I have a story to share that ties into the destiny of this quilt. This quilt will not be posted in my Etsy shop, oh no. This quilt is bound for a different kind of fantastic journey. 

When my daughter was small, before she turned two, she suffered from intense meltdowns whenever any loud sound was near. The sound of a crowded restaurant, a big gathering of people, or a baby crying would immediately set her off.  The way she would cry and shutdown was more than just a normal cry session. And these weren't tantrums, she wasn't trying to change outcome of a situation, or get her way. She was in a state of terror and she would cry with her eyes closed in a non-communicative state, and we couldn't figure out how to help her. 

A dear family member asked me, during one such meltdown at a boisterous Christmas family gathering, if we had had her "tested." Of course I didn't know what she meant. As soon as we returned home, I Googled it and sat there in shock as information about sensory disorders and autism were listed before me. I had so many questions and so much shock and sadness at that moment. Our family member referred me to the Boyer Children's Clinic in Seattle. It's a saving place for families with kids who fit into the spectrum of sensory delays and neuromuscular disorders. My daughter was tested and diagnosed with a "sound sensitivity." We qualified for Boyer's  free developmental preschool program in which kids are taught individually and strategically, based on their specific needs. I also received free weekly counseling sessions, which were a huge blessing. 

My daughter went to preschool at Boyer Children's twice a week until she turned 3. We didn't pay a dime. I received so much guidance and direction from the teaching staff and assistants. I learned ways to help her and calm her.  She enjoyed making friends, feeling confident, and having an engaging preschool environment to enjoy. I am so proud to say that this past September she started Kindergarten at our neighborhood public school. She is doing great!

The Boyer Children's Clinic gave our family something incredible - a clearing of relief and support during a time that was suffocating, confusing, and exhausting. The staff at Boyer reached out their hands to us and we grabbed on tight and they saved us. I have always wanted to say thank you to this remarkable organization. I have always wanted to donate a quilt to their annual auction. I am so excited to say, this is the time! And this is the quilt! And from the bottom of my heart, with every ounce of my soul, Thank You!

<3 Happy Quilting!

The Creative Side

Holy lack of blog posts Batman! Has it been a month since I have been here? Alas, yes. I find this operation, this quilting/blogging/facebbok-ing/Etsy shop-ing operation, to be two-fold: there's the creative side which includes designing, sewing, and general extreme fabric merriment, and then there's the tech side which involves writing, photographing, uploading, and posting. Sometimes one of the two sides dominates, and during September my creative side took over. That is, in a good way, a very good way. I have so many incredibly exciting things to share that I have to a) restrain myself and b) pace myself.  So this post is a peek at what's been going on creatively (shhhh, it's my favorite side of the whole operation).

 Can you feel the creativity? More on each of these creations in the days to come, but now, more sewing. Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Purple Passion

Well summer swept me away like a seashell tossed between waves and tides. I managed to get one project completed, among the free flowing days of parks, play, parties and picnics. <cough> did someone say the letter "P?" 

Oh, you would like more from the letter "P?" 

How about, Perfectly Pleasurable Purple Passion Perhaps....Plus Pillow.

Linking up to Finish it up Fridays  because positive, practical, and polite participation pleases, potentially.

 

Quick WIP

My kids are zooming around, wanting ALL of me, and I say, "Three minutes please." 

Honestly, it's more like, "Pleeeeease???" 

So here's my quick Work In Progress to share. 

 Sumner is winding down, school starts right after Labor Day (in our area), I better get going on this breezy summer quilt!

That's it, time's up! Happy Quilting!

Linking up to WIP Wednesday while my son says, "Are you done yet?"

Serious Confirmation

   I have been working on this quilt:

  (yes that is an 11 foot sunflower, in case you are wondering)

This quilt is a summery, flying geese design with an upward feel.

Then I saw this:

....and I heard a whisper from The Mystery all around, saying I am exactly where I need to be. 

I wonder what The Mystery would say about adding a big, blue border?
  I'm always open to suggestions.

