A Quilt Story

Today I would like to tell you the story of the wall-hanging that I offered as a prize for the Pink Artist Project in October. The goal was to raise money for the Susan G. Komen foundation, and the project was wildly successful, with more than $3,000 contributed. Contributors via the blog Girl Gone Thread Wild earned the chances to win the Love Squared art doll and other prizes by contributing artists.

The little quilted piece that I made is not my usual style at all. It is mixed media, containing paper bits as well as fabric, fiber, and lots of beads, buttons, and trinkets. It has unfinished edges and is really PINK. I figured that if the recipient did not particularly want it for their own home, they might donate it to a cancer treatment center to be a bright spot on the wall in the treatment room.

So, when I found out the winner of my prize, I mailed it off to her. And did not hear anything. It was someone in Arizona, and I began to worry that she was a person who had homes in different parts of the country. Did my package arrive at its destination?

And then, two weeks later, I received an e-mail that left my jaw dropping and tears dripping down my cheeks.

Elaine wrote that when she received it: "I about flipped out,,,,,,,its soooooooooooo me and I hung it up in my bedroom right away, I adore it and thank you so much......It made my day, you have no idea what it meant to me."

She went on to explain that when it arrived, her husband was suffering his final days before dying of kidney failure and cancer of the blood. She lost him soon after.

I think that my quilt went to the perfect person at the perfect time. It was meant to be.

My Lucky Day

Yesterday was the drawing for the Pink Artist Project. You may remember that I made my Pink Wallhanging (what a creative name) to donate as a prize for a donor to the Susan G. Komen Foundation (Breast Cancer Research) through this project. Well, guess what? I also won a prize for donating! Look at this beautiful bracelet made of pink "charms" donated by many artists!

Such a variety of little pretties! I can't wait to see it up close and examine all the techniques that went into these beads, buttons, jewels, and mini-quilts! There are more pictures of the bracelet at the Think Pink Charm Exchange Blog. My friend Michelle made one of her embellished bottle cap objets d'arte for this exchange. She has already e-mailed me and apparently, not only does she have counter envy, she now has prize envy. Many thanks to everyone who made a charm to donate. They are awesome!

Please read Monica's blog post about the prize drawings. I had tears in my eyes when I read the story of the winner of Love Squared, the beautiful pink-haired doll wearing a skirt of two-inch quilt squares. She will be going to the perfect home!

The winner of my donation is Dian Moore. Dian, I will send your shiny little pink quilt on Monday since I do not have your address yet and we are leaving for the weekend in a little while. Congratulations, and I hope you will enjoy it!

Here is what I have been working on this week when I was not watching my kitchen project unfolding. I have finished three quilts in the past two years for my sister-in-law Debbie, whose late grandmother left behind many UFO's (Un-Finished Objects). At my father's birthday party in September, she brought me four more that she had gotten on her last trip to Indiana. Apparently there is a lifetime supply! Most of these are tops that have not been quilted. But this one was tied with bright red yarn. All I was asked to do is finish the binding so it can be used.

Inquiring minds might be wondering, is that polyester double-knit? Yes! Is it very stretchy and hard to work with? Yes! Is it frayed? Yes! Did she really use red yarn on pink? Yes!

So, I stitched all around the edges to stabilize, and then zig-zagged the edges to flatten them down a bit. But look....Is the fabric dry-rotted? Yes! Quite a bit of the red used in the large diamonds is falling apart, as are some of the other fabrics. So, instead of running to Wal-Mart and looking for similar shades in polyester, I did what I hope Grandma would have done. I looked through my scrap bins for anything in a similar shade.

I tried fusing over the previous patch. Nope. Does not stick to poly. And the poly kind of melts.

So, I am making appliques to stitch on top of the bad pieces. And decided to use flannel for softness.

If you can tell, this is not my favorite project. But I love the fact that my sis-in-law values her grandmother's work. This one has a certain charm, and I think it may find a home at their cabin by a mountain lake in Tennessee. I am making a black cotton binding to finish the edges. A very wide binding to cover all the fraying edges.

Have a great weekend!

Pink Artist Project Count-Down

It's official...my little pink wall hanging is one of the many prizes to be awarded on October 16 for contributors to the Pink Artist Project.

Monica updated the list of prizes on her blog. Of course, the main attraction is the Love Squared doll, who is quilted, beaded and embellished beyond belief. Her skirt is made from 2-inch squares donated by 180 artists.

All you have to do is make a donation via Paypal to the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer fund by clicking on the sidebar on Monica's blog. For every $10 donation, you earn two chances to win a prize. The list now includes jewelry, purses, artwork, journals, and lots of other hand-made items donated by artists.

If you don't use Paypal, she has her address on the sidebar to mail money order donations. Don't forget, October 15 is the deadline to be part of the Pink Artist Drawing!

In other news, my guild sold every quilt that was auctioned off last Saturday at the Heritage Days event. They raised over $6000 through the quilt auction, and still have the "opportunity" quilt proceeds to add to the total when all the tickets have been sold. So, "Ring of Peace" has a new home. I don't know how much it sold for, but I hope it has a happy new home---and won't be used as a pot holder or hot pad! LOL! I did put instructions on the label to avoid water and direct sunlight.