Ever since my sister's friend Sherri got married, she has been asking me to make a baby quilt from her wedding dress.  I have known Sherri and her family for longer than I can even remember. So after many years of patiently waiting, Sherri and her Husband Dan were finally expecting! I, of course, was so excited when I heard the great news. I was looking forward to making a quilt for their new baby girl.

Sherri let me have complete control of the design and fabric selection for the quilt. Her only request was that her new daughter's name, Realla-June, be stitched somewhere on the quilt. She didn't even want to see the quilt until it was finished.  So what do you make when the sky's the limit? It is surprisingly a hard choice.  

One element that helped me make the decision is that Sherri's wedding dress was white and red. I wanted to select fabrics that complimented the red. I knew almost immediately that I wanted to use Moda's Miss Kate by Bonnie and Camille. I've used this fabric line before and with red and aqua, it really is the sweetest.

For the pattern I adapted the blocks used in Thimble Blossoms "A Piece of Cake" pattern. I wanted to add a band of wedding dress white and applique Realla-June's name in bold fabric letters to the quilt about 3/4's of the way down the quilt top. I was having trouble finding the perfect font to use for the applique, when I had a great idea.  What better font than a Mother's own handwriting? I asked Sherri to write the baby's name on a piece of paper and take a photo of it. From there I blew up the photo, traced it on the fabric and then satin-stitched the name onto the wedding dress.

I, of course like many people, have allowed this day to be a money grab in the past.  Spending money that didn't need to be spent on things that were easily forgotten.  But then 4 years ago it became so much more for me.  My Husband proposed to me on Valentine's Day.  I know there are many who feel that sort of proposal is so cliché.  I don't think it is.  Having our engagement occur on a day that is easy to remember has actually been fun.  We always reminisce about the day we became engaged, it makes us remember how special that day was for us.  

When you think about it, is there really anything wrong with having one day a year that forces you remember the love you have for others?  Do you have to spend money to show someone you love them? Does love only mean loving a partner?  Of course not.  Everyone has someone they love, whether it is a significant other, your friends or your family.  Take Valentine's Day as an opportunity to think about the love you have for the people in your life.  Show them you care and tell them what they mean to you.  

Yesterday, our 5 year old Nephew Gavin came home with a booklet of "People I Love".  My Brother-In-Law shared with me that one of things that Gavin loves is Our house, where his Uncle Callum and Rascal (my dog lives).  Of course, I am missing from that little description, but it turned my heart to mush knowing that we (or at least my Husband and dog) make enough of a difference in his life for him to mention us (them).
    

This reminded me of a Valentine I made for my Bubbie (Grandma) over 25 years ago.  We found this after she passed away.  I can't even begin to tell you the emotion I felt knowing that she had kept this little piece of paper for all of those years.  I keep this in a frame in my sewing studio all year round.  I love being able to see it while I sew.  

This year in preparation for Valentine's day, I began using some of my pink scraps to make a Valentine's Day quilt.  I wanted to use one of my favourite blocks by  Pile of Fabric and replicate a larger version The Hohnstreiter Ohana's "Cross my Heart Mini".

Unfortunately I only got as far as making the quilt top and haven't had time to quilt it.  I have so many ideas about how I want to quilt it, and it will most likely take me until next Valentine's day to complete it!

So I urge you not to write this year's Valentine's Day off as a commercial holiday.  Take time to think about those that you love and show them you care!

If you have been following my blog for sometime now, or know me personally, you will know that I am pretty passionate about The Drawing Hope Project.  If you're not familiar with this project, in a nutshell, my longtime friend, Shawn Van Daele takes drawings created by children with health conditions and turns them into magical photographs starring the children and sometimes, their family or even their pets!  All of these photographs are being compiled into a storybook in hopes that these children's stories will bring hope to millions of other families who need it.  

The project began in 2012 and has gradually gained momentum.  In the past week, The Drawing Hope project has been featured by many media outlets such as The Huffington Post & The Daily Mail, just to name a few!  Words cannot describe how exciting it is that this project is being introduced to the world!!

Currently Shawn is fundraising to travel to Texas to work on a photo shoot with Baby Sal & his family.  Sal is currently battling a brain tumor and Sal's Father is awaiting a kidney transplant.  A photo shoot with The Drawing Hope Project would be priceless to their family! To learn more about Sal's story, you can click here.

And of course, I want to help in the best way I know how. A quilt!  I have one quilt for sale in my online shop.  I will donate 100% of the sale of this quilt to "Let's Make Sal a Pirate".  It is entitled "Orange Cowboy".  

A while back I fell in love with an orange fabric that has a vintage cowboy print and since then I have referred to it as the "Orange Cowboy Quilt".  It is a one-of-a-kind quilt, and there is only one for sale.

If you are interested in helping "Make Sal a Pirate" but are not interested in purchasing the quilt, you can help by donating any amount by clicking here.  

This past summer my Sister-In-Law, Bianca, married her long time love David.  It was a beautiful and sweet ceremony that took place in a small vintage theater.  The reception took place in her friend's backyard.  It really was one of the most beautiful, personalized weddings I have ever attended.

Knowing that both Bianca and David are avid readers I was inspired by the look of this quilt to make them their very own "library" quilt. I debated about making this quilt for far too long and then decided to go for it with very little time to create it. If you know me, creating quickly is definitely not my thing!  I did not have much time to "hmmm and ha" over my fabric choices.  I had to dive right in.  Taking a bit of inspiration from their invitation, I decided on some vintage-inspired fabrics and a very soft colour pallet. The overall quilt size was 60" x 72", which I believe is a great size for cuddling.  

I quilted the entire thing with straight lines about 1/2" apart using a walking foot.  I have to say I am very obsessed with this look.  I will definitely be using it on many more projects to come.

My flags for the "To Boston With Love" Project are complete.  I took them out today for a little test run to make sure they can "fly".

I found out today that all of the flags will be displayed in Boston at the Museum of Fine Arts in the Shapiro Family Courtyard, May 23-June 16.  

I'm really looking forward to seeing the images of all of the flags created by Quilters around the globe.