Blogger's Quilt Festival

I couldn't resist - all those fantastic prizes and new bloggers/quilters to discover...

Some of you know already, but there's an online quilt show going on, and Amy, the coordinator has asked quilters to post a quilt and it's story. 

So here goes:

(I wish I had a picture of this quilt after it was quilted, but it seems I can't locate that one.  It WAS quilted and bound before given away!)

The story:

This quilt was made as a raffle prize for a fund raiser for my hubby's family's Relay for Life team in 2007.  The team was created after his maternal grandfather passed away from cancer.  The family felt they needed to do something to help others from facing the same sadness, so they joined and walked.

Being a quilter (and slightly crazy), I offered to make a quilt, assuming it would attract attention and earn more money through the raffle they were holding.  I decided a queen-size would be nice because it could be used on a bed or wherever.

The pattern was in McCall's Quilting magazine, February 2007, called "Star Crossing" by Sandee Wachal.  It was done in red and green, but I felt that looked too Christmassey, so I changed it to red and blue.  It seemed fitting, too, because Grandpa was always running around in an American flag baseball hat, carrying his American flag folding chair to get-togethers.  He was also a war veteran.

Sadly, the raffle didn't do as well as I had hoped, but that's a whole 'nother story and nothing I want to drag around here.

What I learned:

1. Raffle quilts are a LOT of work for little satisfaction.  Smaller is better.

2.  There are a LOT of pieces in this pattern.  Look before you leap!

3.  Setting triangles that are too big are confusing...  Thanks mom.  :)

4.  Queen size quilts are really, really big.

I didn't like all those little pieces, but I love the quilt and had a little bit of a hard time parting with it when the time came.  I still have a few scraps from the quilt that I use in special projects.  They will always remind me of this quilt and Grandpa.  He was a fiesty old man up until the very end of his life.  He lived at the local Hospsice house for the last 7 months of his life - a month longer than the doctors told him he would likely live when he was initially diagnosed.  I honestly believe he lived that long just to prove them wrong!  And I am so glad that I got to know him a little.  Just thinking of some of the things he did make me smile (like the day he showed up to "supervise" our new roof being put on at 5am - before daylight - and wondered where the roofers were?).

I know some of you have seen this before, but I wanted to share a quilt that had special meaning and I think this one qualifies.

Now it's time to go check out some more of the other quilts and blogs!

Happy quilting,

Katie