I'm Still Here

 As you may (or may not)

have noticed

I've been taking a 

Blog Nap

Not to worry,

everything is fine

and 

I'm still here :)

Lot's of things going on,

just not a lot of quilty things to take pictures of and share.

You can always find me on Instagram under the name

Nedra Sorensen

I have done little bits sewing the last few weeks

for my friend Monica

She had a few quilts that needed binding

which is something I find very relaxing and like to do.

Love this Jelly Roll Race 

with a soft Minkee owl print on the back.

 And another Polka Dot Jelly Roll Race

These are so easy and fun to make.

The tops can be put together in about an hour and a half

and make a great charity quilt.

 Purple binding for a purple quilt

I even put the bindings on 8 reversible Place Mats

for Monica

that represent Christmas here in the Southwest.

Other than that, I have been making backings for 3 of my quilts

(needs to be done, but I won't bore you with the pictures)

Once our daughter was married,

and all of our Out of State company left town,

I immediately jumped into another new opportunity:

I have started a new job!

Little hint:  I'm still in the Quilt Industry

yay!

But more about that later....

Economy Quilt Blocks

 I've been working on making

Economy Quilt Blocks

to be donated 

to the

Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild

 We were asked to make

8 inch (finished)

Square In A Square blocks

with fussy cut centers that have

a child theme.

 I bought a Fat Quarter that
will make at least 11 Centers.
The blocks will be collected at our next meeting
and then sewn into quilts

that will be given as Charity

to AZ Blankets For Kids

Rebecca Whaling provided a nice tutorial

last month to get us started.

 These Square In A Square blocks

are easy to make.

Start with a  4.5 inch center
Cut (2) 3.75 inch squares and
cut those on the diagonal
which gives you 4 triangles.
Sew one triangle to the top and bottom (press)
and then
one to each side.

 For the outer triangles
cut (2) 5 Inch squares and
cut those on the diagonal.
Sew those 4 triangles to the outer sides.
Trim up to 8 1/2 inches
and you are done!

Rebecca mentioned that

girl quilts are donated most often and it would be nice to 

be able to give some "boy" themed quilts.

Hopefully these will 

bring a smile to a little boy's face.

Christmas Has Gone To The Dogs

 Many of us have collected 

and collected

Christmas decor over the years

and then realize we no longer have a place

(or the energy) to pull it all out each December.

What to do with all this stuff?

My friend Denise had the perfect solution.

She placed all of her collectibles

she no longer wanted

or needed 

on tables in the backyard

and hosted a beautiful 

Open House

for all of her friends.

We were treated to a buffet of delectable food

and then invited to do a little shopping.

Why did we feel

so enticed 

to spend our $$ this time of year?

Keep reading!

We were invited into Denise's 

beautiful home

decorated to the nines

with Christmas quilts in every room.

 As quilters we were in for one 

visual treat after another.

 Denise is one of the most 

creative people I know.

With a background as an Interior Decorator

She has a knack 

for organizing

and

 finding unique spots

for just about everything. 

 In a guest bedroom the curtains came down

and a quilt went up...

 With added 

red and white valance sections

that give a touch of even more holiday color.

 But the best part

*yes even better than the quilts!

was being greeted by the 

jingle 

jingle 

jingle 

of little bells.

 Denise's two dogs

Cocoa and Sundae

donned their best

Christmas finery 

for this special occasion.

They weren't quite sure what all of these people

were doing in their house,

but tried to smile their best

through all of the extra attention.

In Honor of pets,

all of the proceeds from the sales

are being donated to 

the Humane's Society

There were no prices on the items.

Denise suggested we contribute what we 

felt comfortable and then place an amount

in a slot on a covered box.

To all of our furry friends:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Tomorrow I will share with you

more quilts from Denise's home tour.

Trilogy Quilt Show

 This was my 2nd year to attend the

Trilogy Quilt Show

hosted by the ladies

out at Power Ranch

in Gilbert Arizona

 This is a small show,

but I especially like to see

the Charitable Volunteer work 

provided by this club of quilters.

It's impressive to see what a 

group of around 25 women can do

to bring comfort through quilts.

Power Ranch is a large Master Planned Community

and the Trilogy group meet in their beautiful club house

several times each week

in preparation for their annual show.

 This year's show was hosted

by Linda Coll.

Many of the show quilts were for sale or raffle,

with proceeds going towards

Sunshine Acres

Doves

and

AZ Blankets For Kids

* over 70+ quilts have already been donated this year

 I really like how the ladies display their quilts,

hung against Banquet Folding Tables

laid out in circles.

