Friendship + and X block exchange

It is hard to believe that the exchange of + and x block between me and Carla is winding down to a close. This is the last Friday of the month, and the last time I will show you a set of four blocks, but not the last time you will see these blocks! I'm excited to put the blocks together.

Here are the blocks I completed for this month, two of each, one set for me and one set to send to Carla.

The blocks I have sent:

 And all the blocks I have received from Carla.

It's fun to look at them all grouped together. You can see what a difference value and fabric placement makes when you seen them side by side.

I think they will play very well together. Just like good friends should. After a break, I hope Carla and I can come with another block exchange to do together.

You can check out the flickr group here.

WIP Wednesday. Nearly wordless...

They are all animals--they will look more like it after the eyes/noses are added. Pattern template here.

Ready for quilting. Machine cross-hatching? Or hand-quilted big stitch?

Linking up here.

Oakshotts...and a little giveaway

Recently I have been focusing on the upcoming charity auction with all funds raised going to help those truly in need through MCC.

I have shared progress shots of Swooning with Oakshotts, now known as Amish Stars, both here and on Instagram.

As mentioned previously, Michael Oakshott offered a very generous discount for the fabric in this quilt. Today I would like to focus on the actual Oakshott fabric.

In case you are not familiar with what a shot cotton actually is, let's begin there. While shot cottons read as solids, they really are not solids.They are woven with two colors, a warp color and a weft color, meaning one color runs the length of the fabric, and the second color runs the width of the fabric. This means that the fabric often has a beautiful iridescent quality to it.

In the case of Oakshott cottons (and isn't it a lovely coincidence that this supplier of such beautiful shot cottons is named Oakshott!), the fabric is hand woven by "master weavers who have patiently taken two hours to prepare and weave each metre." The fabric is ethically sourced from master weavers along the Malabar coast of South West India.

You can read more about the company and fabric  here, but here is just a little synopsis: The yarn for the fabric is boiled for 12 hours, "...the fabrics are hand-dyed; the waste water is so pure that it is used on the vegetable beds."

Since some of the funds from this quilt will go toward clean water projects in Third World countries, I like knowing that the waste water from the dyeing of this fabric is clean enough to use to raise vegetables.

This is one of my favorite pictures, the face of MCC.

These women live in South Sudan, a country ravaged by unrest, and who are trying to rebuild their lives after decades of civil war. MCC is partnering with the Episcopal Church of Sudan Mother's Union Women's Empowerment Project to help women learn sewing, life skills and small business management. THIS is one of many places where funds from tomorrow's quilt auction will go. We will sit in a comfortable building, raising our bidding numbers, and it is easy to forget about the hardships endured by people in our local communities and worldwide.

Thank you, Michael, not only for your gorgeous fabric, but for your generosity in being a part of this good work.

So, hey, how about a giveaway? I will be putting together a little collection of Oakshott scraps to share with two of you. Just let me know if you have a favorite charity...or a favorite color.

I'll choose two winners on Sunday night, 6 p.m. PDT. Oakshott Fabrics is located in the UK so of course it would only be right to include everybody in the giveaway, right?

Have a lovely weekend.

Swooning with Oakshotts, aka Amish Stars, and a little quilt named Mabel

The West Coast Mennonite Relief Sale (WCMRS) is just around the corner, this coming Friday and Saturday. While there is a LOT of fabulous food for sale, along with used books, plants, antiques, collectibles, fair trade items, a 10K race and 2 mile fun run, the main money is raised through the auctioning of handmade items (over 500 quilts, afghans and comforters).

Today I want to share the past quilts that have been made by me and quilted by Mark's cousin, Ione. We partner every other year to make a quilt.

This sale is held every year (there are several similar sales held through the United States and Canada) to help fund Mennonite Central Committee, whose mission is to spread relief, development and peace in the name of Christ. It is an incredibly well-respected charitable organization. In fact, nearly 90 percent of all money donated goes to the work of MCC.

Where is this work carried out? In the words of the West Coast director, Sheri Wiedenhoefer, "All those places you wouldn't want to go for vacation? Those are the places where MCC is present."

MCC has an ongoing presence in many, many countries, and is always one of the first responders whenever there is a disaster happening anywhere in the world.

 Where we work

AFRICA Burkina Faso Burundi Chad DR Congo Ethiopia Kenya Mozambique Nigeria Rwanda Somalia   South Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe	ASIA Afghanistan Bangladesh Cambodia China India Indonesia Laos Myanmar Nepal North Korea (DPRK) South Korea (ROK) Vietnam	EUROPE Bosnia & Herzegovina Croatia Kazakhstan Kosova Russia Serbia Ukraine West Europe
	LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN Bolivia Brazil Colombia El Salvador Guatemala Haiti Honduras Mexico Nicaragua Paraguay	MIDDLE EAST Egypt Iran Iraq Jordan Lebanon Palestine & Israel Syria	CANADA & UNITED STATES Canada United States

 

 The first quilt collaboration was this Shoofly quilt (84x96).  Ione had made at least one of these before, I fell in love with it, asked if she would consider quilting it if I made one for donation. She did a beautiful job, and the variegated thread really popped against the black. This quilt sold for the highest amount that year (2003): $3,400!

In 2004, we collaborated on Stars Over Ohio (86x113). Each star had the same focus fabric, and all the blocks were some kind of variation on the Ohio Star. It sold for $3,100; I believe it was the second highest that year.

 California Kaleidoscope (108x108) came next, in 2007.  It sold for $2,100.

 2010, California Flower Garden, which had 3,460 pieces! (size 110x112). It sold for $3,700.

Color Box was auctioned two years ago and went for my personal best, $5,900!

This weekend, a quilt I have mostly called Swooning with Oakshotts, but changed to Amish Stars for the auction program, will be on the auction block. I'm already starting to get a little nervous. The fabric is the incredible Oakshott. I can't say enough about Michael Oakshott, who gave me a very generous discount on the fabric after I told him a little about MCC and its work around the world. He took my word for the plans for this quilt totally on faith, even though I told him it would be two years before it would be auctioned off. Thank you, Michael!

I'll post a bit more about Amish Stars on Friday. Tomorrow you won't want to miss seeing the quilt that Christa made, along with help from one of her friends.

If you are wondering about the little quilt named Mabel, here she is so far. The name doesn't make sense to anyone other than me at this point, but it will all be revealed soon. Promise.

Since she is obviously a work in progress (only the top two rows are sewn together at this point), I'm linking up to Lee at WIP Wednesday and with Lorna at Let's Bee Social.