Whipping up a Wrap for a Friend

I recently learned my friend, Jan, was diagnosed with cancer. She had surgery and will be having chemotherapy. I've heard that while receiving chemo one gets very cold, so I knew I wanted to make a quilt for Jan - to keep her warm and to let her know I was thinking of her and praying for her.

I needed to make something quick. I also needed a sample for the Scrap Happy club I'm leading at the quilt shop. My talk was about using large cuts of fabric. I combined the two "needs" into a comfort wrap for Jan. It's kind of like a long table runner that she can wrap around her - big, but not as bulky as a full size quilt and easier to manage while sitting in a chair. My co-worker Cyndi quilted it with a great heart motif (I wish I'd taken an up close pic of her quilting).  Here's what it looked like -

She loved it. She called me after using it to let me know how well it worked to keep her warm. The nurses were telling her they wanted one, too. Heck, I want one. But I've other quilts to make. More on that next time.

Sewing Time Has Been Productive Lately

Baby Snowball

Another border has been added to the Baby Snowball quilt that I'm working on for the Scrap Happy Club. I think there will be two more. I'm making it up as I go, so you never know what could happen.

The first of many disappearing 4 patch blocks.

In the meantime, I'm experimenting with a Disappearing 4 patch. I like it! I've cut 96 white charm squares. Now I have to cut up the various blues for this scrappy blue and white beauty. I hope I can get this done assembly-line style. I've got a movie's worth of cutting to do and then I will be sewing like a crazy lady. I'm looking forward to it.

A Visit to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens

Daffodils in bloom.

To celebrate 30 years of marriage, the hubby and I decided to enjoy some local scenic spots. Among those selected for our special "staycation" site seeing was this gem. We thoroughly enjoyed walking the grounds of the Dallas Arboretum.

There were plenty of benches like the one above where we could rest and just soak in the beauty of our surroundings.

 

The cherry trees were in bloom and created a wonderful profusion of pink blossoms.

 

Our trip included a tour of the DeGolyer home, where we were led on a wonderful (private) tour by a very engaging docent. Over 18,000 books were in the DeGolyer collection.

Crape Myrtle Allee

I can't wait to get back to the Arboretum when these trees are lush with foliage. I guess it's a good thing we decided to purchase the annual pass.

Hand-Me-Down Batik Beauty

 

I dug this baby out of the closet. It was in a trunkload of stuff I received from a fellow quilter who was cleaning out her sewing room. I was happy to take these "leftovers" off her hands. When I say trunkload I mean that back of her car was packed full of garbage bags full of stuff. This was just one of the UFOs that was there.

At the quilt shop where I work one of the teachers teaches this quilt. She calls it Batik Beauty. I've overheard her say tons of times that squaring up the blocks is key to getting this quilt together, so I spent some time and squared up all 120 blocks. Now...this is going to become my new Leaders and Enders project for the next month or so. I'm hoping to get this together by the end of April. We'll see.

Snowballs in Progress

To demonstrate how to make bonus triangles (Bonnie Hunter style) for Scrap Happy Club, I made some snowball blocks. Not wanting them to go to waste I decided that they really could become a baby quilt, which was their hypothetical purpose in life. Now that they have sashing strips and one inner border they are on their way to becoming a quilt.  Hopefully tomorrow they will get borders 2-4. Then I'll have to face the challenge: finding an outer border. For now...I'm happy with the progress I've made.

Beautiful Autumn Leaves

I just had to stop and take a picture of these trees that I saw after dropping off some items at the local thrift store. In a day of near panic attacks for stupid reasons, this was a refreshing reminder of God's handiwork. I'm thankful that I could enjoy these beauties as I went about my daily tasks.

A Day Off Turns Into a Day to Shop Hop

Yesterday was my "day off." A day just for me. I decided that I needed to go on a little shop hop down south. So I took off at 10am and was able to get to 3 shops and back by 4pm. Not too bad.

First stop - Quilts N' More in Midlothian. Next was the Corner Square Quilt Shop in Cedar Hill. I ended my journey at Common Threads in Waxahachie. It was quite a little trip...complete with a stop for lunch at Burger King - yuck! and a stop at Dairy Queen that was much better - way, way cleaner. Below are my thoughts about the places I visited.

Quilts N' More has tons of stuff. Fabric, Notions, Books and Patterns. Lots and lots of stuff. It's a bit of a ramshackle kind of place with a somewhat cluttered look. This store is packed to the rafters with all things quilt related. If you're looking for awesome ambiance, this is not the place. If you are looking for something unique to complete your quilt, you'll likely find it here. I was overwhelmed and awed at the same time. I wouldn't put this shop at the top of my favorites list and I probably won't be back, but if I lived in the area I'd be happy to be a customer.

Corner Square Quilts is a bright, cheerful little shop with an enthusiastic and hospitable shop owner. The selection is limited and that helps keep things fresh because turnover is quick. For such a small shop I felt that it had a nice variety of projects and patterns. The batik and blender sections were full and could be incorporated into many lovely quilt tops. The shop has tables available for guests to drop in and use.

After a bit of back tracking I finally landed in Waxahachie at Common Threads. My friend, Sally Ashbacher, adores this shop and I can see why. It is indeed a lovely shop. Packed with beautiful samples and a large range of fabric, there surely must be something for everyone. While the focus is on Civil War reproduction fabric, there are certainly many other genres of fabric available, such as thirties, blenders, novelties, and other traditional styles. There were many patterns and books. The staff was friendly, even though there focus that day seemed to be redecorating after Halloween. The displays in the shop are well done and present interesting vignettes. The downtown location is quaint, attractive and clean. Located across the street is a nice antique shop. The town itself offers many scenic photo opportunities and I am inclined to think that I will be returning at some future date, with the hubby.

Over all, I was satisfied with my shop hop and am glad that this was how I chose to spend my day. My GPS, on the other hand, died part way home. Thankfully, it was the part where I already knew my way, so I made it home safe and sound, with a few fat quarters and a pattern or two.