Last May, I held a fundraiser to help raise awareness and money for Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS).  Thank you to all who donated, and if you didn’t win last year, here’s another chance!  I have made another quilt to help raise money for EDS Network Cares, Inc.  Please check out their website.  They are a wonderful organization that is 100% volunteer run.  That means ALL donations go towards research.  It’s my understanding that they will be helping to fund a new research project in the next month or so.

For those that don’t know, EDS is a group of hereditary connective tissue disorders.  (learn more about EDS here)  There are several different types.  I am affected by the vascular type.  I have major collagen deficiencies in my vascular system.  Collagen is like the glue that holds everything together.  So my ‘glue’ is more like that crappy paste that you used in kindergarten that never held anything together.  Currently there is no cure, treatment or prevention.  I believe that a cure can be found.  This is why it’s so important to help fund these research projects.  You may just help in saving a life, possibly mine!

For every $5 you donate to EDS Network Cares, Inc., you will be entered for a chance to win this quilt.  Please go to my First Giving Page to make a donation.  Here’s the quilt that I will be giving away:

It’s a very colorful quilt!  It’s made from all cotton and measures 82″ x 84″.  That will fit up to a queen size bed!

Here is my official quilt holder and wonderfully supportive husband!

Thank you in advance for your support and generosity.  And good luck!  Winner will be announced on June 1, 2013.

Alison

So I’m a little late getting these projects posted.  I worked on a couple of things for Valentine’s Day.  The first is this little mini.  It measures just 12″x12″.  I picked out my most Valentiney fabric and did a kind of faux cathedral window technique.  This created the x’s and o’s pattern.

For the quilting, I just did a tiny meander inside the x’s and o’s.  It was a fun little project and will look good on the table for Valentine’s Day.

The second thing I worked on were some fabric postcards.  I recently learned how to make these at a guild meeting.  They are so fun, easy and fast!  I whipped some up for Valentine’s Day to send to my family.  I’m very happy with how they turned out and everyone was so happy to get them in the mail.  Also, all made it through the mail with no damage!

Hope you all had a ‘love’ly Valentine’s Day!

A while back, Michael Miller generously provided the Atlanta Modern Quilt Guild with some fabric by Violet Craft called Madrona Road.  We were all given some of the fabric and challenged to make a quilt from it.  Here is what we received.

We got 6 fat eights and 1 fat quarter.  I really love the colors and prints in this line.  There is also a pink/orange colorway that is just as beautiful.  I decided to do wonky stars in different sizes for this quilt.  I paired this fabric with Kona Charcoal which I thought blended very nicely.

I must have been crazy to decide to echo quilt around all the stars.  It took me 4 days to finish the quilting on this.  It only measures 55″ x 56″!  It was such a pain to push and pull and wrestle this quilt under my machine.  I think it turned out pretty good though.

I used Aurifil in Sunflower to do the quilting.

I used this great print for the back.  I love the trucks and donkeys.  The challenge quilts are due today at noon.  So I finished just in the nick of time.  Off to post my photos to Flickr!

Oh my goodness!  I haven’t posted anything on here for a long time!  I’ve been busy at work for the fall season.  Hopefully I will have a few months off to be more productive.  I have done a few things that I would like to share.

First, the AMQG had their first weekend retreat last month and it was AWESOME!  I finished a quilt top, but don’t want to share until I have it quilted.  I hope to get that done sometime this month.  I’m really excited about using it!  I also finished this clothespin bag while at the retreat.  My dad put up a clothesline for me back in October and I love it!  But I needed somewhere to put my pins!  I searched for a pattern and found this one by Darlene Zimmerman.  I love it and it turned out so cute!

The fabric I used is from Polka Dot Stitches by Lori Holt.  I LOVE this fabric and it made such a cute and retro clothespin bag.

September was my month for do. good Stitches.  For those unfamiliar, it is an online group of quilters on Flickr that make blocks every month that eventually get put into quilts and are donated to Project Linus.  For my month, I chose the Stacked Quilt Block designed by Ellen Luckett Baker.

I wanted a very cheery quilt, so I chose yellow and orange for my colors.  Since the block is so big, I decided to make two quilts from the blocks that I received.  This is the first one.

For the quilting, I just did a meander in the white areas.  I love how it turned out.

I put a nice and cheery flower print on the back.  I hope this quilt will make someone very happy!

The Modern Quilt Guild is hosting another challenge using Michael Miller fabrics.  It’s called Madrona Road and it is a beautiful line.

We got one fat quarter and 6 fat eights.  We are to make a quilt at least 12″ x 12″.  We are allowed to add solids or other Michael Miller fabrics.  I already have an idea about what I want to do.

Here’s a sneak peek, but it’s all I’m going to show until I’m done with my quilt.  It’s due at the beginning of February, so I need to get started!

Lastly, my aunt came down from Illinois to attend our retreat and brought me the best birthday present!

I LOVE this little toy sewing machine and it goes perfectly in my sewing room!

I have some other finished projects to share, but still need to photograph them.  I’m hoping to have more time to post more frequently!

