operation: modesty ministry

Last week and over the weekend I have carried on what my husband refers to as "The Modesty Ministry", in which I offer my time and skills as a seamstress to lower the hems on the school uniform skirts.
whirr whirr whirr
About 25 girls now have longer, more modest skirts. (whether they wanted that or not)

guess who figured out how to do appliques?

Well, officially it is my second applique, but this one I actually got paid for. The only thing cuter is the little boy who will be wearing it.

hey diddle diddle

For a little boy, soon to be ONE!

but wait, there's more

Today was the day to hand over the quilt (and a couple of other special items) to its rightful owner. I had one more item to add to it .... I wasn't sure if I should or not. I decided to.

Now, after hearing the story of The Bonnet, I am thankful that I did. Not wanting to cut the ties, just in case the family ever decides they want it off of the quilt, I couldn't figure out what to do with them. Then it dawned on me. The quilt is called "A Mother's Love", why not spell LOVE with the ties?

The story of The Bonnet (paraphrased - and I hope I remember the story correctly) as told to me by the sweet, young lady who is very happy to have gotten her quilt:

"When we were little, my sister and I had Cabbage Patch dolls. My parents were building a house on the lake, but we had a trailer to live in while it was being built. On Christmas day, the trailer caught on fire. My mom ran in and the only thing she grabbed was our dolls. This is the bonnet from my doll. The little marks are from that day."

a mother's love: complete

Well, the first quilt I was commissioned to do is complete. Whew! As I mentioned previously, it is made of squares from:

• an old, tattered double wedding ring quilt
• the wedding dress from the lady who sewed the double wedding ring quilt
• hospital gowns from the grandchildren of the above-mentioned lady
• fabric picked out by the daughter/grandchildren
• fabric from sentimental garments such as baby dresses
• misc. fabrics such as jeans

I embroidered a label to go on the back of the quilt. Before I went to that quilt show a couple of weekends back, I didn't know that quilts 'had to' have names.

Naturally, this quilt is called "A Mother's Love".

I stitched in the ditch around each square, first doing all the horizontal lines, starting from the middle, then stitching all the vertical lines in the same manner. Thank the good Lord nothing got messed up or wonky. In fact, the quilt sort of looks like a down comforter on the back. Very cool.

file under category: had to have

I only went into the fabric store for rotary cutter blades. But then I saw this vintage McCall pattern fabric. "What, oh, what could I make with this?" I kept asking myself. I don't want to cut it up, because it is so wonderful like it is. It will have to be a quilt. Not a piecework quilt, just a plain ol' blanket quilt. Piece on top, piece underneath, batting in the middle, and a border.

"Now, what fabric will go with it?"

go, enter this giveaway

I can't believe her generosity.

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Halloween Costume giveaway.