A Little Bit of Home
24 Nov 2009 1 Comment
in Care Quilts, My Mama, Swapping, The Juice, Threads Thursdays
This is going to be a long one. Hope you’re ready for it.
One of my favorite blogs, House on Hill Road, is doing a giveaway to coincide with Erin and her girl’s adorable Softies for Softies for Mirabel (and some great mommy daughter time). I used her giveaway as my kick in the pants. I have been meaning to get this going for a while and just haven’t gotten around to it. I did try once, earlier this year, but didn’t get anywhere with it. So, hopefully this time around is more successful. So here it is:
I hope that, whoever you are reading this, you have never had to be in the hospital. If you have, you know that it is a cold, dreary, unwelcoming place. So here is my thought…
Nothing says home like a quilt.
My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2006. Less than a month before our wedding, she underwent a full mastectomy. When she gave me away at my wedding, she was wearing softies for shape and still had her drains in.
I had the opportunity to go with her one Saturday for, what I deemed as, my crash course in breast cancer. We visited the local chapter of Gilda’s Club, where I had the great fortune to meet a woman who was very proud of her new boobs and wasn’t afraid to show everyone.
We also went to Susan’s Special Needs where Susan herself greeted us. I don’t think up until that point, what was going to happen to my mother really set in. I remember looking at the pajamas they have that went in the freezer to help with hot flashes due to hormone treatments thinking, “What does this have to do with Cancer?”
My mother is strong – stronger than she’ll ever know. But she is a quiet kind of strong. She deals with the things that happen to her with a stability I could never muster. Life has thrown some hairpin turns in her road and, somehow, she has managed to stay on the road.
I know that there is a huge support for breast cancer as it is, but because of my close connection with it, those who are battling it have a special place in my heart. I want to do this in living memorial to her.
So for women who are going through chemotherapy or have just had a lumpectomy or mastectomy, we are going to make quilts.
“We?” You ask. Yes…we. The requirements for the squares are below. These might change as it goes along and I realize somethings might need to be changed, but so far, here they are.
- Care Quilts will be pink themed. Somewhere in the square, there should be some pink - and not magenta colored pink. You know the pink I’m talking about – breast cancer pink. There can be other colors in the square, but make sure there is some pink.
- Each round will have a designated square. The details will include style, size, etc.
- Squares must be mailed to me. Please email me to get shipping information. Make sure to include your name and email address with your squares so that I can send you confirmation that I received your square, pictures of the completed quilts, and anything else I might forward onto everyone who participates.
Get involved even if you aren’t the most crafty person in the world. It’s good for you!
I am going to designate February as my month to assemble the first round of squares. That gives people time to get through the holidays and still have plenty of time to assemble a square or two or ten. However many you want to try is up to you!
February will be 10 1/2 – inch pieced blocks. However you want to piece them is fine with me, but they need to be 10 1/2 – inches unfinished so that when they are assembled in the quilt, they will be 10 inches.
Lastly, if you know someone who is going through or is about to be going through this difficult time, please feel free to nominate them to receive a quilt. OR if you have an area hospital you would like to have Care Quilts donated to, PLEASE email me and we can definitely work out something.
Have fun with these! And thank you for your participation! Please feel free to comment with any questions – someone else may have the same question and be too afraid to ask.
Thanks again, in advance. I cannot wait to see what we all come up with together!
Holiday Mail for Heroes
04 Dec 2008 Leave a Comment
I participated in a swap yesterday that involved sending holiday cards out to an agency that will be forwarding them on to our fighting men and women overseas. The swap was to send the cards and then write your swap buddy about your experience. The email I wrote my swap buddy is below. I thought it would be interesting to share.
