7 Layer Studio

Idaho: The Rest of the Story

 

While in Idaho visiting my husband's side of the family, I had the pleasure of meeting lots of wonderful people at The Quilt Crossing in Boise.  I brought some of my samples to them for a trunk show, and I loved being in their beautiful shop so much I ended up spending quite a bit of time there!  They were gracious enough to let me come and use their back room/sewing machine/cutting items for several hours because I was going crazy not being able to make anything during vacation.  I'm pathetic, I know, but I had SOO much fun on the new quilt I started!

See what I mean?!!  I spent all this past week finishing what I started in Boise.  This is just a small peek, I'll post the whole thing after I get a pattern available to sell.  And in case you're wondering, the strips are supposed to be all crooked and mis-aligned.  :-)  It adds to the craziness of it, which is very appropo for a Halloween quilt, no?

I found all sorts of fantastic fabrics and The Quilt Crossing, and when I got home I raided my own stash of fabrics as well.  My favorites are the 2 orange and black ones from Alexander Henry on the far left - the cats and the trees.  Actually I can't really pick out any definite favorites - they are all so fun!  I love the way they interact with eachother.

Anyway, here are some of the awesome displays at The Quilt Crossing.  I LOVE the red and black quilt above.  Can you believe that the pieced area of that quilt was made with ONE fabric?  You can learn how to do it with the book One Block Wonders, which you see perched on the table below the quilt.  I actually have that book, but I never got around to making a quilt with that technique.  I think it's high time to change that! 

Just look at how gorgeous all those fabrics are!

There is even an entire row of bolts dedicated to polka dots.  Aaahhh, heaven...this is truly my kind of store.  Seriously, if you live in the Boise area, you need to come to this quilt shop.  It will inspire you even if you're not into sewing that much.

I adore this quilt!  How clever can a person get, eh?  And the fabric choices are perfect.  As the tag says, the quilt is called Frosty Treats by Ta Dah Designs.  Love it, love it.

Can you say gorgeous saturated color?  That's what pops into my mind when I see this quilt.  And the embroidery!!!  Absolutely incredible.

Speaking of color and embroidery, check this out...an entire wall of a breathtaking array of thread.  I'm drooling.

They also have a fantastic display of country Christmas designs, many of which are created by 2 of the employees of the store.  Such talent, such fun!

 

This darling hand towel really caught my eye, it's by Nancy Halvorsen of Art to Heart, a fellow Benartex fabric designer.  Isn't it adorable? 

Okay, time to break away from the fabric scene.  Grandpa and Grandma Detton have a pool (AND a water basketball hoop) in their backyard, so you can guess where my kids spent much of their time!  They had an absolute blast.

 Here's cousin Kenny, executing a perfect diving board leapster shot.  Great form, kid!

Hazel had the time of her life with her newfound friend John.  There was a big streetball tournament in Boise while we were there, and Steve joined up with a few other guys in the family plus John, who is a good friend of Tij.  Remember Tij and Camille, the young couple I did the wedding reception for a couple of years ago?

They ended up winning the championship round for their division, hooray for them!   Steve is very proud of his new championship T-shirt, as he should be - they all worked (and played) very hard to earn it.

It was blazing hot the day of the tournament, so an after-game pool party was great fun for everyone!  Hazel and John hit it off smashingly.

This little piggy....

And look!  It's Hyrum with a matching Harley D. mustache like Uncle Alan!

 ...Uncle Alan with the fabulous fashion statement you see at right.  I guess that's what happens when you ride a Harley down from Montana...no room to pack pool shoes. 

Very nice style, Alan, very nice.  :-)

 

After 2 weeks, the fun came to an end and we survived the plane trip back to Virginia.  I was hoping the kids would be so worn out (not to mention leaving at 4:30 am) that they'd sleep en route, but that was too much to hope for I guess. 

Back at the ranch, here's Hazel with another one of her vignettes.  She called it "Christmas Tree".

Nice work, Hazel!  And once the installation is over, p-l-e-a-s-e go put all those random things back...oh, who am I kidding?  That girl's favorite thing to do is go through the house and collect all sorts of random items and play with them for awhile, but the putting away part continues to elude her comprehension.  Or so she claims.  Good thing she's so cute.

 Here's another summer project that was finished after returning from Idaho...I helped the daughters of 2 of my friends make quilts this summer, and we're finally done!  They are so proud of their accomplishments, as well they should be - it was a lot of work but the end results were worth it.  Now they have cozy quilts to snuggle with - quilts they made themselves!