Feeling Lifted

Besides the Canadian Snow geese we see quite often in colonies clustered on park lawns and lake shores here in the Northwest, and Mary Oliver's poem Wild Geese, I try to avoid geese. I have a vivid and terrifying memory of feeding popcorn to a group of geese in a park as a child. It was going well until one huge white goose spread it's wings, hissed and charged me. It might as well have been a prehistoric teradon because, I swear, its wingspan must have been 40 or 50 feet.

In the spirit of life however, which has a way of circling around and suggesting I look at such experiences, here I am starting a flying geese quilt. My hope is that, instead of focusing on the hissing, the huge flapping wings, the enormous turkey-on-feet in full-charge mode, I will replace said images with feelings of soaring, gliding, blue skies, soft feathers, and air currents. I have always wished I could fly, after all.

Summer Baby: A Quilt Finish

This quilt is for a new baby who is due to arrive in two weeks! I finished it just in time. I have been calling it "Summer Baby." It  has been a delight to sew. The fabrics are bright and happy and the design has allowed for all 20 star blocks to be assembled at a pleasant pace. The finished size is 60x74, comfy. There are some fantastic fabrics to mention here: (from Moda) Marmalade, Farmyard, and Maison De Garance, Mama Said Sew...also Michael Miller's Les Amis, and on the back is Riley Blake's Seaside Beach Chair...mix in some Kona Natural and soft sage, add a pinch of scrappy binding with tan stripes and brown - well, it's a recipe for a dream.

The unique thing I experienced while working on this quilt, over June and July, was discovering a tiny finch nest in the hanging basket on our front porch, literally 3 feet form our front door.

While watering the basket at two different times, a finch darted out of the basket, startling and confusing us. We peeked inside and found a delicately crafted nest, and more extraordinary, 3 speckled light blue eggs! We realized the finch, who was upset at our watering efforts, was sitting on those eggs. Shortly after our discovery, the eggs hatched.

We watched the Mama (and Papa) land on the edge of the basket with beaks full of flies, wings sicking out of their beaks in all directions. The baby birds would extend their necks and feast with frenzy. Just yesterday we noticed the babies were gone - ...and then out of the trees and bushes we spotted the Mama (or Papa) and the babies, all of them, practicing their flying, wobbly and brave, on a wing and a prayer, going from branch to branch (or branch to ground to branch), and we marveled at this new family and their lives.

It is fitting that this quilt, also for a new baby, has overlapped such a marvelous natural experience. Life wants to happen. Grass pushes up between the stones in our walkway. What is most amazing about life is that, despite the delicateness and unpredictability, it succeeds.

Linking up to Finish it up Friday! Happy Quilting!

WIP Wednesday

I haven't participated in WIP Wednesday for quite some time. It's not that I haven't had WIPs to share, certainly not (PA-lenty of WIPs), it's more-so that I haven't been able to find the time to create a WIP post, or (and this is embarrassing) Wednesday sneaks up on me so fast that I don't realize I missed WIP Wednesday it until Thursday...or Friday. All in all, it's exciting to be here and without further adieu, here's my WIP!

 I have been calling this quilt "Summer Baby." Using 1/2 square triangles (HSTs) I assembled 20 14" blocks arranged in STAR shapes, can you see the stars? If I were to make this quilt again, I would add a slim border around each star block, just to frame them and make them pop a little bit more. Overall, I really like the dance between the sage and tan fabrics, and darker reds and browns. All of the fabrics used here are extremely cute and snuggling with this quilt will be heartwarming, guaranteed.

The quilt back (below) is mostly Riley Blake's Seaside, which is a very beautiful shade of light aqua, it's to die for. Down the middle/left is a scrappy stripe using all of the fabrics from the quilt top, which is then bordered by Kona Natural.

There's a lot left to do: ironing, basting, quilting, binding...but summer isn't over, Baby! Happy Quilting!

Linking up, WIP it.