I sent out my holiday cards yesterday. To tell you the truth, I was a little disheartened by this swap. When I saw it, I was so excited. I knew I had some leftover handmade cards I could use, so I grabbed the six that were not in packages and brought them to work with me. I work in a great environment (everyone is very supportive and close-knit) for the local city government, so I figured the people at work would be a shoe-in to sign the cards too. I thought it would be neat if whoever received my cards opened them to find forty some-odd signatures. I sent out an email to everyone to let them know what I was doing and that the cards were at my desk to sign. I couldn’t walk around with them because I didn’t want to disturb people while they were working. I figured they could take time out of their break to stop by and sign them.
Well, all in all, I had five other people sign them ontop of my signature – so six total. Six…when there could have been about forty! I have to say I was a little disappointed in my fellow coworkers. Of course, the people that did sign them were the people I knew would sign them; one has a nephew in boot camp, another is a police officer’s wife, another traveled the world with her first husband as a military wife.
However, I was shocked by the fact that so few people signed. It is amazing to see how much, or how little – as the case may be, individual people will go out of their way to really show their support for the fighting men and women of our country.
Anyways, it did feel good to send the letters along and I hope they brighten somebody’s day. I also hope that everyone who receives our cards, as well as the rest of the American men and women over there are able to come home safe and sound to their families as soon as possible. They all deserve a great big holiday hug for what they do…and so much more.
On a side note, if you would like to participate and send a holiday card out to the men and women who fight to give you the freedom to celebrate whatever holiday you celebrate around this time of the year, the information is below:
Please send cards to this address, following the guidelines listed below:
Holiday Mail for Heroes PO Box 5456 Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456
Card Guidelines Please follow these guidelines when mailing a card to ensure that your card will quickly reach service members, veterans and their families. Every card received will first be screened for hazardous materials by Pitney Bowes and then reviewed by Red Cross volunteers working in one of 16 sorting stations around the country.
- All cards must be postmarked no later than Wednesday, December 10, 2008. Cards sent after this date will be returned to sender.
- Please ensure that all cards are signed.
- Please use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.” Cards addressed to specific individuals can not be delivered through this program.
- Please send cards as opposed to long letters which delay a quick review process.
- Please do not include email or home addresses on the cards, as the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.
- Please do not include inserts of any kind, including photos, as these items will be removed during the reviewing process.
- Participants are encouraged to limit the number of cards they submit to 25 from any one person or 50 from any one class or group. If you are mailing a larger quantity, please bundle the cards and place them in large mailing envelopes. Each card does not need its own envelope.
- All cards received may be used in program publicity efforts, including appearing in broadcast, print or online mediums.
- Phone cards or gift cards will not be accepted with the holiday cards. Those wishing to send calling cards or gift cards/certificates should go to www.aafes.com, scroll down to “AAFES Community Connection” and click on “Help Our Troops Call Home” or “Gift Cards/Certificates for Our Troops” in order to send such items.
- No ‘Care Packages’ will be accepted at this address. Those wishing to send care packages should go to www.AmericaSupportsYou.com and click under “Homefront Groups” to find out how to send care packages.
Private Pie!
11 Nov 2008 3 Comments
I am doing my very first private swap! I am very excited. It is a person who is new to Swap-bot and looking for a ratings booster. So we will be swapping notecards. I think I may be getting the better end of the deal – look at her Etsy Store! I cannot contain my excitement!
We were working out all the details and it reminded me of the notecards I made for a Thanksgiving Recipe Swap. I LOVED them. I had one extra, so I sent it to my brother’s house for everyone who is going to be there for Thanksgiving; since we were invited and won’t be able to make it this year. Anyways, here they are…
These happen to be the first time I have stenciled anything, so they’re not perfect, but I loved them anyways and I was so proud to send them out. I did cheat a little and embellished the envelope with stickers…it was only a little cheating.
Since I skipped over them when I sent them out, I have a few other swaps that I have finished and sent on their way. Outside of Canada and the US, I have only gotten to mail things to Australia so far, but I have a few future swaps that show some promise of mailing to other countries. Anyways, here are the stuffies I mailed out a little while ago…
In case you are wondering what the little fellow next to the candy corn is, that is a character from Making Fiends, which happened to be a favorite of my swap partner. I have never heard of it before, but I figured he wouldn’t be too hard to make for her. She did seem very happy when she received him.
