Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Tip Tuesday! - Find YOUR Quilting Passion

"Tip Tuesday!" - Find YOUR Quilting Passion
I love learning new things and then sharing that knowledge with my quilting friends. So, every Tuesday (or most Tuesdays!) I'll provide some tips, hints, tricks, tutorials, shortcuts, etc. that I've learned over the years and share them here on the blog.

"Tip Tuesday" will be a collection of information about a wide variety of subjects garnered from a large variety of sources. I am not an expert by any means and do not take credit for being the great wizard behind all of these hints and tips. I will gladly give due credit whenever possible.

These tips will be archived and accessible to you just by clicking on the "Tip Tuesday!" tab above.

Read, enjoy, and be inspired!

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If you have read many of my blog posts, you know that I LOVE just about all aspects of quilting.
 
I love fondling fabrics under the guise of searching for just the right shade of orange to match the project on which I'm working.
 
I love reading quilt books, magazines, and patterns and drooling over the beautiful quilts and trying to decide just what fabrics I could choose to make MY quilts just as stunning.
 
I actually like the cutting process, although it can be tedious. The rotary cutter signifies the beginning of a new quilt and many hours of blissfully sitting at my sewing machine excitedly watching the transformation from simple fabric to wonderful quilt.
 
To me, one of the most relaxing sounds in the entire world is the sound of a sewing machine. Seriously!
 
And then there is the teaching that I do. Oh my, my heart is fluttering, just thinking about it. I actually get to help someone else develop their love of quilting and that is an awesome feeling. (I have told people that sometimes I feel like a drug pusher because I get people hooked on quilting. Of course my drug of choice is fabric.)
 
I think you get the message.
 
I LOVE quilting!
 
One of the reasons that I love to quilt is the feeling I get when I give a quilt to someone or donate it, knowing that it will bring warmth, comfort, and happiness to the recipient.
It is an amazing feeling.
 
I've made A LOT of quilts in the sixteen years I've been quilting; and when I say a lot, I mean a hundreds of quilts. My husband has asked me many times to figure out how many quilts I've made and I just may try to figure that out for him. It should be pretty easy to do the math because I have information about all of the quilts I've donated for tax purposes and I have pictures I've posted on my blog.
 
Since no single person or family really needs hundreds of quilts, I found a couple of ways that I can justify my continuation to make quilts - I always need new class samples, and I donate a fair number every year. 
 
I am always trying to find a new charity, group, etc. that is in need of quilts. During my search, I make inquiries locally, read the newspaper, surf the web, etc.  After my research, I make my decisions and then quilts are made and sent away to their new homes. 
 
While reading Scott's blog over at
 
I became aware of a group called
 
 
Scott's post, and the story behind the America's Mighty Warriors has provided me with yet another outlet for my quilts. Although I won't actually be sending quilts to the group, I will be making a donation and I'll definitely be participating in the random acts of kindness program.
 
These words, written in a letter by Navy Seal Marc Lee who was killed in action August 2, 2006, have inspired me.
 
"Pass on the love, the kindness, the precious gift of human life."
   
I am going to make a difference!
 I will continue to make and donate quilts, but I will also find other ways to help. I will perform random acts of kindness and encourage others to do the same.


That is MY new quilting passion!


What is YOURS?
 

Check out Scotts blog HERE
 
 

3 comments:

Vroomans' Quilts said...

I find the sound of the sewing machine very relaxing, too. Even the pull of thread with needle by hand can find a lull. I like to donate to charity too. I am gifted a lot of quilt quality scraps which go into blocks for one donation, quilts for outside and local donation. One of the things I like about the local quilt guild I belong to is they do a lot of local charity work.

Anonymous said...

This is awesome. Thanks so much for doing this.
Regards,
Scott Fortunoff
Studioe & Blank Quilting Corp. President.

Suze said...

I think most of us also think that our giving ends when we die. I've had many, many brushes with death. Last time, I got a driver's license, I marked the organ donor box. I don't know that many things might be of use to someone else and I don't want to unknowingly make that decision. I have skin that has a very opaque tendency to it. It can have a "blue" tendency when I am upset or cold. Yet, it is very resilient and I look years younger than I am in actual years. Even though I am a cancer survivor and have had many maladies, my skin might be just what someone needs. I didn't want my children to have to think about what I might desire. A friend just told me today about someone she knew who was an organ donor and her children looked "under the covers" in the coffin and she had one foot missing. You never know what you might be able to give to help someone else. I just learned that a classmate was having bone marrow transplant today. If, I could have donated, I would and I just knew who he was. I don't know if he even knew who I was or not in a small class of 273. My brother offered to donate if I needed a transplant and couldn't because we are not the same blood type. Thankfully, I did not need that. Thank you for all your charity. My local quilt guild also does local charity work from quilts to donations of needed goods. Thank you for reminding what counts in life - caring.