Tuesday, October 2, 2012

It's been CRAZY! Really!

It's been nearly a month since I last posted......I just can't believe it!  But it's been totally crazy around here......this is what's been happening.......

Silly me invited a couple and their daughter for dinner on Saturday, Sept. 15.  So, of course, I spent the entire previous week cleaning this crazy mess of a house up.  It was wasn't dirty......just had stuff everywhere!  So I wasn't able to blog that entire week!  But dinner went great.....we laughed so hard my cheeks hurt!  I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!  FUN!  (Thanks Racine, Tim and Julie!)

So......they leave at around 10 p.m., and at 1 a.m. we get a phone call.  My hubby is on the volunteer fire department, and it's a call-out.  The text reads Sweden Road........CRAP!.......WE live on Sweden Road!  Hubby looks out the window, down the hill, and the sky is completely RED with flames!  It's the house across the street from Racine's!  So hubby races out......and I sat on our porch for a few minutes trying to decide if I should go down there, cuz I didn't want to be in the way......then thought I might be able to help......so I went.  Racine, Tim and Julie were in their dooryard totally freaked out!  I don't blame them a bit!  I was freaked out, too!  The house across the street was totally engulfed in flames.  I'd never seen flames rise that high, right in front of me!  Unfortunately, there was no hope for the house, but the next door neighbors house was totally saved, with only the vinyl siding melted a bit.







The AMAZING AND GOOD news was that the family living in the house got everyone out.....and they were totally safe!  Thank God!  The couple has 3 children, one is a baby, and the man's sister was visiting, too.  They were all safe!

So, after seeing such a thing happen just 4 houses away is pretty unnerving.  And all I could think about was "That poor family has just lost everything!"   So I figured they needed some quilts!  So I got busy!  Really busy!  In a couple of days, I had the girl's quilt done, and sent it over to Pat's so she could hand stitch down the binding.  The next day or two, I had the boy's quilt done, and Suzanne did the binding on that one!  Suzanne also said we should make pillow cases for them!  GENIUS!  Thank you, Suzanne!  So, she got to work on a girl's pillowcase in pinks, and I had plenty of fabric from the boy's quilt, and Suzanne put that case together, as well!  Yippee!  She also was brilliant and bought 4 new pillows!  So glad she was 'thinking'!  I had no brain left!  Seriously.....it's been eat, sleep, quilt!  My brain was mush!


 The girl's quilt......she's 6.

 Quilting is all over swirls, and the backing is a solid pink.

 The boy's quilt......he's 4.

Quilting was in swirls, again.......and the backing is the tiny stars print from the border and binding.


Now, I still had several baby quilts from when I had a website to sell them, and I've been giving them out as needed.  So I simply had to put a label on one of them, and the baby's quilt was done!  Easy peasy!  I picked the one best suited for a boy.......it's done in the 30's prints, a 16-patch of 1" squares, in alternate  blocks with quarter square blocks.



All over meander quilting, with stippling in the whites sections.  The backing is white.


I figured I would use the grey stripey quilt top I had just finished for the couple.  But it needed to be a queen, and I had originally fitted it to our bed, so it would be too short for a standard queen.  Of course, I didn't have any more of that exact grey to be able to slap on a top and bottom border!  Heck NO!  So I made a trip out, bought more grey (not the same grey), took off the grey stripes, put on the NEW grey stripes and top and bottom borders, and started quilting it.

Now here's the rub!  For the girl and boy quilts, I used a brand new basting method that I had seen on a video.  It worked out great!  They went together easily and with no issue while quilting.  Not so much for the queen quilt!

Evidently, I had left some wiggle room on the backing, not as taught as I usually have it, and I ended up quilting several 1/4 inch pleats on the back!  Of course, I didn't discover this until I was HALF WAY DONE with the quilting.  What's a girl to do.......but take out all the quilting, re-baste (the old, tried and true method), and quilt it all over again!  Sheesh!

This officially became the quilt from hell!  And that made me crazy and sad, cuz I just loved this quilt!  I didn't want it to be a negative, but it was really hard not think of it that way!  PLUS.......I'm trying really hard to get it done so we can give them over to the family who NEEDS THEM!  Sheesh!  The whole time I'm quilting, and having issues, and cursing myself, and starting to spiral into a depression......I had to keep telling myself......"They've just lost everything!  Quit your griping, ya dope, and get busy!"