Okay, please don't laugh at this chubby little guy, whatever he may look like to you.  Eliza thought it was a mouse, Steve couldn't tell what the heck it was.  I'll give you a hint; it has a long curly tail and eats bananas.  Not the stuffed animal, the one in real life.

Deborah of One Heart Bulgaria asked me to develop some cute, easy stuffed animals for the orphan girls to make for themselves and others in their sewing class.  This monkey-ish critter is prototype #3, and I'm learning that it's a lot harder than I thought to make a cute stuffed monkey that is super easy.  Attempts #1 and #2 were complete failures in the Easy Category, so I kept simplifying to a point where I'm wondering if it's even recognizable.  The ears are wrong, I have since realized I need to make them shorter and closer to the head.   Other than that, I don't know what else I could do to make it simpler/cuter.  If any of you have any bright ideas, or know of any other free stuffed animal patterns that are cute and super easy, please let me know.  Thanks!

Full Circle

I'm very happy to report that the 60 drawstring bags are now in the hands of sweet orphaned/abandoned children such as the ones you see here!  

Nickolai Gavazov, the Bulgarian director who oversees and manages the One Heart Bulgaria program in his country, is shown here delivering YOUR bags to these very grateful youngsters.  What a heartwarming sight to see.

But guess what?  There are currently 75 children in the Sloveikov Orphanage, so I'd like to send another 20 bags (so there are a few extra) to them as soon as possible so that all the children can have one and nobody feels left out. 

I already have 8 beautiful bags waiting for shipment that didn't make it in the last box (thanks, Manuela!) so I need 12 more for this orphanage.  I know a lot of you have told me you're working on some bags, so if you have any of them done it would be great if you could send them to me.  Please email me and I'll tell you where to send them.  Thanks so much!

ps.  Just in case any of you are thinking that perhaps there are other, more poverty-stricken children these bags could be going to (based on the pleasant background you see surrounding these children in the photos), please be assured that the reason the walls and furniture look clean and neat is through the efforts of One Heart Bulgaria.  The Sloveikov Orphanage used to have rotting, falling plaster, broken windows, filth everywhere, and extreme under-staffing, among a host of other problems.  OHB has been working with this orphanage since 2003, and it has helped Sloveikov immensely! 

For more information on this particular orphanage and what OHB has done to help, please click HERE.

Thanks in advance for more bags!

 

Good News plus a Hiccup

Well, the Good News is that the first box full of drawstring bags for the orphans/abandoned children of Bulgaria has been shipped!  Here you see a large portion of the bags stacked and ready go in the box (not all bags are pictured, some were still awaiting drawstrings at this point...so if you don't see your contribution in the picture, please don't panic!)  A HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who sent bags and/or money donations so that this Sewing For Orphans project can get off the ground.  I've listed your names in the righthand sidebar...please let me know if I have missed your name or you would prefer not to have your name published.

I owe a very special, huge, HUGE thanks to Amy Darger Stewart, a local friend who came to my rescue this past week.  She and her daughter Jean-Marie went out and bought more cording for the bags that didn't have cords, which they then inserted into the bags (about half the bags didn't have cords yet).  They also bought an assortment of hard candies and little notebooks and pencils for each bag, which is more than these kids receive at Christmas.

They then lovingly loaded all the goodies plus the laminated bookmarks (thank you to all the local children who helped color these!) into each of the 60 bags.  I also included 7 yards of Pellon DecorBond for the orphan girls in the sewing classes to use when they make bags and other things to sell. 

Amy insisted on paying to ship the large box to Bulgaria, which I was very grateful for because I haven't even come close to breaking even on all the expenses I've incurred for pattern publishing, travel to QuiltMarket, etc. and I haven't started receiving income from my fabric yet because it's just now getting distributed.

We both figured it would be between $100 and $200 to ship the box to Bulgaria.  Anybody want to take any guesses as to the actual cost?  Herein lies the hiccup....

 

Since the box was over 35 pounds, they were going to charge $800 (!!!!) to ship it.  Which, of course, is out of the question.  Amy was able to split it into 2 separate boxes, but it was still $400.  Super duper, giant OUCH.  I'm going to split the cost of it with her, but we've got to figure something out for future shipments.  And if any of you feel like you want to contribute to help offset the cost, there is a Donate button in the righthand sidebar set up for that specific purpose.  I can't stand asking for money, but it's for the orphans so that's what I'm doing.