The last two I have to show you are 5″ Quilt Blocks. I worked very hard on these two special blocks for my partners and was very proud of them when they were done. First partner was a gentleman who was just starting to quilt and loved to take rides in the Appalachians on his motorcycle. I picked greens, browns, grays, and other variety of earthy colors for him. His personalized block was this…
My second partner was a children’s librarian. Now her block, I was particularly fond of. I based her squares off of the The Rainbow Fish, and here is her personalized block…
Well, I am thinking on a cup of hot chocolate and a chocolate chip cookie to help warm me up. It got cold awfully fast around here. Anyways, more later.
One Month!
08 Nov 2008 Leave a Comment
in Mommy Mondays, Swapping, The Juice, Threads Thursdays
Alright, I am starting to get back on my feet and adjust to the whole life with baby thing. Okay, who am I kidding….
I am figuring out her naps and slight sleep schedule (when she has one) which gives me a moment to hop on and say…OH MY GOSH! MY BABY J IS A MONTH OLD TODAY!
In other news, I sadly return back to work two weeks from Monday. I am not so happy about that, but that’s life in the big city I suppose.
I was excited to see the election results last Tuesday. Whether you voted for Obama or not, you have to admit that the history that was made last Tuesday was remarkable. I cannot imagine the tension his family and campaign staff must have felt Tuesday…then to watch the poll numbers come in. Wow. It is not only amazing that he won – but that he won by such a landslide. I think people see hope in him…I know I do. While I am pretty annoyed with any politician and wasn’t particularly impressed by some of his campaign tactics, overall, I am impressed by his charisma and what seems to be a true belief in what the USA is supposed to be.
Off of my political soapbox; I have been Miss Crafty lately. I have several swaps that have gone out and I cannot wait to receive mine! I participated in a Novelty Square Swap in hopes of receiving some great fabric to make an I Spy quilt with. I also finally finished and sent out my Monster. Here is the little guy, who I was so proud of.
The other thing I was so proud of was my gift for Adrienne’s first birthday. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post a picture of her in it at some point, but until then, the outfit lying on my coffee table will have to do. Why so proud, you ask. Because I made it! It is the second article of clothing I have made. At some point, I’ll snap a picture of the coverlet I made for Baby J.
Speaking of Adrienne’s first birthday, here is the cutie herself.
Baby J’s First Shower
09 Aug 2008 Leave a Comment
in Mommy Mondays, My Mama, Swapping, The In-Laws, The Juice, Threads Thursdays
My first baby shower is today. I am very excited and have been working very hard on making some nice gifts to say thank you to the hostesses. Today, the shower is being hosted by my mother-in-law with assistance from my father-in-law, sister-in-law and niece-in-laws. I made my three nieces some embellished t-shirts per their likes:
Jess, Jo, and Jam's T-shirts
I made my sister-in-law some homemade vanilla sugar scrub and got her a gift card to Bath and Body Works, one of her favorite stores. I got my father-in-law a gift card to Wendy’s; he’s addicted to Frosties. Then for my mother-in-law I made a Grandma Bag. I put a brag book I bought for a dollar (I would have loved to make a little book, but I have WAY too many projects on my plate), a magnetic photo frame with some very cute baby paper and a little sign that says “See you soon!” in it, and a t-shirt I embellished for her. Here is the bag with the three items wrapped up:
The Grandma Bag
Here is a picture of her embellished t-shirt. Unfortunately, it did not come out the way I wanted it to. My puppy was choking so I was paying more attention to her than I was to the t-shirt and the iron on lettering was a last-ditch effort after a disastrous experience with embroidering. So said t-shirt will come with a disclaimer that I don’t ever have to actually see her wearing it if she doesn’t want to. I understand it isn’t the most fashionable item and I desperately wish it could have come out better. But it didn’t and I am tired of trying.
