The next installment...

... in the Pay it Forward 2011 saga continues!  I've got the top finished for this particular table runner & do not have proper backing fabric.  Grrrr... I wanted to finish this & mail it off to its recipient in Alabama.  Yes, Sarah... this is yours!  I confess to doing some quasi-covert Facebook "research" to see how large (about) your dining room table it... thank you for posting those photos from Thanksgiving~ made my job easier!!!  Hopefully it's sized to look proportionate; not too big & not too small.

The fabric... and the pattern... 

This is a "Jacob's Ladder" block. It's a basic 9-patch. 

Top of the table runner... 

More of a close-up... 

The real trick was how to combine her favorite colors (and her home decor choice) and not have it scream C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S... red & green are tricky like that.  The red fabric has green swirled into it~ which helps minimize the holiday feel.  Either way, hopefully it looks awesome on their dinner table when I get it backed, quilted, & mailed.  

If you're keeping count, of the 5 on the Pay it Forward list... this is the 3rd... and because it's half-way finished... that means I'm exactly half-way done with my 2011 list.  Because I like the giving part of it, for 2012 I decided that I'm going to randomly select 5 of my friends & give them a little surprise.  No advance notice to look for something in the mail; just a random package with a little note inside.  And then it's up to them how they want to pay it forward from there. 

At the turn of the year, a lot of people make "resolutions"... what a silly waste of time! Well, for me it is.  If you want to change~ no time like the present to start.  But, if I were to be twisted into one~ it would be to always make time for my quilting because it gives me such joy... I rarely keep what I make anyway; most find homes elsewhere.  

The 2012 Project List tab has been updated to reflect what I want to accomplish this year~ and what I remembered off the top of my head without looking in the stash.  We'll see how much I finish... and how much gets added to the list as the year progresses!!! 

Happy New Year... and Happy Quilting!!! :o)  

Memories of Past Projects

Many years ago (when I still lived in northern Maine), I was a quilting fiend! There was little to do during the winter months except hole up with a good book or an even better quilting pattern; and always a cup of warm tea.  And that's what I did... no husband... no kiddo... just me & my cat & my girlfriends.  Those were the days when I quilted a lot.

My mother recently moved~ this being her first Christmas in the new place~ sent me a photo text message this morning of an old quilt I made & gave to her many years ago.  Not quite sure what it is with cats always needing to be in/on the project... mine does it & so does hers!!! I hadn't seen this quilt since I mailed it to her as an early Christmas present all those years ago.  Wanted to share.

Rufus & the Christmas Quilt

Like every good quilt... there's a story behind their creation.  Several of my co-workers up North got together this one holiday season at a local church & decided to all make a Christmas quilt-- it was a Log Cabin wreath quilt.  Some of us were advanced quilters and others had never picked up a rotary cutter in their lives before!  But all of us were friends & it was a hoot putting them together...much laughter & definitely language that shouldn't have been used in a church was prevalent.  Long story short, one day after our quilting "bee" started, on my desk at school, was a photocopied quilt pattern.  A Log Cabin Christmas tree (see finished product above!).  No note as to who had placed it there~ it randomly appeared!!! I must have spend days trying to figure out who put it there... it couldn't have been someone I worked with; we all had the same hours & nobody fessed up.  It wasn't a student; they didn't have access to a photocopier & this was in the days before the all-in-1-do-it-all-at-home-printers.  Our janitor had put it there~ she had heard all about the quilting "bee" (and was unable to attend due to having the night shift)... and had heard about my newfound appreciation/love of all things Log Cabin... I still have that same photocopied pattern. It's a bit yellowed these days, but still very readable. People who take the time to do good & share with others really stand out to me~ those are the types of people I like to be around & share my time with.  Thank you, Jeanie... I'm sure you have no idea of the impact that photocopy had...

Times change~ people move on... she was sent over to the Elementary school (I was Middle at the time)... and then I left the state altogether.  But there are certain bonds that will always remain~ love & friendship.  This photo brought back those memories... and they're always wonderful ones to re-visit.

On this rainy Sunday, my boys are asleep... and I'm off to decorate the Christmas tree... bake up a storm in the kitchen... and then find some time for my beloved quilting...

May your heart be full today & always!
Happy Quilting!!! :o)