I'm going to look into shipping future boxes to one of the college interns who go over there to volunteer at the orphanages.  If I only have to pay for shipping to somebody in the US, and then whatever fee the airline charges for an extra piece of luggage, that's a lot less expensive than the alternative.  I'm also going to look into getting some corporate sponsors, but to be honest I'm not sure how to go about doing that.  Anybody have any ideas?  I'm all ears at this point.  I'm finally getting to the point where a large number of people have said they're going to make bags and some have already shipped them to me, and now that we finally have a box ready to ship, it turns out that the cost is more prohibitive than expected.

This is the back page of the Slug+Snake pattern, where I describe a little bit about all the work that One Heart Bulgaria does to help these children.  As you know, I'm donating all the net proceeds of this pattern to OHB in addition to heading up the Sewing For Orphans project.  Every time I see pictures of these kids and think about how they are crammed into cold rooms with no Mommies or Daddies to tuck them in at night, read them a story, or soothe their cries, it just breaks my heart.  No child should ever have to start life parentless or abandoned.  The work we're doing is just a drop in the bucket and a tiny fraction of what these children need, but I'm hoping that it will help them know that they are loved. 

I keep thinking of the Starfish Principle.  Do you know that story?  A storm had "beached" hundreds of starfish, and a boy was throwing them back one by one.  A man asked him why he bothered; there were so many it would be impossible to save them all.  The boy replied, "It makes a difference to this one," and he tossed another starfish into the surf.

I feel very strongly that I shouldn't give up on this project.  Things will work out, and we'll be able to figure out a better way to get the bags over there.  Sending big bear hugs to all of you who have helped make this project a success!  I'm so grateful for all your help, and I know we'll be able to bless the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, more orphans in the months and years to come.  Thank you!

Oh - one more thing - my friend Stacey, who was letting me use her business PO Box as an address to publish online for where to send completed bags, is moving.  Please email me to know where to send them from now on.  Thanks again!

 

Look Ma! I'm on TV!

While at Quilt Market, I was totally honored by an interview with the wonderful Sharon Pederson of The Quilt Show!  She is so much fun, and didn't even chuckle when I totally got stuck and stumbled through my sentences in the middle of the interview.  Thanks Sharon, for keeping a straight face through my (obviously) novice appearance in front of the camera - you're a great sport and I really enjoyed your visit to my booth!

 

 

I also feel like I need to make a disclaimer about my description of One Heart Bulgaria...I mentioned how they meet the orphan's physical needs, but failed to mention all that they do to enrich the emotional well-being of the children as well.  Among other things, OHB provides music lessons, hires "grandmothers" to come love and and play with the orphans, teaches Bulgarian folk dancing, and provides vocational training so that when they turn 18 the kids will have skills to live on their own.  I can't say enough good things about OHB.

So anyway, those of you who have never met me in person can now hear my goofy voice and see me tilt my head to the side WAY too much!  :-)  And all these years I thought it was just something I instinctively did while saying cheese for a still camera....but now I know it's just what I do ALL the time!  My hair is thicker on that side of my head....yeah, that's it....

ps.  I have all 4 quilt patterns printed, the skirt one is ready to print, and the bag and slug patterns are on the way....thanks for your patience, it won't be long now!

To Market, To Market...

What a whirlwind week it has been!

I had such a great time at Spring Market in Salt Lake City.  Not only did I get to create the booth you see here, but I got to reconnect with old friends, make some new ones, and meet so many wonderful quilters!  It was a fantastic experience.

I had been dreaming of this moment for years, and planning this booth for nearly a year, so it was great to finally see it in tangible form.  I could not have accomplished all you see here without the help of so many people!  First I want to thank Karen and Sharon for dropping many of their other activities once my fabric finally arrived (11 days prior to leaving for Market) to help me with the quilts.  Actually the only thing I did on the quilts was piece the Argyle (the big blue and green one on the wall) and the Ascension (the whirling one on the bench); they did all the rest!  Karen pieced 3 quilts and quilted 4 of them, and Sharon quilted the Argyle and did the hand binding on 4 of them.  A HUGE THANK YOU to both of you!  There is no way I could have done 5 quilts plus all the other stuff by myself - you totally saved my bacon.