Grandma Pam's T-shirt
I made the same little gift set for my mother as well. Here is her t-shirt.
Grandma Anne's T-shirt
Well, I am off to get some sewing done before I head to the salon for a morning of pampering prior to the shower. I did get my fabric for the fabric charm swap yesterday evening and will post it this evening when I get home or tomorrow morning. I am very excited about the Rainbow Fish quilt. I also got another swap recipe in the mail yesterday – yay!
Two Down – Three To Go
07 Aug 2008 Leave a Comment
in Swapping, The Juice, Threads Thursdays
Well, I have sent out the second of my swaps; four very adorable ~C~ Recipe Books. Here is the adorable little books, each personalized with the recipient’s name.
I have only three more swaps to go before I’m not a newbie anymore. I will be finishing my monster this weekend and, hopefully, getting all of my squares cut for the Fabric Charm swap as well. Joann’s has fat quarters on sale this weekend, so that will help.
I did get my first swap in the mail as well. I received a postcard from Knoxville, TN, a photo book, a recipe for Cinnamon Cookies, and a pair of much needed craft scissors:
I do like swapping – but I think I may stick with more artsy things from now on. I prefer the handmade crafts. Although, the recipe I received does sound very yummy. I may continue on in this recipe swap, but really only do postcards from now on. I love the recipe books but I am out of contact paper and I am not sure how they will go over with the swappers I sent them too. We will see how it all goes.
I wish I could find a swap site that is like Swap-bot, but just crafty stuff and something more than dotee dolls, FQs, and the occasional quilt square. I thought that I would start a swap, once I can, for embellished baby onsies. I’ll see how that goes over once I get to that point.
C Recipes
05 Aug 2008 Leave a Comment
in My Siblings, Swapping, The Juice, Threads Thursdays
Onto our second swap: ~C~ Recipe Swap
Woo hoo! Recipes. I absolutely love to cook. I have become a huge fan of the Food Network. I love to watch just to get an idea of techniques to use. I have drastically improved my very yummy fried chicken thanks to watching the Barefoot Contessa’s Chicken Piccata episode. I have to say, the Chicken Piccata is an incredible dish too! When I made it, I went all out. I made roasted potatos and steamed broccoli with it. It was like we were eating at a restaurant, only we were at home.
I will be including the Chicken Piccata recipe in the small recipe book I will be making. The swap is just a postcard with a recipe on it; however, I made a similar book a few years ago for my brother and sister-in-law’s Christmas gift (it was Martini themed) and I thought it was too cute. So I will be making four little ~C~ Recipe Books by the end of the week.
Planned recipes include the Chicken Piccata, Chocolate Covered Bananas, Crock Pot Beef Stew, and Cheesy Potato Bites. I’m not sure what else to include yet, although, I’m sure I’ll come up with enough. I brought my recipe box to work with me today and plan on typing them up during lunch.
The book I made originally was 3 1/2 x 6 (one inch binding). I think I may make these a little larger, but not by much. I will be mailing them in a regular envelope or, at most, an invitation envelope, so it cannot be too big. This swap has to be finished by the end of the week, so it is definitely next on my list.
My challenge to myself is to use what I have at home. I have a whole box of scrapbooking supplies and lots of left over ribbon, so I shouldn’t have a problem. Of course, I have to dig out the box, which is currently under a bunch of other boxes in my dining room. I am going to work on getting everything typed up while at work and then print and put them together tomorrow evening. I wish I could work on it tonight, but I have a show.
Speaking of the show, I have a great display planned! I love when I know my set up is going to look good. Plus, I packed all of my items in large PartyLite reusable shopping bags, so I don’t have to haul my big suitcase around. It is just too heavy at this point for me to lift. The bags disperse the weight much more evenly.