I finished this quilt on Saturday.  I wanted to try out a new ruler that I recently purchased.  I love it!  It’s the Lazy Angle Ruler by Lazy Girl Designs.  I used the Confetti pattern and am very pleased with how it turned out.

I used a charm pack of Domestic Bliss by Liz Scott for Moda.  I paired it with Kona Glacier which I think really brings out the great colors in this line.  It would be a great baby girl quilt without being too babyish.

I quilted this on my machine at home.  I did a simple meander only in the solid sections.  I really like how it emphasizes the lovely prints.

I used this awesome ‘x’ print for the backing and binding.  I like the way the binding turned out.

I don’t really have any plans for this quilt.  I think it’s the first quilt that I have made that wasn’t specifically for someone.  It was kind of nice just to be able to play, especially with a new tool.  The ruler was so easy to use.  I got the book that goes along with it, so I’m looking forward to playing with some more blocks!

Alison

First I want to thank everyone for their donations to the Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation.  My goal was $500.00 and with your generosity, I raised $825.00!  I cannot tell you how much this means to me.  Every time I got a notification that someone had donated to my page, I got a little teary.  I am so fortunate to have so many kind, generous and loving people in my life.  I would also like to say that the quilting community is just awesome.  I would say that the majority of donations came from my quilty friends…ones I know and ones that I have never met.  You guys are so awesome.  I’m so glad I am a part of it and have made so many great friends.

I know, I know, shut up and announce the winner already, right?  I am so pleased to announce that the winner is Scott Hoffman.  He is a friend that my husband knows through autocross.  His daughter is also affected by Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.  She is actually in Germany right now recovering from a very complicated and dangerous surgery.  You can read more about her here.  I could not be happier that Mr. Random Number Generator chose him!

Here’s how I chose the winner.  First, I made a spreadsheet with a name for every $5.00 donation.  I then put the list into the random generator (at random.org) and mixed all the names up.

I had a total of 155 names.  Then, I put that number into the random number generator and it selected number 140, Scott Hoffman!

My husband, Perry was there as a witness.  My cat Fuller was there also, but he’s not a very reliable witness.  He can be kind of shifty.

Congratulations to Scott and Chelsea.  I hope that the quilt will help aid in Chelsea’s recovery!

Again, I cannot say thank you enough to everyone who donated.  I am truly grateful.  Love to all!

Alison

Can you tell I’m just a little bit excited?

I made these two pillows for my mom for Mother’s Day.  They will go with her General’s Wives Quilt when it eventually gets done!

I used this tutorial by Jamie at SunFlower Seeds to make the cathedral window pillow.  It was very easy to follow and was quick to do on my machine.  I need a little practice on my middles.  They were a little messy, so I put matching buttons in the middles.  They were buttons that belonged to my great grandma.

With the left over charms, I made a quick flying geese pillow.  It went together really quickly and looks great with the other pillow.

I also finished a couple of 241 tote bags by Noodlehead.  I love all of her patterns and have made this one tons of times!  I used some of the new Denyse Schmidt line from JoAnns to make one for myself.

The other one I made from some Denyse Schmidt that I have been holding on to for a while.  I just love the prints and colors in this fabric.  I decided to send this one to my sister-in-law.  The mother of the two cutest boys around!  I hope she likes it and will be able to use it!

I’ve almost reached my goal on my fundraising page!  I have the best friends and family!  It really means so much to me.  There is still time to make a donation to win this quilt.  Just follow the link above to make a donation for a chance to win.  The drawing will be held on June 1st.  Thank you so much to those who have already donated!

Alison

Thank you all so much for your comments!  Definitely some great tips!  The winner of the pouch giveaway is spontaneous threads who wrote:

‘That is so very very clever. My hand embroidery skills are novice at best, but I do like making french knots in large groups, it makes such interesting texture. I also like to use the already twisted embroidery floss, I think it stays together better. Thanks for the giveaway, it’s worth leaving a comment and my fingers are crossed!’

Congratulations!  I sent you an email requesting your address.  Your new pouch is on it’s way soon!

Thanks again, everyone for reading my blog!

Alison

I found this pattern at Urban Threads the other day and just had to make something from it. I just started stitching and it ended up being this cute little pouch.

Since I can no longer do hand embroidery (which makes me really sad because I LOVE embroidery) I have been practicing embroidery with my machine.  I have also been practicing my applique.  Obviously this is raw edge applique (far from perfect).  My husband said the frayed edges adds to the ‘zombie-ness’ of the pouch.  I was like, ‘yeah, that’s totally what I was going for’.

For the back, I just did some random stripes.  For some reason it reminds me of Beetlejuice when I look at it.

I lined it with a coordinating lime green checkered print.  I put the zipper on the long side so bigger items could be stored inside.  I think it would be the perfect little pouch for an embroidery or hand project.  I have a ton of pouches and really don’t need another, so I am offering this one to one of my readers.  Just leave me a comment with your favorite applique or embroidery tip.  I will draw a winner on Monday, May 7th.  Can’t wait to read your tips!

Alison

PS-check out the next post to win a fabulous quilt!