I made 3 skirts denoting the 3 colorways...

...and I made a flower box to display the 7 patterns that I am selling.

Some local friends helped with the backdrop curtains and some pillows (thanks, Whitney and Murray!)

 

Once I got to Utah, a bunch of us (thanks Edith, Emilie, and Star!) worked on these cute and easy flowers made with yo-yo's and fabric-covered buttons, which were scattered in the flower box and the "bushes".   Edith and Emilie also worked with me for the day and a half it took to set up the booth.

I had hurriedly made this appliqued sign before I left, but as you can see it has issues.  All you professional quilters out there, don't look too closely!  I spent my flying and airport layover time working on the hand-stitching on it, but didn't ever finish it.  Ah, well.  It got the point across, anyway.

Here's my favorite li'l critter, the Huggable Slug - isn't he just, well, huggable?  The pattern for the slug and his pal Sir Snake is coming soon!  And all net proceeds from this pattern will go to One Heart Bulgaria.

Speaking of One Heart Bulgaria, my Sewing For Orphans project was enthusiastically received by a lot of women who were excited to bring the project back to their hometowns to work on.  This makes me SO happy!  Hopefully the project will really start to snowball from here.  If you are unfamiliar with OHB and/or SFO, please click on the icons in my sidebar for more information.

Here's a closer look at the bags for my Infinity Tote pattern.   Isn't that the cutest wagon ever?  My friend Emilie borrowed it from a neighbor, cleaned it all up and sanded the rust off, then when I got into town we painted it together.  Love it.  She also painted her garden bench red just for the booth.  And she found the white stool that I recovered with my fabric so I could have a place to perch during the show.  Not to mention helping me set up and take down the booth, printing more business cards at her house after I ran out the first day, and driving me everywhere for several days.  Thanks for everything!

Here's Emilie Daly, in all her stylish splendor.  She's a prospective designer and her impressive portfolio attracted a lot of attention from several fabric companies, so keep a lookout for her name in the upcoming year!

 

 The little birdies and flowers in my prints are perfect for applique, as you can see on my Eliza-sized mannequin.  I made both mannequins to be the sizes of my girls, for obvious reasons. 

 

 

Now Hazel, whenever she sees the blonde one, shouts, "That's me!  That's me!"

I had Mod-Podged fabric to fit underneath the "stepping stone" spaces I cut in the fake grass, but made the mistake of cutting the fabric before decoupaging it = shrinkage!  Some pieces didn't even quite fill the gaps, but with a lot of carpet tape Edith and I made it work.

Here I am in another matchy-matchy outfit.  I inadvertantly scared so many people when I was sitting calmly in my chair - when I moved around they totally jumped because they thought I was a mannequin too!  Nearly gave one lady a heart attack. 

For any of you who are awaiting the release of my patterns (I didn't have time to get them printed before I left, despite spending all day last Monday trying to do so), please look for the pattern images to appear in my sidebar.  I've still got to get a lot of ducks in a row before I'm ready to fill orders, but it should happen in the next week or so.  Thanks for your patience, and to all of you who helped me this month (including my Mom, who came about 2 weeks before I left to help entertain the kids so I could sew, and of course my husband Steve, who took a week off of work to play Mr. Mom in my absence), thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

 

 

Sewing For Orphans Project, In a Nutshell

 

 
Now that the holiday rush is over, it's time to get back on track with the Sewing For Orphans project! 

 
I was able to squeeze in a last-minute sewing party at the beginning of December, and these pictures were taken at that event. 

Some of the ladies in our local quilt group (they meet every Thursday morning and work on projects in the gym of our church) were able put some drawstring bags together for the orphans of Bulgaria.

Thanks so much, everyone!

 

 
We currently have  14 bags ready to go, but we need so many more. 

If you're not familiar with the Sewing For Orphans project, please click here.

 
The bags are not difficult to make, and even beginning "seamsters" can do it.  (The pattern with exact dimensions and instructions is available as a PDF printable file which you will find in the link above)  I was able to teach these 2 sweet girls how to make the bags that morning, and they did a great job!

 
How can you help?  There are several ways! 

1) You can make bags yourself and/or organize a sewing party so that you and your friends can make them all together, which is even better.  I recommend asking everyone to bring their fabric pre-cut to the dimensions given in the tutorial before they come (it saves a lot of time) and it helps if everyone has their own sewing machine.  Once the bags are completed, please mail them to the business address given at the end of this post and when I have collected enough for all the children in an orphanage, I will ship it there.

