Quilting!

I’ve been doing a little sewing this past month and have some fun things to share! Sorry for the long post, but I hope you enjoy the pictures :)

Last month I joined Sam and Stacey for a meeting with the Denver Quilt Guild. It was perfect timing because they were just starting a quilting bee. Each person who wanted to participate picked a quilt pattern and the fabrics they wanted to use and put everything in a box. Then, every month, we swap the boxes and make a couple of blocks based on the person’s pattern/fabrics.

For my quilt I decided to go with Bella’s Bird by Lotta Jansdotter.  Here are my fabric selections (thanks to Sam and Stacey for their help in choosing coordinating/contrasting fabrics!):

Sam and I exchanged boxes last month. You can see the gorgeous squares she made for me here.

Sam’s quilting inspiration is the  is the Stained glass quilt from Narcoleptic in a Cupboard. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to get a picture of all the cute fabric Sam had for her quilt. Here are the two blocks I completed for her.

Sam, Stacey and I also made some pillows for our friend Genia’s birthday/housewarming party. Stacey suggested the Chopped Vegetables Pillows by Elizabeth Hartman.

I ended up starting my pillow a week before the party, so I was cutting, sewing and quilting the Sunday before and every night after work. Once finished, this is a quilted pillow case with an invisible zipper that fits a 20″ pillow form. I’m really happy with how my quilting and zipper turned out! And of course, the best part was how happy Genia was to receive these pillows from us :)

We each chose one of the pillow styles to make, and all of the pillows used the two skully fabrics and the off-white kona cotton. Here are all three pillows!

Spread The Word To End The Word

The R-word is the word ‘retard(ed)’. Why does it hurt? The R-word hurts because it is exclusive. It’s offensive. It’s derogatory.

Our campaign asks people to pledge to stop saying the R-word as a starting point toward creating more accepting attitudes and communities for all people. Language affects attitudes and attitudes affect actions. Pledge today to use respectful, people-first language.

The quote above is taken from r-word.org. Today is the annual day of awareness to “spread the word to end the word”. I know a lot of people don’t even realize that by using the r-word they are effectively being offensive to people with intellectual disabilities. This is a day to make people aware of the negativity and disrespect of using the r-word.

Since my older sister has Down syndrome, I have never liked hearing the r-word used as a derogatory term. This word doesn’t fit in our society anymore, so I hope you will join me in pledging to eliminate the use of this demeaning word! Thank you :)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I got a little crafty this year for Valentine’s Day :) I found this cute conversation heart printable at Studio DIY. There are a lot of fun tutorials and DIY downloads here. Be sure to check it out!

I’ve been wanting to try incorporating sewing and paper for a while. When I saw this post, I knew what cards to make for my parents and sister.

ETA: Although the photos are the greatest, here is the card I made for Nathan:

I saw this awesome pixelated popup heart card too late to make last year so I knew I had to make it this year! The ‘You & Me’ on the front came from a weekly freebie at A Little Hut. I’ve mentioned before how cool her paper crafts are :)

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a wonderful, prosperous, and healthy new year!