Friday, March 14, 2014

Finished - Love of Home Quilt

No matter the size, shape, design we understand the value of having a home, a place where our family will have a bed to sleep in, our children can have friends over, a kitchen where we can try our best to prepare healthy meals.  In our comparatively wealthy country, and specifically in the very expensive Northeast part of this country, there are thousands of families who are homeless every night.  One of the organizations that is laser focused on the ending family homelessness is Housing Families in Malden, Massachusetts.  A few hours each week my husband and I get to tutor children who have experienced homelessness.  I could go on and on about this experience (the adorable children, the trauma they carry with them, the challenges of helping with the math homework(!!) and so on) but this is a quilting blog...suffice it to say it is a gift to us that we have the opportunity to play a small part in these kids' lives.

I am contributing this quilt to their silent auction as part of Housing Families' upcoming Gala.(*)


I quilted the swirls on my Sweet Sixteen.  Believe me, there are a lot of swirls on this...I was feeling a bit dizzy towards the end with all the spiraling!  

 For quilting the sky, I went back to my domestic sewing machine, attached the walking foot, set the stitch selection and sewed those waves in the sky.

I was so pleased to find the perfect backing material.



The organizers of the auction have asked me for a value on the quilt.  You understand the difficulty of answering this reasonable question.  I am sure you have seen Molli Sparkles analysis of this quandry.  If I included the time involved in the quilting alone on this project, the value would be discouragingly high (potentially incredulously) for bidders to consider.  So, I provided a relatively low value that covers the cost of material and a bit more.  Honestly, I just hope that the quilt gets a respectable bid for this organization that means so much to us!


Quilt Facts:
Pattern:  Suburbs by Cluck Cluck Sew
Fabric:  Little Black Dress by Basic Grey, Kona Pewter and Raffia, Dear Stella Doodle Paisley (backing)
Thread:  Aurifil 50wt for piecing and quilting (Bottomline in the bobbin for quilting)
Size:  Approx. 63" by 73"

(*) - There are still tickets available to attend the Gala!  I'd love to have you join us!

It is a beautiful (but very cold!) morning here at our home.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Linking up with Pretty Bobbins I Quilt linky party.
Kathy

32 comments:

  1. love this pattern, and such a good reminder to be thankful for the homes we have.

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  2. Such a beautiful quilt, for a wonderful cause. I loved reading all you had to say about it.

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  3. I love how you finished this quilt off. Fingers crossed it raises a well deserved price at the auction.

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  4. This came out great! Housing Families is so lucky to have a volunteer like you and your husband!

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  5. Oh my Kathy! This is a stunning quilt! Love your quilting. I am facing the question of how much to charge also. Not an easy answer. This beauty should do really well.

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  6. Hey Kathy - so you're donating your time to a special cause so that cost doesn't/shouldn't/wouldn't need to be in the selling price of the quilt, in my opinion. But it would still be nice for the recipient to know how much time and actual cost went into it. I wonder if there's a need for a nice bit of stationery that could be included with the quilts outlining these. Let me ponder.

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  7. My apologies, I also meant to take my hat off to you for even doing this for such a great cause. The quilt turned out exceptionally beautiful.

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  8. You nailed it with the quilting, Kathy!! This is wonderful!! I hope you are blown away at the amount payed for this beautiful quilt (and I think you will be)!

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  9. Great quilt for a great cause. And yes valuing quilts is a crazy idea that would leave non quilters in shock!

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  10. Wow - when I saw your fabric pull a little while ago, I never would've imagined using them on this design, but I love it! What a neat interpretation of the houses block. I hope the quilt does well at the auction! And thanks for your time and energy spent on such a great cause : )

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  11. This is beautiful and what a lovely cause!!!

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  12. What a striking quilt! It's beautiful, but the story behind it makes it even more so. I would like to feature you this week for the I Quilt linky. Please let me know if I can use a couple of your images :) thank you xx prettybobbins AT gmail DOT com

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  13. Gorgeous finish, Kathy! Love those spirals and that you quilted the sky with the serpentine stitch. What did the final numbers come to that you quoted them for a value? I am curious and do hope your quilt brings in a worthy donation amount for this great cause! Looking forward to warmer days... When we can see you standing with your coffee by the open water again!

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  14. A very calming fabric selection and a great pattern choice!

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  15. This is a beautiful quilt and such an apt subject for the aid to the homeless. Little Black Dress is one of my favourite fabric lines too. I hope the bidding goes really high to benefit such a good cause, and to give you credit.

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  16. Gorgeous! And for a really really great cause too!

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  17. Love it! Beatiful color combo and quilting and everything.

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  18. It's gorgeous. I hope it finds the right buyer at the event. As someone who worked (for nearly the last decade) at a center for women and kids who are experiencing homelessness or poverty, let me say an extra thank you!!

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  19. It's gorgeous. I hope it finds the right buyer at the event. As someone who worked (for nearly the last decade) at a center for women and kids who are experiencing homelessness or poverty, let me say an extra thank you!! (I may have commented twice by accident...sorry!)

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  20. Love your blog header! Really caught my eye - well done! This is a fabulous quilt and great cause - again, well done! :) Do you just love your Sweet Sixteen? Do you table or rack it? (might be stupid question, could be table only - sorry if dumb!) Was just at my HQViking dealer and they have a table model now, 16 incher too, I think - super nice!

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  21. this is gorgeous, love the fabrics you chose!!

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  22. Love! Great line and great design. I do love houses:)

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  23. Your quilting is amazing! Such a great job!

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  24. This is the best use of Little Black Dress I have seen !!! Love it

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  25. I have just bought this pattern and love your choice of colours, a very restful quilt. I hope it raises as much as possible for your charity x

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  26. I love this quilt! The fabric choices, house placement...everything.

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  27. What a gorgeous quilt! I love everything about it: the colors, the quilting and the fact that the houses don't cover the whole top. This last detail gives the feel of a neighbourhood. I sincerely hope it will brings lots of money to the cause. Good luck!

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  28. I can't believe I didin't comment on this one before....as THIS quilt inspired ME to make my Beach Houses version!! Thanks for rejuvinating this post and sharing under our houses theme at TUesday Archives!! V:)

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  29. very sophisticated! LeeAnna at not afraid of color

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  30. Wow! This is an amazing quilt. Beautiful colors, lovely quilting and great pattern. I like the simplicity.

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How nice of you to take the time to comment!

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