The Positivity QAL - Finished Flimsy Winners

Bernie joins me in thanking all of you who completed the Positivity Flimsy and participated in the Linky Party.

We also thank all the designers who offered their patterns as prizes. See full announcement here

Here are the winners - Numbers 2, 9, 11, 13 and 19.

• Number 2 is Wendy of PiecefulThoughts- She won Prize #3. One PDF pattern of choice from Denise of For the Love of Geese
• Number 9 is Susie of Knitty Quilter - She won Prize #1. One PDF pattern of choice from Cynthia of Quilting is More Fun than Housework
• Number 11 is Cheree of The Morning Latte- She won Prize #2. One PDF pattern of choice from Jayne of Twiggy and Opal
• Number 13 is Frederique of Quilting Patchwork Applique - She won Prize #5. One PDF pattern of choice from Melanie of Mell Meyer
• Number 19 is Shuba (Instagram Entry) - She won Prize #4. One PDF pattern of choice from Debby of Quilter by Design
• Quilting by Joy went to Number 14, Astrid (Instagram Entry).

Emails have been sent to all winners and the corresponding designers. 

It is time to make binding. Here is mine. 

The Finished Quilt Linky Party is scheduled for August 22, 2021.

The Completed Quilts are due to reach Bernie no later than September 4, 2021.

The Positivity QAL - Finished Flimsy Linky Party

This blogpost is late but I have a very good reason for it...a very cute and furry reason :-)

Louie - our new fur baby

Meet Louie. We brought him home yesterday afternoon.  Louie's rescue dad is moving and could not take him along. We were only too happy to adopt him. The car ride was not fun for him and the thunderstorms did not help. He has been exploring his new environment and is a little skittish. We are getting to know him as he gets to know us. 

Why yes, I live with two handsome males

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Of course, the main purpose of this blogpost is to show off my completed flimsy for the Positivity QAL. Here it is. 

I have come up with a name for the finished quilt, but I will save that for the completed quilt linky party scheduled for August 22, 2021. 

Do make sure you add the link to your blog/Instagram at Bernie's Linky Party. There are several prizes open to all participants in the US and abroad. If you don’t have a blog, please send an email to Bernie, with a picture of your flimsy so it can count as an entry to win!! Linky is open till July 24 and the winners will be picked on July 25, 2021.

Speaking of Positivity, I had made several Plus Blocks to demonstrate how to pick fabrics, the importance of contrast, and the 10-foot rule. I had set these aside for a baby quilt at some later date.

But when Joy mentioned that she was collecting blocks to make a community Positivity flimsy, I quickly mailed them to her. Look what she did with them.

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July is dark blue, said Angela.  Here are my dark blue/navy blocks.  

Monkey Rules

Wild & Festive

Navy Blue Blocks

I later noticed that brown and black blocks belong in July as well.  I picked out the brown and black fabrics but the blocks are not completed at this time.

Lovely Browns

Black is Beautiful

Sharing with Angela's Linky Party. That leaves orange and turquoise. I wonder what color is August?

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A huge THANKS to all of you who visited my Etsy shop, liked it and favorited it. I am very happy with the response to the Novella Wall Hanging/Table Runner pattern. I am working on a couple of new patterns and will be adding them in the next few months.

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Connecting Threads has been having a sale and I bought some wide backings.  

Wide Backings from Connecting Threads

I love love love this wide backing fabric from Connecting Threads. It is charcoal gray (on the right side) but if I so choose I can use the wrong side for a subtle light gray. That is terrific.  

I love this fabric!!!

Everything is 25% off but the Cyber Sale ends today. 

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In other news, we have received the second set of boxes from Island Batik and other industry partners. I will be sharing the Unboxing Video on July 22, 2021.

At this time, I am furiously working on the Island Batik August Challenge (Try a Tool). The Blog Hop begins on August 10 and my post is scheduled for August 11, 2021. 

