IBOL Packaged

What I had to fit in the boxes. I made a little felt piece to hold some pins and various needles.

The empty and patiently waiting boxes. I was amazed at how much I fit in the boxes. Lots and lots of fabric and sewing notions will soon be making their way east.

I was wrapping up when I saw my birds left from last Christmas. So I stuck one* in each bundle as a little surprise. *(this one was made by a friend and stayed with me.)

The one I had originally thought to send turned into two and then three! I really hope they are received well and can be used. I could fill more boxes but 3 will have to do for this time.

IBOL--Iraqi Bundles of Love

So I read about this a couple of weeks ago but let the time slip away. So here is my plug for this awesome opportunity for service. I just emailed the man in charge of this project and he sent me these links to give you the details.

You can either email him via a comment on his blog or email me and I'll pass the address along to you. These bundles must be mailed by September 7th at the very latest to arrive in time for him to deliver them.

Here is what he just sent to me:

I added some more to the site recently, on ideas of stuff to send -
like knitting stuff. But really, anything and everything gets put to
use here -- this, after Iraq was under sanctions for so long. Bigger
is definitely better -- bigger pieces of fabric, bigger spools of yarn
(send the whole bolt; don't sent the whole sheep). Green, by the way,
is a favorite color in this culture.

Other ways you can help:

1. Spread the word. This is a pretty rapid-fire project, running
about 6 weeks from start to finish (8 if you count delivery). Which
isn't much. I am trying my best, with the website and the emails and
all that, but it's a bunch. I can sure use the help with the word of
mouth stuff -- emails, blog links, Twitter, Facebook (IBOL has a
page), anything and everything.

OK, I ran out of steam after 1. I'll try to think of more. As long
as stuff is in the USPS as priority mail, not later than 07 Sept., it
should get here in time.

The general information is here: http://ibol.wordpress.com/what-to-send/

Information on how to build a bundle is here:
http://ibol.wordpress.com/building-a-bundle/

When all else fails, the frequently asked questions are here:
http://ibol.wordpress.com/faq/

The Facebook page is here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Iraqi-Bundles-of-Love/114608201774

Flickr photos are tagged like this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abuzavi/tags/iraqibundlesoflove/

Honestly, I think the IBOL Kitteh stuff is the funniest part of this
project: http://ibol.wordpress.com/tag/ibol-kitteh/

Green is good. Simple is good. Stripes work, too. Scissors are OK.
Ditto for needles. Fabric is far more likely to be used for clothing
than for quilting, but that's not an absolute. I'm keeping the
mailing address off of the web, as best I can, because after this
project is over, I pack me up and ship me home -- so, bundles sent,
say, in January would just be returned.

And did I mention that bigger is definitely better -- bigger pieces of
fabric, bigger spools of yarn?

Did I miss something? Let me know.

Quilts completed

So it's been a long while since I last updated. I don't seem to be at all able to quilt etc. and actually find time to update a the blog about what has been going on. We took a family vacation to Washingtion state and Canada (Vancouver Island) to visit with my family. Lots of fun and two quilts delivered.

This first quilt is for my Dad. I have been quilting for eight years and haven't made him one yet. So this is it. I chose batiks because he spends his winters in Mexico and I wanted something cheerful and fun. This is also one of the quilts that I made with the Old Red Barn Co. quilt along.

This one is for my mum. She was one of the first to ever receive a quilt from me. A lovely bed quilt. But she needed a smaller throw over the knees type quilt. The requirements: small and light weight but soft and warm and thicker than the cotton quilt but thinner than a duvet. Not a tall order at all :) I knew that I wanted to use Minki dot for the backing and it had to be blue. The top was a little more challenging. Over the years I have sent her many Mary Englebriet journals. So when I saw this fabric I knew that this was the right choice. I also decided to use a double layer of wool batting and tied the quilt (actually my sister tied it for me!) I used satin quilt binding for the extra touch of cuddliness. The end result is great. She loves it.

This little quilt was made in a hurry for a baby shower. While I rarely make baby quilts anymore for shower gifts (just not enough time) I hated to go with nothing home made. I have been hoarding this darling farm fabric for at least 4 years. It was time to send it to a better home. I didn't have any extra batting on hand so I used two layers of cotton flannel for the middle. I love the way it turned out. If I had had more time (I think this took 2 hours to make) I would have added a little more quilting. I hope the wee baby enjoys dragging it around.

Eight years of scraps

Seriously. I have in these three bins (and a little on the table) scraps from all of the quilting over the past eight years. I thought I was doing well keeping it color sorted in plastic bags in the bins on a shelf. As it turns out these scraps have bred. Well not really but it sure feels like it. Now that I am sorting and organizing I really need to get a handle on all of these scraps. I try not to buy new fabric well at least less than I used to and only for a very specific purpose:0

Any ideas short of throwing them all away?

Help!

Reorganizing the Sewing Chaos

So.....

I don't really have anything to say for myself about the state of my sewing and crafting. I create huge piles and have multiple projects going on at the same time. The first 4 photos are of the sewing room pre removal of everything. You don't see that there is also the baby's crib and my daughters bed in this room too. The last 5 photos are of the mess pulled out into the entry way. I didn't think that the fabric looked that overwhelming. But as I have sorted and refolded all of the fabric 1/2 yard and larger I am left with the bits and pieces and all of the odds and ends that accumulate when one sews or crafts.

More photos to follow on the slightly more organized room and new desk (I love this monster).