 The Stars Are Named

made by Audrey Ferguson

 Dolly Dress Up

made by Priscilla Duffin

 Panel by Holly Holderman for Lake House Dry Goods

comes with dimensional accents

 Stormy Night

made by Sandy Wooster

I'll share with you a few more quilts from

the show tomorrow.

London Bird Quilt

The second quilt Pat Roche donated for the Small Quilt Auction was an English 1800's reproduction.

 London Bird 

Pattern from William Morris in Applique by Michelle Hill

 Blues and dark golds are soothing to the eye.

 William Morris (1834-1896) was an English textile designer

Another very generous donation from Pat, that provided a nice contribution to the guild.

If you are interested in purchasing the book William Morris in Applique, it can be found on Amazon.com

HERE.

Modern Day Amish Quilt

Pat Roche is an award winning long arm quilter.

She was not able to attend the Nimble Thimbles Small Quilt Auction last night, and asked me if I would submit two donated quilts from her.

Of course, I had to take a few pictures first before turning her beautiful work over to the guild.

 Pat generously donated this Modern Day Amish quilt.

 Pat's quilting is absolutely stunning.

 Flowers and bunnies in a circle motif create the center design

 With more bunnies running around the edges.

Thread changes and flowers in the corners.

The back is as pretty as the front!

Pat's quilt received the highest bid at last night's auction.

Rightfully so.

Wool Penny Rug

 The Nimble Thimbles Quilt Guild is hosting their annual Small Quilt Auction next Tuesday night.

As members, we are asked to make small quilt items.

We can donate small quilts, table runners, purses or craft items.

This is our Fund Raiser for the year, and it's a really fun event for all.

 I chose to make a Wool Penny Rug for my donation.

I haven't worked much with wool in the last few years, and it was fun to pull out an old pattern and put something together.

Penny Rugs originally started in the 1800's around the time of the Civil War.

Coins were used as templates in cutting out scraps of wool, which were joined together with a blanket stitch.

Penny Rugs usually aren't rugs at all, but are more commonly used as table toppers or on dressers and mantles.

I liked the funky folk art chicken motive for the center and backed the piece with quilt fabric.

Hopefully, it will bring a few $$ for the guild.

Phoenix Quilts

Remember when I wrote about the Wood Hollow fire that swept through the small town of Fairview, Utah? (see post 6/27/12)
Julie Anderson was gathering donations to provide quilts for the 52 families of her community who lost their homes in the fire.
The response was overwhelming.
More than Julie ever could imagine.
Within days Julie and her husband became acutely aware that not only could they provide comfort to their neighbors, but also to many families in the Western United States.
By expanding their vision, they have now created Phoenix Quilts, a non-profit organization with an even larger goal:
"Once we have enough quilts, my husband and I will travel to the affected areas so we can place a quilt in the arms of each family that has lost their home to these terrible wildfires in the Western United States."
It is heartwarming for me to see a family (whom I am sure has many other things going on in their life) turn a difficult situation into one of service and kindness.
Many of my friends homes have been threatened (but are fortunately still in tact) by the fires that continue to rage in Utah.
I, for one, want to link arms with Julie and her husband and help in any way that I can.

Make sure to run over HERE and read some very interesting information about the Phoenix, and why this bird was chosen as the logo to represent their efforts.
*
The latest statistics:

*
If you would like to contribute to Phoenix Quilts, Julie asks:
Would you be willing to donate fabric, batting, quilt blocks, a finished quilt top, a completed quilt, or make a monetary donation?
Contact Information:
Phoenix Quilts
c/o Julie Anderson
P.O. Box 453
150 W. 300 N.
Fairview, Utah 84629
USA
julie@cut.net

A Case For Smiles

A young man approached our quilt guild president and asked if we would be willing to help him with his Eagle Project.
His goal is to gather 300 pillowcases by the end of February to be donated for The Case of Smiles project sponsored by ConKerr Cancer.

In the last 2 weeks our members made 54 pillowcases that were presented to Ryan last night.
I love being part of experiences like this.
It renews my faith in mankind and the generous nature of community.

Our first admiration and support went to a young man learning leadership through the Boy Scouts of America.
Great program.
I remember the work and dedication our son Paul went through when he earned his Eagle a few years ago.
We were also very impressed with the cause Ryan selected for his project.
In 3 years ConKerr Cancer has provided 400,000 pillowcases to sick children in hospitals across the country.

"Our goal is to give bright cheery pillowcases to every seriously ill child in North America by 2015. We are also expanding Internationally with chapters in Canada and South Africa."

When I made my pillowcase for Ryan, I used the "tube method" I learned when I worked for Quilted Works in St. George, Utah. If you are looking for an easy pillowcase pattern, Barb Johnson (from Quilted Works) recently did a great tutorial over on Sew We Quilt.