Slave Lake Quilt - more information

Hello everyone!  Last week I received a lovely email from Linda who owns Patchwork Fabrics in Slave Lake asking me to pass along some further information on quilt donations for Slave Lake.  For those of you wondering if there is still a need for quilts...yes.  For those of you wondering where to send the quilts...this email will provide that information for you.

Thanks again to all for helping.

Mary-Frances

Good Afternoon,

My name is Linda Beeston and I own Patchwork Fabrics the quilt store in Slave Lake. Upon returning to town after the evacuation and having both my home and business spared I knew I needed to do something to help my fellow Slave Lakers who had not been so fortunate and had lost everything. I knew quilts were already being collected by Pat White through her store Sew Devine in Edmonton so I contacted her to see if she had any plans on distributing them. She very graciously handed them over to me and they were the first 96 quilts of what I had already named "BLANKETING SLAVE LAKE WITH LOVE one quilt at a time."

There were 732 households lost including 300 apartments. My goal is for each household to receive a quilt as well as each child and I have a rough estimate of 800-1000 children. The families are being registered at my store and then a family member, friend, neighbor or co-worker come in to the store and choose quilts for a family and personally deliver them to that family.  There is an article in the July/August issue of the Country Register and I have also started a blog at patchworktalks.blogspot.com as well as a BLANKETING SLAVE LAKE WITH LOVE group through my Patchwork Fabrics Facebook page.

My address is Patchwork Fabrics
Box 1585, 204 4th ave. N.W.
Slave Lake, Alberta T0G 2A0
Phone number at the store is 780-849-6464

Thank you for all you have done already. I have received so many thanks for the quilts and I think what stands out the most is how these quilts are helping to give the rv's ,hotel rooms etc a homey feel and are something so special to them. To date 325 quilts have been handed out through this project.

July Scrap Bee Block

Hello Everyone!  It seems I am on a roll with my scrap bee blocks, despite the heat!  I managed to finish my July scrap bee block and will send it out tomorrow.  This month, Sandy asked us to make two large monochromatic blocks.  The first block could be any colour we chose and the second had to be a neutral block - beige, whites, nothing too dark, as long as it "read" like a light neutral.  After trimming down our made fabric blocks, we place one on top of the other, right sides up, and make two vertical cuts.  Switch the two middle pieces and then sew the blocks back together.  It was so much fun to make.  I really think I need to begin making extras for each block so I can have a scrap bee sampler when I'm done.  Yup, I think I'll just add that to my "Things I'd Like to Get Done Someday When I Have More Time Than I Do Right Now!"  :-)

Enjoy!
Mary-Frances



This is what my "made fabric" block looked like.  It's not supposed to be neat or tidy...not yet anyway.  I chose green as I still had all of my green fabric out from my June scrap bee block.




This is my neutral block, looking good now that it's trimmed down to a 13 inch block.  I used soft yellows and some darker beiges but used the "wrong" side of the fabric instead to give a softer overall look to the block.





Place one block on top of the other, making certain both are facing right side up.




Take a ruler and make a vertical cut anywhere you like.




Make another vertical cut and separate your three pieces of fabric.




Switch the green and neutral fabrics for the middle piece only.  Sew all pieces back together.




You now have two blocks done...one green...




...and one neutral.  I think this will make a very striking quilt!

   

It's Bloomin' Tuesday!

Hello Everyone!  Yes, it's that time again.  I do love Bloomin' Tuesday.  It's always great to see how everyone's garden is progressing, all done from the comfort of one's own home no less!  Be sure to check out all the wonderful garden's at Jean's blog.

Enjoy!
Mary-Frances



My pink perennial baby's breath is doing very well this year. 



Here is a shot of the middle garden bed, looking toward the garden shed/playhouse.  The cornflowers are blooming and the white spots behind are peonies.

 

I thought these little guys were dead as they didn't do very much last year.  I'm glad to see they are back in full force.



