Sew Some Love Sunday - 2021 Hands2Help Edition - The Guest Blogger(s)

Welcome to another edition of Sew Some Love Sunday!!  I've got something a little different for you today.  It's my turn to be the GUEST BLOGGER for Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict's 2021 Hand2Help Charity Quilt Challenge.  That's right!  I'm the featured GUEST BLOGGER for today's H2H post.

Head over to Confessions of a Fabric Addict to read about...

The LWR Mission Quilt Drive Project Review

Photo Currently Unavailable!!! (A different look at the quilt stack)

The post features highlights of the Mission Quilt Drive here at The Joyful Quilter and shares just how far we've come, all conveniently outlined in one post.  If you haven't kept up with the project, prepare to be amazed.  I know I am!

WAIT!!!  WHAT???  Is it DONE?!?!

Never fear, there are still more LWR quilts to come.

Until next time...

SEW Some Love!!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC21 - Week 16

Welcome to Week 16 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  This week, I'm starting with what happened last Saturday.  I was feeling shy about my plans for the day, so didn't hint about why I might not be commenting right away on many posts for the RSC... I attended an in-person indoor Sew/Craft Friends-zy event:

Let's see what kept me busy...

SUNDAY - I was back to a "normal" Sew Some Love Sunday post.  This afternoon found me finishing up the quilt on the longarm:

Just as I took the final stitch, the phone rang.  Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts was calling with some exciting news.  Watch for that in the coming weeks over on her blog.  YOU won't want to miss it!!

MONDAY - It's Mail Call Monday!  I received a package (one day last week) from Erin @ My Patchwork Life and thought you might like to see what I got.

TUESDAY - Today was Tidy Up Tuesday and I shared an H2H Check-In post.  Head over to see the work of a number of quilting friends who celebrated some Hometown Heroes.  I did a variety of quilty tasks this afternoon and evening, but don't have any photos to share.  (Even though there is a new client quilt on the longarm and I made two new masks this evening.)

WEDNESDAY - Today consisted of paperwork, quilting, and then some sewing during my Zoom with LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color:

I worked on my nephew's baby quilt with a bit of Bright BLUE for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge:

I also released a new Wonderful Wednesday post.  It's filled with scrappy fun and here's a preview:

I received the following notice from Blogger today:

FollowByEmail widget (Feedburner) is going away
You are receiving this information because your blog uses the FollowByEmail widget (Feedburner).
Recently, the Feedburner team released a system update announcement , that the email subscription service will be discontinued in July 2021.
After July 2021, your feed will still continue to work, but the automated emails to your subscribers will no longer be supported. If you’d like to continue sending emails, you can download your subscriber contacts. Learn how

Not sure how I'm going to deal with that news.  The FollowByEmail widget is my preferred way to receive notifications from the blogs that I follow and many of you readers receive my posts that way, as well.  I was stunned when I followed the link and found this:

I am sorry that because of the upcoming cancellation, more than a thousand readers will be inconvenienced.  I'm SEW disappointed that we will no longer be receiving email updates from the blogs we love via Google/FeedBurner!

What do we do now, Joyful???

There ARE other subscription services out there.  Here's hoping we can all find one that works for us.  I'm recommending that you try Bloglovin', as a few of the blogs I follow come through to my email that way.  There is a button for that service way down my sidebar, but here's the direct LINK so you don't have to go scrolling for it.  I hope YOU will sign up (somewhere) before the end of June so you don't miss a single post!

THURSDAY - My Weekly Quilt Group went LIVE, again.  We gathered on the stairs for a group photo:

Oh!  I forgot to show you what I brought home from last week's meeting... MORE scraps:

Here's a look inside the TWO bags that Dee Dee brought for me:

Thanks, Dee Dee!!!  What fun I'm going to have with these.

Ella also had a handful of scraps for me.  Notice those Light BLUE bits for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge:

FRIDAY - ZoomKNIT met this morning.  These knitting friends joined in the fun:

I worked on the toe of my second Minion sock.  A bit of Bright BLUE in honor of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge:

SATURDAY - It's Link Party day for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!  I hope you will join me in visiting Angela @ So Scrappy to see what the RSC Quilters have been up to this week.  I'll be visiting the links in dribs and drabs between working this Light/Bright BLUE mini:

Until next time...

