Stitching Hope: Haiti - the final product

Here are some detailed pictures of the Stitching Hope: Haiti quilt.  

This is the front, machine-quilted in a meandering pattern (you can see the effects of the quilting even though I didn't get a close-up picture):

And now the back of the quilt, that my sweet husband helped me design:

It has a small "wonky" log cabin square in the middle of a strip of navy blue print fabric.

Close-up of the square:

Right now, you all have donated $2775 towards Haiti relief - wowzers!  This shindig ends on Friday, so if you've been meaning to get your donation in go ahead and do it!  I never imagined it would get this big, and I am so excited to have such wonderful, generous friends!  Thank you all!

Stitching Hope: A Haiti Relief Project

You are all aware of the devastation and destruction that has happened in Haiti due to Tuesday’s massive earthquake. For some, it may instill a sense of frustration or loss, even fear, at the scope of the damage and the poverty of a country so ill-equipped to handle it. The thought that keeps running through my mind is this: What can I do that will make a difference?

Well, I know I’m just one person but I’ve come up with a plan, and it involves you if you’re willing to jump on board. Please consider this effort to honor God and our fellow human beings as you decide what to do in response to the Haitian crisis.
I would like to raffle off a quilt.
For $5, you can have your name entered into the raffle. The winner will be chosen on Friday, January 29th, 2009 – that’s two weeks from now. If you donate $10. $15, $20, or more, your name will be entered into the raffle for that multiple of 5. All the money collected by January 29th will be donated to the Samaritan’s Purse Haiti Relief fund. Jesse and I are pledging to match every donation up to $100.  

Here are some logistics:  
1. Please mail your $5, $10, or whatever pledge to me. I don't want to give my address out on here, but if you contact me at I will send you my address.  Make sure you give me YOUR email address to be in touch with you.
2. I will NOT be able to give you any sort of tax-deduction letter/notice for this donation. HOWEVER, if you wish to have a tax deduction or desire your relief dollars to be funneled through another channel, donate to the relief agency of your choice and then let me know. I will treat it as if you entered my raffle.  
3. Likewise, if you want to pledge but find that you can’t get your money to me in time, let me know and I will assume you’ve entered the raffle based on your pledge.  
4. I chose Samaritan’s Purse for a couple of reasons. First, with the organization’s international reach and community involvement, they were among the first responders to the crisis. Second, I believe that through meeting the practical needs for water, shelter, and food for the people of Haiti, they are living out the Gospel in a very tangible way. Third, they are a hometown agency for me, since they are based in Boone, North Carolina. If you’d like to donate directly to Samaritan’s Purse or see what they are doing in Haiti right now, check out this link: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/Giving/Haiti_Donation/  

One quilt may not change the world, but I think that if we come together then we can have an impact. I've lived in a country where the majority of people live on less than $1 a day, and many of you know as well how far our American dollars can stretch in developing nations. At the risk of sounding cheesy, I really do believe that our meager $5 may be exactly what one child, one family, one neighborhood, or one village needs to make it one more day.  

The quilt measures approximately 75”x74” and is patterned in the “log cabin” style. Snuggle up on the couch in the winter or use it as a picnic blanket in the summer – it is made from new and repurposed materials and is up for lots of use. It is 100% machine washable, and will grow softer with use! I machine quilted it in a meandering pattern and hand-stitched the binding in place. Just think: this may be the only chance you ever have for getting a lovingly handmade quilt for just $5! 

Encourage your friends to donate too!  Pass along this link to anyone else you feel may be interested in joining the cause!

large scale

I got to spend a few days with Cousin Becky between Christmas and New Year's Day.  This is her, rocking out the ghetto-farmer-seamstress look:

She's the one who guest-posted on rhymeswithquilt a few days ago, with her Tree Skirt tutorial.  While we were together, we decided to spend a day making quilts and opted for an enormous log-cabin square.

Here's hers:

She started with a rectangle about 18 x 24, somewhat fat-quarterish but a bit bigger.  She added strips around the center block, ranging in widths from 3 inches to 5 inches.  I love that there's a ripped-up men's shirt and a few sheets in there ... 

Here's mine:

I started with a block about 18x22, and added 6-to-8 inch strips around the sides (I added the skinnier strips on the short sides of the middle block, and the wider strips on the long ends).  My final border (in red) is an even 10 inches on every side.

I love both the quilts so much!  Becky has been more productive than me - the goon is already finished with hers!  Mine is still draped (lovingly) over my sewing chair, waiting for the backing and a loop-de-loop free motion quilting pattern that I'm going to try out.  I'll post pictures when that one's done!