Kids quilt too!

Today we spent the day at the Westport Farmers Market. We sold tickets for the quilt raffle, made a quilt with the kids (and some grown ups!) to be sent to Japan with the money for Red Cross, and had purple basil lemonade from Peace Tree Desserts. They did such a great job, and never doubted the greatness of their work. Kids have no filter and are so good at being in the moment and getting lost in the task at hand. I learned a few things, to say the least.

A whirlwind of love.

The tsunami in Japan and the series of tornados in the midwest have left me feeling helpless and faraway from those in need. (Light bulb!)Time for another fundraiser!
We did it before, when the earthquake devastated Haiti, raising almost $4,000.00.
We whipped up 8 Quilts For Christmas for the homeless shelter in Bridgeport with no time to spare.
So, now we are challenged with two different disasters in two different hemispheres.
My friends have come out like gang buster to pitch in. Jennifer Paganelli has donated her perky Sis Boom fabric for some of the quilts. We raffled one off at her sale this week, raising funds for the folks in the midwest.
A new friend in Seattle, Washington, Pat Belyea, has been oh os generous and donated a few quilts worth of rare vintage yukata cotton that she imports from Japan. This fabric is such an honor to work with- hand dyed and traditionally made for kimonos.
Last but not least, my dear friend, James Bosco who is creative director at McCalls patterns has sent his own quilt, an amazing 80'' x80'' quilt with the Japanese fan pattern. He also got his co-workers to involved, donating about 40 squares
to be assembled and quilted. Many , many thanks.
The plan is to send the "care quilts" that we make to Red Cross in the Mid- West, as shipping to Japan is hundreds of dollars. Then, we are going to raffle off James' quilt and the one that I made with the Yukata cotton and send the funds to Red Cross Japan. Each ticket is $5.00 and checks can be made payable to "Red Cross". Specify which quilt you want tickets for-
QUILT A:"Fan Quilt"
or
QUILT B:YUKATA QUILT:"Yukata Quilt"
A week from Friday, July 29th, we will be having the Quilt Event at my house,(email me for info) 10-3, stop, stitch and have a glass of herbal iced tea and some special treats made by Robyn Eads of Peace Tree FDesserts- all local, organic, sustainable.
Send checks to:
Nancy Geaney
206 Sharp Hill Rd.
Wilton, CT 06897
Make checks out to RED CROSS or I can accept PAYPAL.
I will send you a ticket stub in the mail or email you the stub numbers.
THE RAFFLE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED AUGUST 2OTH.
Please spread the word!

Quilt Market or bust!

Jennifer Paganelli had me make a piece for them to display at Quilt Market in Salt Lake City representing her newest line, Honey Child. I am particularly fond of the hot colors- pinks and oranges- and love the East Indian feel of the Dana line.
Forgive the many pictures of Ollie, but it has been awhile since I have photographed a quilt, and he became very excited. Nothing worse than an out of work model trying to hog the camera...

Queen Streets little princess.

That's my friend, sweet Georgia Brown. (Yes, her real name.) She's relaxing on my Queen Street quilt while perusing the new Sis Boom Girls World book that I helped style and my husband (Tim Geaney) photographed. Not out until April, but you can pre-order it on Amazon.

Vintage velvet.

There is nothing softer or more luxurious than this velvet pillow, except for maybe the unfinished quilt underneath it. I have quilted cotton velvet before, but this is the real thing. While it's a little tricky to cut and sew the effect is to die for. I hope to have the quilt done and hand stitched this weekend.

It's always greener on the other side.

In this particularly white winter, I find myself longing for something green and lush. While Puerto Rico is out of the question, this whole cloth quilt made form Queen Streets "Maddie" and "Dolin" in jade and aqua is just what the doctor ordered.
"Dolin" is a whispy green and blue floral on a white background, and "Maddie" is decidedly greener on the other side- and more mod.
This quilt followed by a regimen of wheat grass shots should get me through to Ground Hogs Day. Or maybe a Mojito?

"Hail" to the Queen Street!

All hail to the Sis Boom Queen Street line! This simple block on block action simply amplifies the beautiful prints and colors that Jennifer Paganelli used to create this latest line.
Give me a day or to to post the pattern... if you are interested!

Panini Quilt.

No, not the sandwich... this is a special quilt for the daughter of my dear friend, Sheila Gray. Sheila is a coach to many talented actors in NYC- including my son, Jack. She is so generous with him that I wanted to make something special for her family, since they haver been so kind and opened their home to Jack. Her eight year old daughter,Sofia, affectionately known as Panini, loves pink, orange and red. I pulled from the latest Sis Boom Collection (Queen Street), some older Sis Boom and Denyse Schmidt, and included some vintage blocks from my favorite personal stash! They all came together like the cast of an Oscar award winning ensemble. I love this quilt. I can't think of a better way to show my love and admiration to a friend. Enjoy Sheila, and Panini. xoxoxNancy

Teacher's pets.

I have to say that my experience teaching (what limited knowledge I have to offer) has been most rewarding. We laugh the whole time, and no one ever makes a mistake! That's because I encourage imperfection. While we attempt to do our very best, we have lowered the bar. That way we all feel accomplished and in the end our projects are "perfect"! Perfectly us.
The Pillow 101 has been a huge success, and will continue on Tuesday mornings at Make and Mingle- projects to be announced. I think we will either make grocery totes or a clutch. I'm leaving it up to the class.
This Sunday is the "Quilt Haiti" workshop with Jennifer Paganelli- some of the blocks have already been mailed in- it is going to be amazing! Thank you to everyone giving their time and creativity to such a good cause. Special thanks to my dear old friends ( not that old) Patty Carroll and Creative Director at Vogue/ Butterick Patterns, James Bosco. Great job on the squares.
One of my first students, Jessica Donahue, moved away to South Carolina, but keeps me posted with her sewing projects. This "Scottie" is a downloadable pattern from Denyse Schmidt (in Sis Boom fabric). We are hoping Denyse will come and teach the Scottie class at Make and Mingle in June. She is trying to squeeze us in!
All in all, a very productive month so far- and spring has just arrived! Yippee!