Returning to swaps, I am hoping to complete my monster this weekend. Everything except his feet and his mohawk is cut out. I am still trying to figure out the logistics of the mohawk and I thought I might make his feet out of the black fuzzy fabric as well. I am not sure yet. I haven’t cut the baby out yet. That will be a little later as well.
I will also be heading to the fabric store to pick out fabric for my 5 Inch Fabric Charm swap. One of my partners for that swap is a Children’s Librarian, so I thought I would pick up a book and then match my fabric charms to different pages in the book and slide them in there for shipping. The other partner is a new quilter, so I thought I would get him a quilting magazine or book and slide the charms in the pages of that. The library is having a book sale this weekend, so I thought I would stop there first and see if I couldn’t find what I wanted for a little less than Border’s (although I would love a trip to Border’s – I haven’t been in SO long).
Prior to running all the way over to Joann’s, I thought I would stop at A Piece In Time. I have never been to a quilt shop before and this one is pretty close. I know there is another quilt shop in Hudson that I could stop at on my way up to Joann’s if I go up to the Joann’s up there. But that would mean sacrificing Sweet Potato Sushi.
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
03 Aug 2008 Leave a Comment
in Swapping, The Juice, Threads Thursdays
What? No Blueberries? Not this time – this time we’re talking Chocolate Covered Strawberries. Why the change in delicious desserts? Simple really – Chocolate Covered Strawberries is the theme for my first swap.
I have never swapped before – outside of girl scouts. I have a feeling however, these are not going to be the types of swaps you pin to a hot pink hat and wear with pride. Side note about girl scout swaps – if you think it’s a good idea to do paper cranes as your swap, take it from a girl who knows – it’s not. I had blistered fingers by the time I had finished folding all one hundred and fifty paper cranes. Someday, I would like to make a thousand crane mobile; however, the bloody memories from that swap stop me in my tracks.
Anyways, back to the present and the current swap. Here’s the assignment:
Ok, it’s August so we can’t very well send chocolate in the mail but we can send the next best thing…FQs (no calories, but just as addictive!) If you are like me, you love the combination of pink & chocolate brown together. So this swap is for 2 100% cotton FQs in predominately pink & brown (the challenge here is that they should coordinate with each other AND neither should be a solid color!) and then one surprise that has to do with strawberries! The strawberry themed item can be handmade if you like! For example you could send:
1 pink & brown stripe FQ, 1 pink & brown floral FQ, Strawberry refrigerator magnet
I am proud to say I followed the floral and paisley trend, to the tune of my own horn. The fat quarters I picked (which aren’t actual fat quarters; I had to purchase the full half yard and cut it in half, which gave me my own fat quarter as well) I believe would make an excellent purse – sporadic and crazy yet smooth and classy, all in one. If it were me, I would use the paisley as a liner and the beautiful roses as the exterior. Who knows, maybe it will be me – since I do have the other halves. Not to hold you in suspense a moment longer – here are my selections.
Now the strawberry related surprise posed a bit more of a challenge. I didn’t want to send something usual – magnets or a bag or cell phone cozy with a strawberry on it. However, I did want to make something. I have learned how to machine applique recently and I am practicing like mad to improve my skills so that my baby crib set I will be making very soon looks nice. I adore what I came up with and hope the home it is going to will appreciate it just as much. I do plan on continuing production to include one for my office and a couple for my kitchen – in suitable themes of course. Again with the suspense; here is my surprise:
The best part about it this little beauty is that it is actually a 6 x 6 cork board. It can hold pins, pictures, etc. I will be sad when I send it out on Monday, but then happy as well. The woman who will be receiving it can sit and enjoy a chocolate covered strawberry martini, chocolate covered strawberries (both of which I plan on including the recipes for), and her pictures while she quilts with her new fat quarters. Hopefully that will be as enticing to her as it sounds to me.
Bring on the strawberries! And more swaps! Up next…Monsters!
