Details on Quilt-a-thon

The Great Northeastern Quilt-a-thon

To benefit Quilts of Valor (www.QOVF.org).

You can make a difference! Help us celebrate the 20th anniversary of Make a Difference Day.

Make A Difference Day, the largest national day of helping others, is sponsored annually by USA WEEKEND Magazine and its 700 carrier newspapers. Make A Difference Day takes place on the 4th Saturday in October each year.

I’m throwing down the gauntlet. I’m issuing a challenge to the quilters of New York and New England: I think we can make 1,000 Quilts of Valor between today, August 14 and Make a Difference Day, October 23, 2010. I need you all to help me get the word out. Forward this to your local quilt shops, to your quilt guild, to your sewing buddies. Post on Facebook, tweet on Twitter, call your Grandma. Not from New York or New England? So what? You can still participate.

Rev up those sewing machines and put the pedal to the metal!

Here’s what you can do:

Stitchers: Piece quilt tops, alone or with friends.

Longarmers: Volunteer to quilt QOV’s. You can sign up to be a longarmer on the QOV website

Quilt guilds and quilting groups: At your next meeting make QOV’s. Or ask members to bring in blocks and put the blocks together.

Quilt shops: Have a QOV class/workshop day or days. PIck a simple pattern so all levels of stitchers can participate. Or invite customers to work on their own QOV’s. Keep it free and easy- drop in for an hour or stay all day.

Ask participants to bring in their own fabrics- stick to red, white and blue, or go across the color spectrum (just a note from personal experience, be specific - people tend to bring in more medium and dark fabrics than very light ones). Ask for larger quantities for quilt backs.

Don’t forget to make a presentation case for each quilt.

Don’t forget to make a label.

Do refer to the QOV web site for specifics on how to make a QOV (sizes, materials, etc.).

Do email me if you have any questions. Barbara@QOVF.org

Have fun with this.

Barbara Chojnacki

Quilts of Valor Regional Coordinator,

Region 10 (NY and New England)

Great Northeastern Quilt-a-thon

I'm inviting quilters from New York and New England (and anywhere else, for that matter) to make a difference. Let's celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Make a Difference Day by making at least 1,000 Quilts of Valor between today and October 23, 2010.

Do you like seahorses?

I do. And so do most people. Seahorses are right up there with dragonflies at the top of the list of "Very Cool Creatures". And seahorses are the subject of my friend Linda M. Poole's new line of fabrics (following close on the heels of her first line, "Iridescence", which features dragonflies). You've got to check these out- the seahorses are wonderful, the colors are simply stunning, and the whole line of fabrics is irresistible!

Coming out of hibernation...

Not really. This soon to be past winter has been a creative time for me, and I'm excited about all the things that had been going on in my life that are now coming to fruition.

Four new quilts have been born, and I'm "pregnant" with a fifth. Also on the quilting front, one of my quilts, "The Mystery of the Missing Root Children" (pictured) has been chosen for an exhibit at MQX next month. And there will be other news, but all in due time.

I have also had the immense pleasure (and time, and effort) of putting together a fund-raising cookbook that is almost ready for the printer. This will benefit Just a Touch Rescue. Please let me know if you would like to be notified when the book is out.

Historical cemetery of the day

The state of Rhode Island has nearly 3000 historical cemeteries. If I counted correctly, Westerly has 97 if those.  Even many natives don't know this one, in Watch Hill, exists. Yet it's just a block away from the center of the village, a couple hundred yards past this lovely old yacht. 

Here's RI Historical Cemetery #31, 

containing approximately 100 graves with stones dating from 1740 to 1830. You can see headstones, many barely peeking up from the ground.

 Sadly, this lovely stone broke off its base. The carving is barely visible, it appears to be a setting sun. The name and date of the person interred below is no longer legible.

A lovely autumn morning...

and a good time to take advantage of the sunshine before the rainy weekend arrives. This happy fellow greets visitors to Smith's Flower & Farm here in town.  

Quilting Spooky- A freebie for you

Now that your Halloween quilt top is completed and is ready to be quilted (you DO have a Halloween quilt, don't you?), you need a quick and easy quilting design. If you have basic free motion quilting skills, you can do "Loopy Bats."