Get SCRAPPY!!!

Wonderful Wednesday - Pin Cushion Party

Welcome to another edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  Today, I'm here for a Pin Cushion Party!  I wanted to say thank you to a couple of quilting friends.  What better way than with a handmade pin cushion?  Well, a mug rug would have worked, too.  :o))

Selina @ Selina Quilts offloaded SEW kindly shared her scraps with me.  When I inquired about what I might make as a thank you gift, she expressed an interest in a "Selina Scrappy" pin cushion like I made for the Show Your Stripes Blog Hop.  That sounded easy enough and I knew just what I wanted to do!!

Here's the making of Jumbo Scrappy...

It started with a slice of Selina's stripy scrap and grew from there:

This is Jumbo with Junior Scrappy:

Pinned and ready for quilting:

Quilted, much the same way that Junior was:

Another gift soon followed...

The second gift is for Linda @ Art in Search.  I've been meaning to make something for her for several years.  This year's Valentine tipped the hand in Linda's favor.  Since I wanted the gift to be a surprise, I had to be subtle with my inquiries as to what she might like.  Here's hoping that my Rainbow Bright Pin Cushion brightens her day!  It was made at the same time that I was making my March TABLE SCRAPS entry:

Here it is all layered up...

 ... For quilting, which soon followed:

While I was at it...

I also made a Big Red Pin Cushion from the offcuts of a Quilted Scrap Basket:

Pin Cushion Party!!!  Waiting for additional stuffing:

Gifts, finished and ready for mailing... Right after Show and Tell:

I can't believe this is the ONLY completed photo that I have!!  :o((

Once the gifts were mailed off...

I gave myself permission to finish Big Red:

UPDATE!!!

Selina's pin cushion arrived and she loves it.  She sent this photo to show how happy Scrappy was meeting the other new member of the family:

I'm still waiting to hear from Linda.  (Sorry to spoil the surprise, if you read this BEFORE opening your Happy Mail, Linda!)  She lives a bit farther away from me than Selina does, so I'm still remaining hopeful that her package didn't get lost in the mail.

UPDATE!!!

Thankfully, Linda's package wasn't lost in the mail, her email did get lost in cyberspace.  (No worries, Linda!)  Prompted by a "Got Happy Mail???" comment that I left on her blog, here's the second email:

Joy,

I am sorry. I sent an email to you on Sunday thanking you for the delightful gift and surprise. I just checked my sent box and it went out, but it must have got lost in cyber space.

I am using it and loving it for my flower pins.

Thank you again!

Linda

Oh!  I found another photo of the gifty pin cushions...

This is me, showing LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color the completed pair during last week's Quilt Talk Zoom meeting:

Sharing with Kelly

for

Needle and Thread Thursday

and

With Cynthia

for

Oh Scrap!

(On Sunday)

Until next time...

(Pin Cushion) Party on!!!

Quarantine Chronicles - COVID Nurse Quilt Project for Wake Med

Welcome to another edition of the Quarantine Chronicles!!  It's been quite some time since my last update.  Today, I'm here in conjunction with my Tidy-Up Tuesday post series because this is a wrap-up post for a small Quilt Drive that I recently helped with.  It was my way of responding to Sarah's appeal for quilts for our Hometown Heroes during this year's Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge going on at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  There's still plenty of time for YOU to jump on board with H2H at the link provided above.

Here's what happened...

I got an email:

Hi Joy, 

Hope your family and quilting friends are doing well.   I am in need of quilting help.  Our Carolina Arbors quilting group volunteered to make lap quilts for the COVID Unit Nurses at Wake Med because a members son was part of that group.  He said 30-40 people at first then came up with 53 which we thought we could handle.  Well today she got a call to tell her how many men were in the group and the number as grown to 73.  We were good at managing 53 but she is in a panic now that the number increased by 20 more.

I was wondering if any of your group or guild would like to contribute to this cause.  I would be happy to collect them.  Thanks for spreading the word.

To which I replied...

What size and style quilts are you looking for? Lap quilt is a bit of a general term, Karen. Members always ask for an appropriate size range. I will ask around for contributions for your cause.

My request went out...

I recently received an email from Karen @ G's Quilt and Craft Retreat in Hillsborough. Her Carolina Arbors quilt group volunteered to make lap quilts for the COVID nurses @ Wake Med because a member's son was part of that group.

