Tuesday, May 21, 2013

From Angel to Geisha!

I just wanted to share a picture of a block I made using my angel design. By adding an obi and removing the wings, I now have a Geisha girl block! What do you think?

Wednesday, May 08, 2013

Ahhhhhhhhhh....

This is a picture of the project I have been working on for the last year and its nearly finished! This quilt was the brainchild of Alfie Chico, who is now my friend, but when she called me out of the blue to ask me to help with this project, I was totally caught off-guard. Alfie had been looking for a way to raise funds for our local library and originally wanted to raffle off a quilt. She was inspired by a children's book, similar to a coloring book, but with pictures you could customize to your own interests. One of the pages had a bookshelf with books on which you could write you own titles.

After some thought, Alfie, Debby Recker and Paula Kelly, the head librarian at the Whitehall Public Library, realized the quilt would probably bring in more money if the project was approached from another direction. Rather than selling tickets for a chance to win the quilt, they decided for a $100 donation to the library, the donor could choose a title for one of the books on the quilt. The quilt will hang in the Whitehall Library next to a companion book in which each of the donors got a page to say why they chose their book and what it means to them. This made it possible for more than one person to choose each book.

I was the last one brought into the project, but since I have more experience with quilting and machine embroidery, they allowed me to take the helm. After I designed the quilt, Alfie, Debby and I got together quite a few times to embroider the titles. Once the book titles were finished, it took me about a week to put the quilt top together. Then I was able to give the quilt top to my friend, Cathy Werner, of Your Fairy Quiltmother, who did the actual quilting. She did a dense allover design that should hold up well over time.

The quilt was unveiled at the Whitehall Public Library's 50th Anniversary Celebration held at The South Hills Country Club on Sunday, May 5th, 2013. It was well received and after a few finishing touches, it will be ready to hang in the library for the next 50 years and, with luck, many more!

I can't wait to visit it!