So, I’ve been waiting for my non-winning Hoffman Challenge quilt entry to return home. I finally broke down and emailed the coordinators, asking when I should get worried. This was the reply I received:
I’ve researched your entry and your quilt was selected to travel in Quilt Collection “D”… CONGRATULATIONS on being selected to travel in this year’s Hoffman Challenge.
After sitting there and blinking my eyes stupidly for several minutes, I picked my jaw up off the keyboard and went to the Hoffman Challenge website to see where exactly my little baby was traveling. Seems she’s been in the Midwest (Colorado, Texas, and South Dakota) since August, and will eventually hit Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Washington, California, and New York before I get her back next September.
Okay, so she’s only one out of 200-plus quilts chosen, but it was my first contest entry ever, and my first completely hand-stitched and hand-quilted piece, so I’m still quite startled and more than a little pleased. Truth be told, I’m proud as a…as a peacock 
My aunt works for United Airlines, and gets to travel the world much cheaper than the rest of us mortals. A few weeks ago she asks my mom (her sister), “Hey! Wanna go to Australia?” Of course my mom, being quite sane, immediately said yes. They got back to this side of the planet on Tuesday–the Punkin and I drove up to Dulles to pick Mom up and take her home to WV.
When it comes to gift-giving, my aunt and mother know me quite well. So, unknown to each other, they both bought me the same kind of gift–fabric! Coordinating fabric no less! The package on the right is actually designed as a patchwork kit. The three smaller designs on the left are 100% cotton handkerchiefs (there are 6, but 3 are repeats of the patchwork designs). There’s even a 54″ coordinating square tablecloth residing at my mother’s which is fair game if necessary.
Now the question is…what kind of quilt to create using these unique designs? Ah, decisions, decisions, decisions
The YMCA recently opened a branch here in the boondocks of King George, and my daughter loves the pool. We’re there at least five, sometimes six times a week.
However, the Punkin is a skinny little thing, and only lasts about 20 minutes before she turns blue with cold. And the locker room is even colder than the pool. A cover-up is almost a necessity.
So when I realized she’d grown out of her old cover-up, I decided to make her a snuggly warm new one. Cost–$4 for the towel. Took a bit of time in labor, since all the blue binding is hand-stitched on, as is the ribbon decoration. It did have a cute little J up on the chest, but it fell off in the wash and I haven’t found it yet. Bummer.
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Published Date: September 24th, 2008
Category: Neat Stuff |
Alice over at BC Quilter recently did a post on the landscape quilt she’s been working on. Isn’t it lovely!
I’ve always wanted to try one, and just haven’t gotten to it yet. Perhaps it’s time to jump that technique ahead a few projects…
I’m all a-quiver right about now. I sold my first quilt pattern this past week, and tonight got it nicely wrapped up to send out (hopefully it’ll beat lil’ Miss Hanna Almost-a-Hurricane out of the state). Of course I’ve got the shipping jitters, the “Did I get everything perfect? Did I forget anything?” nervous twitches.
The pattern that sold is Cup O’ Joe to Sew, available here.
The funny thing is, I am almost done a new version of this quilt (as in the top is pieced, it’s mostly quilted, and one of the sides is bound). I call it the same thing, Cup O’ Joe to Sew. 
I’m hoping to have time to finish it this weekend. Maybe not if the power goes out…