 

He thought there were 30 - 40 people who would be receiving quilts. That number has since grown to 73 and they are in a panic. Karen wondered if any DOQ members might have any lap quilts to contribute to the cause. If so, you can get them to me and I will pass them along to Karen.

 

They had originally hoped to gather the quilts by March 1st, but with the increase in recipients, they will take the quilts whenever they can get them.  Simple patterns are just fine. Your quilts should measure in the range of 45 x 64 to 56 x 70 to suit adult females.

 

Please contact me, if you have an appropriately sized quilt to donate.

 

Thank you!

Then, the quilts and tops came rolling in...

A completed quilt from Ruth B:

These two quilts were contributed by Maggie S:

Candy provided these two quilts from Ruth S:

The quilts above were delivered and I collected the following...

Cheryl K. donated this quilt top:

These two completed quilts came from Diane H:

Reversible?!  Yep!  Side one shown above and side two below:

The following quilt tops were donated by Jean F. and quilted and bound by Karen G. and friends:

Then another quilter answered the call...

Gayle S, a COVID survivor who lost her husband to the virus, offered these two cheerful quilts:

I quilted this quilt from Cheryl K:

Unfortunately, these last three quilts didn't end up making their way to Wake Med.  They will be used for some other cause.

A note of thanks...

Karen dropped off Thank You notes which I distributed at our first In-Person meeting in a number of months.

Here's mine...

The quiltmakers and I greatly appreciated Karen's thoughtfulness and we were SEW happy to be able to contribute to the COVID Nurse Quilt Project for Wake Med!

A thank you from me, too...

I really do have THE BEST quilting friends.  Thank you to everyone who contributed to this local-ish call for quilts.  I also want to thank the DOQ for their willingness to step in with more quilts, if needed.

Sharing with Sarah

for

The H2H Check-In

Until next time...

Quilty Hugs for Hometown Heroes!!

Mail Call Monday - Spring 2021 Quilty Orphan Adoption - The Extended Version

Welcome to another edition of Mail Call Monday!!  Today's post is the (indirect) result of the Spring 2021 Quilty Orphan Adoption Event hosted Cynthia @ Quilting is more fun that Housework.

You see, Erin @ My Patchwork Life found that she had quite a few more block sets than she had entered in the Orphan Adoption.  Upon making this discovery, she offered up THIRTEEN (13) additional block sets to assuage her "quilty guilt".

I "put my name in the hat" by commenting...

I need to make two 60 x 80-inch quilts for Lutheran World Relief. I will take any of the blocks sets to build a quilt around. Thanks, Erin!

... And later got the following email from Erin:

Joy, set G is headed your way once I have a mailing address.  :)

Only a short time later, the package at the top of the post arrived and inside was a stack of blocks with this cute card:

Erin had written a quick note:

I have to say, I'm a little concerned about how I might be able to stretch these 8 blocks to meet my original intent:

I tried this layout before I remembered where I had told Erin these blocks would be going:

Another layout gave the blocks a little more breathing room:

I'm wondering if Erin would mind my transforming them into a Chemo Quilt instead?!?!?  That seems like a more reasonable goal.

But...

I feel (somewhat) obligated to make the quilt that I intended to make.  You know, BEFORE knowing that I would receive only a small lot of blocks!  Decisions, decisions.

SEW...

As I sat and stewed over this dilemma, I decided to send Erin the following email (instead of just wondering) to see what she thinks:

Erin,

I'm feeling conflicted. I originally said that I needed to make two 60 x 80 lap quilts for Lutheran World Relief. Forgetting that fact, I thanked you for the blocks for H2H. Do you even care if I switch up the recipient? I am having a hard time figuring out how to stretch the 8 blocks received into such a large quilt for LWR. That being said, I was also hoping to make a quilt for Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo. Are you on board with this change?

Please advise.

Joy

Her response confirmed my suspicions...

Please don’t be conflicted!  Use them however makes most sense to you. I just want them to be used in the spirit that they were given (for charity). Thanks for checking, though.

Be well!

Erin

Out of curiosity...

What would YOU do to make these eight blocks grow into a large lap quilt???  I welcome your thoughts and suggestions.

Until next time...

Adopt a QUILTY Orphan!!!