My soapwort loves this spot in the garden bed by the house.  Just behind it you can see the silvery white of snow-in-summer.



I'm really loving this red dianthus.  I hope the soapwort doesn't crowd it out though.  Will have to keep it in check if it does.



Here's a closer look at the dianthus.



My peonies finally bloomed.  Here is Raspberry Sundae.

 

Sarah Bernhardt



My delphiniums are getting ready to bloom.  Next week perhaps!



This bloom was so heavy I had to hold it upright to get a decent shot.  Unfortunately, I don't remember the name and the marker is gone.



Isn't this a beauty? 



An incredible white called Pillow Talk.



I just had to bring some in to enjoy. They smell heavenly!



June's scrap bee block

Hello Everyone!  I forgot to show you what block I had to make for my scrap bee last month.  It was Glen's turn to create a block and she asked us all to make leaves.  She gave us two options, the first being a leaf made using curved piecing, something I've never tried before.  The second option was to make some fabric using our green scraps, cut out a leaf shape and applique it to a neutral background.  I tried both methods.  I think I should stick to applique from now on ;-)

Enjoy!
Mary-Frances




I chose a nice dark green fabric for my first leaf.




Cut out the leaf.  The had to be at least 12 inches long.




Made a cut down the middle.




Added fabric for the vein.



Sewing the middle piece on.



Nearly done, just need to trim it a bit.



Added the neutral fabric and voila.  I have a leaf that really looks like a set of lips!  Seriously!!



My second attempt wasn't much better really.  This one reminds me of a boat.  Oh well.  At least I tried.  I sent them on to Glen anyway, I thought she could use a good laugh! :-)




Time to give the second method a try.  Here's some of my made fabric.




I cut out a leaf shape.  It's a little wonky, so some trimming is in order.




Here it is, all trimmed up.  Added the background fabric and a stem.  So far, so good.




Must not forget the stabilizer!




Everything is pinned together: stabilizer, background fabric, leaf and stem.




Here it is, all done.  I used a zigzag stitch on the leaf and stem.  I practiced on a scrap piece of fabric first and adjusted the stitch size and length until I was satisfied with the way it looked.




One more leaf done.  I rather like this one, I must say.



What I've been up to

Hello everyone!  Eek!  I can't believe it's been two weeks since my last post.  I have so much catching up to do.  Everyone in blogland has been super busy, judging by all the wonderful posts I've found on my blogroll.  Here's a little peek at what I've been up to...

Enjoy!
Mary-Frances



I guess you could say I've been indulging in the three g's.

1. Golf
Here I am at my very first golf tournament.  I am a beginner at this crazy game and I have to say am enjoying myself quite a bit, especially when I actually hit the ball (which is not all that often sadly)!





2. Gardening
I saw these "black" petunias on sale at my local grocery store and thought I would give them a try.  I had to go with a classic black and white theme here.  The petunias are really a very, very deep and velvety purple.  Still, they do make a striking container.



3.  Goofing off!
It seems I can't get myself motivated to work on my larger quilts.  Must be the heat, or the call of the garden, or the glorious sunshine that draws me outside.  Here's a shot, a very bad one mind you, of my Cool Blues quilt.  All it needs is the binding and then it's done, but I just can't seem to get around to it.  It will just have to wait until the cooler days of fall I guess!



Slave Lake Quilts - Update

Hello Everyone!  Our first shipment of quilts were sent up to Slave Lake and have been distributed.  A friend of a friend (isn't that how it always works?)  helped make sure the quilts were actually handed out and not stored away somewhere.  A total of 100 quilts were made.  Thanks also to a generous reader, Dianne of BC, for sending along two of her quilts. Greatly appreciated!  Here's a link if you are interested in seeing the label we attached to the quilts http://www.mysewingroom.ca/enews/current/.

Enjoy!
Mary-Frances



The first of Dianne's quilts.




Love the ladybug fabric!




Dianne's second quilt.