Loving charms!

Can it really be that I have neglected this blog for a day short of two weeks? It has not been that I am being lazy here at home though. I have been working away at a couple of projects.

Click photos to enlarge.


Now if you followed both this and my previous blog, you will know that the theme for my quilt group this year is charm quilts. What is a charm quilt you may ask? It is often confused with a scrap quilt. A scrap quilt uses any scraps of fabrics you wish as often or little in the quilt as you like and using any quilt pattern. A charm quilt is a quilt where you use a one patch block ~ postage stamp, triangle, hexagon, kite, apple core, etc. ~ and each block is from a different fabric. It is a quilt that to me speaks of olden days of the past. It is the spirit of 'Little House on the Prairie' for me, a show I grew up watching. Charm quilts are great fun to make with a group as you can help each other with collecting fabrics to use in your quilt.


A quilting friend and I had decided to start cutting postage stamps for each other a couple of years ago as we did other quilt projects. This was long before the group decided to use this as a theme. Postage stamps are squares of fabric measuring 2 inches or less. This is about the size of a postage stamp which is how this quilt got its name. In August, I was working on my organization of my quilt studio and came across our postage stamps once again. I still had them here as this friend and I had planned to sew them together. We used to get together often and sew. Life has taken some tragic turns for her and we don't get together any longer as she no longer has time to quilt. I felt sad thinking this quilt was still not made and decided to give her the little box of fabrics I had cut for her when I saw her next and get started on my own quilt. It felt right to finish this quilt during this year's theme.


While I was sewing them together, I started thinking of names for the quilt. I always give my quilts a name even if I am giving them as gifts. It came to me while I was machine quilting this that life has been so good to me and each blessing seems sewn into this quilt. I have a wonderful husband and we love life together. I am very close to my mother. I immigrated to Holland 23 years ago and have been enriched by having two countries and cultures which I treasure. In the course of the years, I have built up a life with many wonderful friends who come share creativity in my home. I feel so blessed with my online friendships and have even been fortunate enough to meet a number of these people all of whom are really amazing people whom I may not have had the chance to meet otherwise. This year has been a trial for Jos and I. I got sick exactly a year ago and am still on the road to becoming better but still I can reflect on how blessed I feel! So for each of you out there who I call (blogging) friend, thank you! You are a blessing to me.


My charm quilt fever is still going strong and I am working on another one which is using the tumblers block. In the meantime, I am really excited to be able to share this finish with you. It is a 36 inch square quilt. It is going to be perfect to drape over the couch or lay on a table with decorations.