Reality check.......it's a good thing!  :o)

 Straight line quilting at mixed intervals.  Pieced back.



So.......Suzanne and I just delivered the quilts and pillows to the family.  She seemed truly grateful for them, and her little girl seemed quite pleased with her pink quilt!  The boy was not around at the time, but the baby is as cute as a button.  And Suzanne wrapped the baby quilt around his shoulders in his mother's arms......it was so sweet!  The mom said how the whole community has really come out for them with donations and things.  I'm so glad we could be a part of that!

And I'm so glad I remembered to take pics this morning before Suzanne came over.  I usually forget, unless I've taken some in the making process.  There was just no time for that on this project!

So.......I am back to normal now.  The craziness is over!  Whew!

Hope you are having a great week!  We are thoroughly enjoying the fall colors here.  I'll hopefully have some pics in the next few days.  Suzanne and I are doing a shop hop, and will be heading a bit north on Thursday. Should be great for picture taking, too!  Sweet!

regan









21 comments:

  1. How scary and sad for that family! Thank heavens no one was hurt. They are blessed for that and their wonderful, kind neighbors, such as yourself. Hopefully insurance will take care of the rest, although it can't replace mementos, they still have one another. Hugs to you for being there for them.

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  2. Wow! What a story! Thank goodness no one was hurt! Your generosity is wonderful :-) I'm sure the family is so thankful to have friends and neighbors like you. The quilts are lovely.

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  3. Wow! I'm glad the family was all safe. What an effort you and your friend made! You are sure a caring, heartfelt person who as acted as a true neighbor. The quilts are gorgeous, too.

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  4. My goodness, that would be scary!
    That was so good of you to give the quilts, pillows and cases--and to work your way through the frustration to make that large quilt come together.
    Good to have you back. : )

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  5. Wow oh wow!!! I am so, so, so very impressed!! What a great big heart you have - my regards to Suzanne - you guys are the bomb!! Blessings to the family too!!

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  6. So generous of you to give away such gorgeous quilts!

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  7. God will surely bless you for your kind heart! May He bless that poor family too! Kudos for a job well done!

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  8. omg how sad. I am so sorry. what a wonderful thing for you to do for this family, isn't that what quilting is all about.
    must have made you so happy , the quilts are beautiful and I know they will be treasured by each of the family members.
    Kathie

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  9. What a kind and generous heart you have, Regan. I'm sure those quilts will be of great comfort to the family. How frightening to see such a horrendous fire. I'm thankful the family was not hurt.

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  10. Regan, what a great thing you did. Your generosity will be appreciated for years to come. So glad you didn't give up.

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  11. All I can think to say is WOW! What a giver. Glad you were able to accomplish all you set out to do...in what I think was record time! Lane

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  12. What great neighbor! I am sure the quilts will bring the family such comfort.

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  13. How generous of you to give of your time and heart to your neighbors. I am sure you will be blessed in kind. They will appreciate your labor of love for many days ahead.

    Judy

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  14. I'm sure they love the quilts...so great of the community to step in and help! Now you need to get a cup of tea and relax!

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  15. Oh my goodness, I really feel for that family. Isn't it great to be able to give something you know will be useful and bring comfort. All the quilts you made are so wonderful.

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  16. Holy @#%&! What a month! How distressful for that family. Sounds like a great community up there and you are a big part of it. Those quilts are fabulous and I'm sure they appreciate them. As I recall your DH loved the grey strippy. Will you make another?

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  17. Oh my! I am so glad that everyone is safe! What a harrowing experience and a busy month for you! You have truly been a blessing to this family. They will certainly treasure the beautiful quilts that you so generously stitched for them.

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  18. I'm so glad they are safe!

    Your beautiful quilts will be the silver lining for that family. How thoughtful of you. Yes, they lost everything material, but you have shown them love and concern, which no fire will ever take away.

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  19. How sweet of you to make these beautiful quilts for that family. You can't give much more love than a handmade quilt. Happy sewing!!! :)

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  20. That poor family. I shall keep them in my thoughts.

    Well done for acting so quickly to give them quilts. I bet they will bring them lots of warmth and comfort.

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  21. How caring of you to "whip" those quilts up for that family. They are beautiful. I'm so glad that no one was hurt.

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