My first Charity Sew

This year our guild is making lap quilts for veterans in wheelchairs. The VA Hospital in Brocton, MA, has requested 500 quilts, but ours is not the only guild participating, thank goodness. I have never made charity quilts before, always feeling a little too selfish with my time, but I'm glad I participated this time.
On Saturday, 9 of us gathered at Marie's home for a Charity Sew. Some people donated fabric, some cut blocks and made kits, others pieced tops. I had several good ideas but no "manly" fabrics from my stash to donate, so I just showed up with my machine and notions, picked up a pre-cut kit of 3"x6" blocks, and started piecing without really thinking about anything. it was a lot of fun. Four of us sat around Marie's kitchen table and made each other laugh while we sewed like crazy. Then we took turns at the ironing board, and hollering back comments to the 4 women in the other room who were doing the cutting. (Marie has turned her dining room into a quilting classroom and has a long arm machine set up on the open second floor room above her living room, I love her house!) We all had these kits but no one had a pattern. Eh, we figured it out though, each person ended up doing something different. This is how mine turned out. I tried to use the red & beige striped fabric to create a piratey feel.
Tonight at the guild meeting we all held our tops up, and other women volunteered to quilt them. I really love how it's a collaborative project among all of us. Of course some women are completing their own, but for me it just isn't feasable. I' m looking forward to seeing how they all turn out in the end.

The quilt meeting went well tonight. There was a speaker who showed her watercolor and landscape quilts. I didn't know much about either technique, so it was nice to learn. Highlight of the meeting= I won the door prize~ (two fat quarters, a tiny book about quilts, and a Christmas quilting magazine). There's no meeting in December, but hopefully I'll have something to show and tell by January.

In other news, I called the Japanese travel agency this morning for work (my boss and I will go to Toronto next week for recruiting) and asked if I could call her back for personal travel advice some time soon. Of course she was willing to help, now i just need to find the time to call. I know if she quotes a good price I'll want to buy the tix right away, and I really should wait a little while longer.
Oh oh, and tonight I found a chubby package in my mailbox! the sweet and thoughtful Lucia sent me some Gutterman thread after reading my rant. Thank you darling!! I was so touched that you'd send me such a package to cheer me up. I'll sew happily now and think of you.