Sneak Peek of the Island Batik August Challenge

Lots to do and finish.  I'd love to know what is keeping you busy. I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar.

It is hot and humid and horrible. Please stay cool (unless you live in Australia or New Zealand) and hydrate.

This blogpost contains affiliate links.

Positivity Plus

April is almost over. Did I forget my RSC blocks? Of course not. Meet my light/bright blues.

Light/Medium Blues

Bright Blues

Sharing with Angela's Linky Party.

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I am happy to share my newest finish with you. I have named it - "The Positivity Quilt"

Strangers in a Park - Happily Helped Me :-)

Blues to Beat the Blues

Green Grass - Bright Red Binding

Positivity means Affirmative Willingness. Yes, it is so AND I am willing to do something about it.

Lately positivity and positivity rates have been associated with Covid-19 infections. The overwhelming feelings of loss, sadness, helplessness and negativity abound. 

Step 1 - I accept those circumstances and acknowledge those feelings.

Step 2 - I am going to do something about them.

Positivity Quilt - 60" by 80"

What is Life without Whimsy?

Love in Low Volume

On location

As a quilter, I quilt my feelings. (Some of us eat our feelings but that is a separate blogpost.)

The Positivity Quilt is headed west to Bernie for the Mercyful Quilts initiative. 

Walking Foot Quilting

Ballerinas in pink :-)

As I buried the knots and trimmed the threads, I pictured a family receiving a Mercyful quilt. To a dying person and their family a quilt is such a small thing and yet it can mean so much. I was then reminded of the card I received from them earlier this year.

Three brain clicks later, I had an idea - a quilt along to make Mercyful quilts. Bernie completely supported my recklessness :-) Rebecca, Alycia, Cathy, Joy, Cynthia, and Vasudha have egged me on. 

Mari and Joe in PA heartily agreed to join in the QAL.

Fueled by all this positivity, I am announcing the Mercyful Positivity Quilt Along!!!

What is a Mercyful Quilt?
The Palliative Care Unit in the Mercy Hospital gives quilts to their terminally ill patients to bring some measure of comfort to the person and their family as they go through the difficult process of dying. The family then keeps the quilt in the memory of the person who passed away. The need for such quilts is never ending. With a raging pandemic and limited family visits, these quilts have become even more meaningful for a sense of home and peace.

• Suggested size - 60" by 80"

• Suggested Colors - Gender Neutral colors (avoid/limit pink)

• Quilting - Avoid dense quilting

• Fabrics - 100% Cotton (avoid/limit juvenile fabrics) 

What is the purpose of the QAL?
To make Mercyful Quilts because the need is ongoing. If you have wanted to make a Mercyful Quilt but life got in the way, here is an opportunity to participate and stitch some love, along with others. 

The Beginning of Mercyful Quilts Initiative

Thank you from Mercy Hospital

Mercyful Quilts Update

Wrapped with Kindness (may need tissues)

A Note from Mercy Hospital

What does it cost?
There is no cost to participate. The simple block pattern and layout options are provided free of charge. 

How much fabric do I need? 
For a simple Plus Quilt, you will need 16 strips (2.5" by WOF) of focus fabric and about 4 yards of background fabric (I used low volume scraps). 

What is the QAL schedule?
The QAL will begin on Sunday, May 30, 2021 (Memorial Day Weekend) and will end on Sunday, September 5, 2021 (Labor Day Weekend). 

Questions?
Ask away and I will respond in the comments.

In the next couple of weeks, I will be working on the block instructions, layout options and other logistics for the QAL. Bernie and I are also organizing some prizes for the QAL. 

My Favorite Picture - Greasy Hair and Wrinkled Tee notwithstanding :-D

If you are a pattern-designer or a fabric shop and would like to sponsor a prize for the Mercyful Positivity Quilt Along, please reach out to Bernie or me.

I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties, see full list on the sidebar.  If you have a thought about positivity, do share. If you are burdened by negativity, don't hold it in; let it out. We are in this together. 

