My very thoughtful husband decided to take our son to the movies today and give me a little quilting time - over 4 hours of quilting time, actually! Although I completely love having Cade home for the summer and spending so much fun time with him at the beach, kite flying, and bike riding, about mid-summer I start to wish for time to myself. I am definitely a person who requires some "me time" :)

The other day, I was commisioned by a friend to make a doll quilt for a mutual friend. I knew this would be a quick and easy project so I said yes. The person asking me to do this wasn't fussy about colour but said the recipient might like pink so I went into my stash and found all this coordinating fabric in pinks and greens.

I thought it would be perfect as the quilt is for a recently refinished antique doll cradle and I felt these muted colours would suit it perfectly. And so, here are the photos of the finished quilt. I have a red patio umbrella over my table so it distorts the colours a bit, making all the fabric look a little more pink that it actually looks in real life :)









(oops! lens cap snuck into the photo!)














(closeup of the fabrics)














(closeup of the quilting)












(closeup of the backing)

New Pattern - The story behind the hats.

If you're anything like me, you like to start on winter projects in the summer. That way, they're finished by the time you actually need them.

Each fall, my quilt and craft club donates hats, scarves, slippers, and mittens to the local food bank, to be distributed to families in the Christmas hampers that are given out in December. We usually end up making about 100 items to donate, which I think is pretty good as normally there are only 3 of us who actively make things for this particular charity (we're a small crafting group of 8-10 women).

This year, I designed, and now have published, the hat patterns I used for the hats I donated to the food bank and also for the chemo unit in the hospital where my Mum underwent treatment.

In September 2010, my Mum was diagnosed with breast cancer and was in need of hats when she lost her hair. I designed these three hats for her. I also made many for donation to the chemo unit at the hospital where my Mum was receiving treatment. My Mum is now finished her treatment and is doing well - I'm so proud of her! In June 2011, after my Mum finished her treatments, my sister was diagnosed with a pituitary tumour, and is now about to begin treatment. Please join me in sending positive energy her way, in whatever form you like, to help her on her journey to health.

About the hats:

The Barbara Hat: a very thick and warm rib for our cold Canadian winters, with a tweed look; named after my dear, brave Mum, as this one was her favourite.

The Cindy Hat: a more delicate rib of medium warmth.

The Leanne Hat: the most lightweight of the three hats, with a ribbed contrast-colour band; named after my dear, sweet sister, who is now fighting her own brave battle.

I hope you enjoy making these hats for yourself, your family, a friend, or for donation!