 
 
2)  Print out the bookmarks (click on the icon in the righthand sidebar for a PDF printable file) onto CARDSTOCK, cut them out, and let children decorate the bookmarks.  They could use photos of themselves, stickers, drawings, etc.  You could also embellish the bookmarks yourselves, but it's a nice touch to have children do it and it's a great way to get them involved in the project.  The bookmarks would be a wonderful group activity at your local school or church as well.

 

Please mail them to the same business address as the fabric bags.  Once I have enough, I will laminate them for durability and punch a hole in the top to tie some ribbon through.  If you would like to do this step for me, that would be great!  But if not, no problem.

3)  You could donate money to pay for the cost of shipping to Bulgaria, which will be quite expensive.  Any financial assistance would be greatly appreciated!  Please click on the DONATE button in the righthand sidebar and it will open up into a Paypal donation window.  I'm still working on the paperwork to make this an official nonprofit (501) organization, but rest assured that 100% of any money donated will go toward shipping and the cost of laminating the bookmarks. 

I'd like to give a special THANK YOU to Okle Miller for her generous donation when I first posted about the project back in November.  It was probably a leap of faith for you to do that, since I'm just starting this up, but I really do appreciate it - thanks so much!

PLEASE EMAIL ME TO KNOW WHERE TO SEND THE BAGS.

Thanks everyone!  If we work together, we can help bring desperately needed cheer to the lives of hundreds (and eventually, thousands) of orphaned and abandoned children. 

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

HOW MANY ORPHANS ARE YOU SENDING BAGS TO?

There are about 9,000 orphaned and abandoned children in Bulgaria, and their needs are not being met.  The non-profit organization One Heart Bulgaria (click on link in sidebar) is doing much to alleviate their suffering and enrich their lives.  I am working with OHB to determine which orphanages to send the bags to.  The number of children in each orphanage varies, so it will be a case-by-case basis.  When I have enough bags to give to each child in that particular orphanage, I'll send the package so no child is left without a bag.

CAN WE INCLUDE OTHER ITEMS TO BE SHIPPED INSIDE THE BAGS?

Due to the high shipping costs, the weight must be kept to a minimum.  There will be a bookmark in each bag and a few little hard candies/trinkets, but nothing else since the bags are intended to hold the child's meager possessions in the orphanage.  One Heart Bulgaria buys toiletries and other necessities for the children through stores in Bulgaria to avoid high shipping costs and to support local economies.

HOW LONG WILL YOU BE DOING THIS PROJECT?

As long as it takes, which will probably be several years.  If/when all the children in Bulgaria receive bags, I will explore other areas of the world to give bags to.

Thanks again for all your help everyone!

 

 

Update on Bulgarian Orphans

Thanks so much for all your enthusiasm for the Sewing For Orphans project!  I've received several comments from people via email and Facebook committing to sew the bags and organize sewing parties, so that's very exciting!  I just finished designing a flyer  with tear-off paper tabs if you would like to print it out and put it up in local quilt shops, churches, libraries, etc. The flyer should be printed on cardstock, if possible, and the tabs can be cut out, stacked, and stapled (with one staple) into the little green box for people to tear off and keep.

 
 

I just heard from Deborah Gardener, co-founder of One Heart Bulgaria, the following news:

"The Bulgarian government is trying to "get rid of" their handicapped orphans. Cost of ADOPTING one of these children is just $8,000 and it only takes 4 months. Some handicaps can be as minor as a crossed eye, club foot, hair lip or cleft palate--most can be corrected with 1-2 surgeries. Expenses are 100% tax deductible. I can get you started. Please spread the word!!!

You can also call our Adoption Support Specialist, Janet Peterson @ 435-752-7638. One Heart Bulgaria does not facilitate adoptions, but we do answer your questions and connect you to the right people."

If you are in a position to adopt, please consider adopting a Bulgarian orphan.  They are in such desperate need of love and a good home.  If you haven't read my original post about the Bulgarian orphans, please read here.  Another thing - in the USA there are several programs at the state and federal level (and a separate, active-duty military program) which offer at least partial reimbursement for adoption costs.  So in the end, the adoption fees and other expenses could amount to very little or nothing at all.  You can google Adoption Reimbursement to find those programs.

Thanks again for all your help, and have a great day!