Flowers for Eleni

"Where flowers bloom, so does hope."

~Lady Bird Johnson

#flowersforeleni

This quilt. It is just amazing. I've been so honored to work on group quilts before, but this one?  This one just means so much to me. 

In the spring, a very loved quilt blogger, Rachel Hauser at Stitched With Color, and founder of Do. Good Stitches had something happen to her that I could so relate to.  Something was wrong with her baby.  She was so beautiful and shared her fears and worry over her baby daughter after her delivery. She wasn't sure of she what was in store for her darling Eleni's future.  I remember saying out loud. "Please God. Please do not let her join the babyloss club I joined in 2009. None of us members are excited to see new members". 

Then. In a flash. Jodi Godfrey of Tales of Cloth was doing a shout out for a bee blocks. Hashtag Flowers for Eleni. The irony was that I had just started making a mini charm pack of Simply Color by Vanessa Christensen that I had won in her Quiltcon class.

Within a day, I had six blocks for her to send to Australia.

As I packed them up, I had already noticed that she was receiving a huuuuge response for the flowers. And then I thought about how large it was going to be. And then I thought how expensive it would be to ship a quilt back to the states.  

Then, as if my darling Jamie Lynn had whispered in my ears "tell her you can quilt it" 

The back:  TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY QUILTERS NAMES!!!!

Fast forward to the finished top. It took Jodi a bit longer to send it to me than we had anticipated. Because she had received 
550 Flowers. 
From 240 quilters. 
From 4 continents. 

It took the efforts of my tallest son and husband to hold this mammoth quilt up!

Amazing, right?

Here's the ugh part. I had to take down Ole Betsy right before for our move to Utah within days of its arrival on my doorstep in Texas.  Bummer.  I reminded myself that I could get up and running pretty quickly. But then I ran into a big problem. We didn't realize someone had smoked in the house we bought, and most of it happened in what was to be and is my studio. 

Finally. Gloriously. The flooring was finally installed and I was able to load her up. 

And I might have had a bit of stage fright when I first started.

But I finally found my groove and decided on treating each hexie flower as an individual.  

I quilted leaves and swirls around each flower.

And tried to do individual designs on each flower center.  

Of course, there was repetition...but I really tried to be thoughtful for each flower.

And I would be lying if I didn't say I poured all my love and prayers into it.

Jodi sent along the great fabric for binding.

But it was a shy short, so there are two pieces of this V&Co orange added in.

Rachel should receive it soon.  But it was a crazy mail week with Columbus Day around these parts.  I sure hope she doesn't mind it came later than planned.  And I hope she knows how loved she is by her fellow quilters!  

And I love that they all Did.Good Stitches

Hugs for Rebecca {Group Quilt}

A dear quilting friend of mine lost her husband this Spring.  She is young.  She has three small children.  It seems unthinkable.

So a plan was hatched.  A secret one. 
You see, we all met online.  It seems what quilters do nowadays because there isn't a whole ton of quilters living on our own blocks.   We met in a crafty/sewing group and basically started bonding over quilts.  It led to a small Facebook group.  It is wonderful.  We bounce ideas, we help each other when we reach difficult parts of our projects. We post those silly e-cards with jokes about stashes and our poor family and friends who have to deal with our obsession.

When we found out about Rebecca's loss?
  We, of course, did what only quilters would do. 
We planned a quilt!

The block was chosen.  Color Pallettes "oohh and ahhhh"-ed over. 
Volunteers spoke up for parts.  Binding. Piecing.  Quilting.

The Friendship Hexagon Block by Don't Call Me Betsy was chosen.   Not too complicated for the beginners, not too boring for the veterans.

Blocks were sent to  Lindsey at Happier than a Bird to be pieced.

I adored how I saw different fabrics I recognized from my fellow quilters' stashes!

Binding was chosen and prepped by Sandra.

I love how it just blended at the edge of the quilt.  All focus on the blocks!!!!

The pieced top was sent to me for quilting.

 Pantograph before washing. Quirky is the pattern!

Backing was also chosen and pieced by Lindsey at Happier than a Bird

Secret Garden by Micheal Miller

Signature Blocks were sent in and I love how the two extra blocks were placed!

One of the quilters linked me to Amy at Badskirt's card for her group quilt.

I just tweaked it to fit our group and wanted the double hearts as if they were hugging!

24 Quilters!!  Amazing group of ladies!!!!

Quilt Stats:
Dimensions: 72" x 84"
Fabrics:  Scraps and stash from the BBC quilting ladies
Pieced by: Lindsey at Happier than a Bird
Quilted by: Me on a longarm with Quirky Pantograph

I truly hope this quilt brings her comfort.  We are all aware that quilts can't fix the hurt, but maybe they can bring a little warmth to her when she is feeling blue.

  Because it is ONE GIANT hug from us all!