Made Marion's Blog

Handmade Afghans Project, Rectangle 6×9

Marion — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:15:46 +0000

I have come across another wonderful volunteer organization that makes and donates knitted and crocheted afghans to our wounded veterans. Rectangle 6 x 9 asks for donations of just that; acrylic rectangles of 6” x 9” in solid, variegated and neutral colors. Four times a year there is a “put together event” where the rectangles are sorted by color then sewn together to make complete afghans. They are then donated to the following hospitals.

Washington Veterans Affairs Medical Center « Washington D.C.
Craig Joint Theatre Hospital « Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan
Andrews Air Force Base Overnight Facility « Maryland
Walter Reed Army Medical Center « Washington, D.C.
Brooke Army Medical Center « Fort Sam Houston, TX
Eisenhower Army Medical Center « Fort Gordon, GA
Madigan Army Medical Center « Fort Lewis, WA
Womack Army Medical Center « Fort Bragg, NC
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center« Germany
Bethesda Naval Hospital « Maryland

There are volunteers from all 50 states and D.C. When checking out this site be sure to click on “photos” and see a few of the 2,800 afghans completed then donated by this great organization. There are even directions on how to make the rectangles. The most important thing is to keep the size of each block a consistent 6 X 9.

I made these rectangles in a double crochet. This is just the beginning as I plan to make many more this winter! Please consider contributing to this organization. If you don’t knit or crochet click on their “wish list” and give in one of those ways.

American Angels Comfortghan Completed

Marion — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:44:38 +0000

I finally completed the “comfortghan” that I committed to make as a member of American Angels. I had the option of sending it to either the army medical center in Texas or directly to Iraq. The postage is the same for either hospital.

The U.S. address:
US Brooke Army Medical Center
ATTN: Gift Coordinator
Amputee Dept Bldg 3600
3851 Roger Brooke Drive
Ft Sam Houston, TX 78234-6200

The Iraq address:
ATTN: ICW NCOIC
332 EMDOS/ICW
APO AE 09315-9997

I enclosed a thank you note for the recipient thanking him or her for their service and sacrifice with my first name, city and town. This is an extremely worthy cause. It is the least we can do for the honorable men and women that selflessly protect our nation.

Sarah’s Wonky Piecing Quilt

Marion — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:57:04 +0000

I recently made a lap quilt for my daughter Sarah. She wanted a quilt in black, white and turquoise and I wanted to make a quilt that was fast, fun and easy. I had taken a class given by authors Jane Davila and Elin Waterson from their book “Art Quilt Workbook.” This book is inspirational with easy to follow instructions and helpful illustrations. This quilt was done in “wonky piecing” as shown in Chapter Five; Exercise Two.

Sarah loved the final product and I had a great time piecing and quilting it!

Quilt for Kelly’s Baby

Marion — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:18:21 +0000

My good friend of many years just recently gave a baby shower for her daughter Kelly. Kelly’s first baby is due in October. I met Pam when Kelly was a year old and my daughter Sarah was a newborn and we lived in the same apartment building. It is hard to believe Pam’s baby is having a baby!

I wanted to make Pam’s first grandchild a special quilt. Knowing that the new baby will be a boy, I chose to make a string quilt in a combination of blues and greens.

I have made string quilts before from scraps and was very pleased with the results. This time however, I used a soft blue foundation block and used fat quarters of greens and blues. For the quilting I did “stitch in the ditch”. I plan to start another string quilt in my other favorite color combination of pinks and yellows.

Pam and I are avid crafters and have collaborated on many projects from knitting and crocheting to quilting and beading. Please take a look at her beautiful jewelry in her etsy shop.

Quilts for Greyhound Rescue and Rehab

Marion — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:08:52 +0000

Greyhound Rescue and Rehab is a non-profit organization that rescues, fosters and prepares ex-racing greyhounds for adoption. Since May 2000 they have placed over 700 Greys with loving families. GRR’s site describes Greyhounds as “quiet, well-mannered, loving and sensitive.” My friend Lorraine, an owner of two Greys and an active member of this organization, asked if I would make a quilted wall-hanging that she could donate to their most recent fundraiser. She gave me several tee-shirts with various graphics of Greyhounds on them to work with. I then made two wall-hanging quilts that were added to their silent auction.

I made both quilt tops with mainly fat quarters and scraps that I already had. In the larger wall-hanging I used colors that Greyhounds come in. GRR’s site states that Greys “come in a wide array of colors with 18 recognized variations.”