RFQG

I recently found and joined the Rhineland Pfalz Quilt Guid (RFQG).  This pretty much was a result of my mom telling me to do so.  My mom is a member of the Quilt Guild in her area, so she thought it would be a good idea for me to join if possible.  Since I've joined I'm hoping that I don't have to call and harass my mom so much over the phone when I hit a problem during new projects.

Anyways, so I joined the Quilt Guild and at my first meeting (and only meeting to date) I decided to jump in and get my feet wet.  They do a couple of quilting service projects throughout the year - 2 of them being Baby Love and Quilts of Valor.   Baby Love is making baby quilts for babies that have been admitted into the NICU at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC).  Quilts of Valor is making quilts for wounded soldiers who have also been admitted to LRMC.   I volunteered to do a Baby Love Quilt.  The good thing is that all the fabric is provided and pre-cut.  All I had to do was piece the fabric together and quilt it.  The pattern I did was a tumbler pattern.  I don't think I'll ever do this again.  Most of its my fault for not reading the directions all the way through before I started piecing.  Don't get me wrong its still turned out great, but I think I made it take way longer than necessary.  The other thing I didn't like about this pattern is that I felt like there were about a million tumblers that had to be sewn altogether.  Holy crap!  It felt like took FOREVER!   I guess I really shouldn't be complaining since I didn't have to do any of the cutting or buy the fabric.  And besides, it really is for a very good cause.  So here's the final project (minus the label I still haven't stitched on yet).

Stress Relief

Lately I haven't been doing much of anything besides work.  After a full day of chasing 1 year olds around I'm about beat.  I've come to learn that all my sewing project have become a nice stress reliever.   That's not to say that sometimes I don't get frustrated with my sewing machine and want to chuck it out the window ... espeically when the thread comes out of the needle eye for about the 100th time.   With Todd being gone more frequently now (planned or not) I've gotten quite a few projects completed.  Here's what I've done since moving to Germany.

1. An Apron (for myself)

The fabric line is by Amy Butler

2. Placemats, Napkins, and Napkin Rings

This is the same line as the above apron (if you hadn't figured it out yet).  I decided to make 8 of each.  After doing most of the hand stitching to finish up the placemats (6 of 8) I got bored and decided to start on another project.  I still have yet to sew together the napkin holders.  Its all cut and ready to go, I'm just finding it a bit difficult.

3. Baby Owen's Quilt

This quilt is for a very special friend of mine.  We met at Auburn, both starting the Med Tech program at the same time.  We've both traveled across the country to attend each other's weddings.  Even though we don't get to talk as much as I'd like she will always be someone I call a friend.  Her name is Carolyon and her husband is Chris.  They recently had a baby boy named Owen.   This project was one of the reasons why I quit the placemats and napkin holders.  And its a good thing I did - she ended up having Owen a few weeks early.

I've used this line before, but I've found that everyone loves it, so I continue to use it.  For those of you who don't know its called Lollipop.  I also used this fabric for a baby quilt for my sister-in-law.

4. Diaper Clutch

I also made a diaper clutch to match the baby quilt for Owen.  This was the first time I've ever made anything like this.  It was definitely a learning process .... just ask my mom how long it took me yelling talking to her on the phone about how to do the bottom corners.  Overall I think it turned out pretty good!  Hopefully after a few more under my belt I'll be able to do these in my sleep.

The clutch should hold at least 1 diaper, a small diaper changing mat, and travel wipes

When I started sewing I had no idea it would become such a stress reliever for me, but either way I'm glad I finally got into it!