Angel's Midnight Garden

We cannot appreciate light unless we have known darkness.  It is the contrasts that heighten our experiences.

I like contrast. I like big, bold patterns that stand out. I am a big believer in - if you have to do something, make it bold.

Meet Midnight Garden.

This quilt is for Anju, and yes that is her real name :-D But I call her Angel.
Angel went to medical school with my sister. We have known each other for the last 25+ years.

Angel, at my wedding

Angel is the eldest of five siblings - four sisters and a brother.  The year was 1995. When Angel came down with rheumatoid arthritis, it was severe. She was in a lot of pain.  But when she turned to her mother and said -  "You should get Vee (her younger sister) married", it became clear that she did not think that she would make it.  (Traditionally, sisters get married in order, with the eldest first.)

Initial Fabric Pull (discarded)

Kaffe Fabric

This works

This will shine against a charcoal background

Some practitioners of SahajaYoga meditation heard about Angel's situation.  They visited her in the hospital and gave her realization (initiated her into meditation). Slowly, Angel's entire family started following Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (founder of SahajaYoga meditation) and practicing meditation. I was living in Mumbai at that time. When I returned home for a visit, Angel rode her cute scooter and came to see me. I was dumbfounded. I asked her - what are you doing?  The evidence of RA was still there but she was mobile and managing well. The best part - her spirits were buoyant.

Cutting

Enjoying the process

Staying organized

Angel introduced me to SahajaYoga meditation and I have been a follower ever since.

The first block

Loving it!

Added drama in the middle

Angel had lost a year of medical school due to her illness. But she went back and finished school. Vee got married and I remember being at her wedding, while I was struggling with my marriage. 

Backing from Connecting Threads

Basting

Angel went to work at the SahajaYoga hospital in Navi Mumbai, about two hours away from me.  We visited each other as often as we could. Angel went to Aurangabad to study Pathology, while continually battling the debilitating disease. That is where she met Dr. S and they fell in love.  I have asked her several times to share the details about how they met, how they fell in love...who said what and when. But Angel does not kiss and tell.

Quilting the Beast

Thank goodness for Walking Foot

Getting there - slowly

My dad passed away in1998. In 2001, I walked out of  my troubled marriage and moved into a working women's hostel in Mumbai.  It was then that I received the invitation to Angel's wedding. I was at the lowest point in my life and it was nearly impossible to go.  I sent word that I would not be able to attend.

Quilted and Trimmed

I will never forget the expression on Angel's face - a mixture of joy and disbelief - when I slowly emerged from behind my mom to look at Angel - the beautiful bride in her wedding finery.  We hugged and cried.  I wished her all the best. I took a train back to Mumbai the next morning.

Bound too!!!

We met off and on over the years, whenever I visited home.  Paul and I got married in 2007 but went to India in 2008 to remarry with Hindu rites.  My mom was just relieved that finally her daughter was no longer a divorcee, that Paul was willing to take me off her hands (figuratively speaking).

Paul - such a natural!!!

It was my second marriage so things were rather low-key. Mom had arranged for someone to apply my henna.  As the design developed, I felt depressed. It was pretty but it was too plain and simple and not fit for a bride. I started crying and called Angel.  She came and picked me up and got my henna done at a professional's. And then she bought me bangles - the most beautiful, glittering red bangles, arranged in a design, fit for a bride.

All the guests brought gifts for me. None for Paul. It is the tradition that bride's guests bring gifts for her, whereas the groom's party would give gifts to him.  Since there was no one to represent Paul's side, he got no gifts. It was only Angel & Dr. S who brought gifts for Paul.

So Bright - Love it!

Wine Flower on Orange - WOW!!!

Eye-Popping Colors

Angel continues to deal with pain, deformities, and other health complications as RA takes a toll on her.  One day it will be over but till then Angel does what she has to do. She gets up every morning and goes to work, socializes, inspires, cares, treats, meditates, inspires and gives thanks for all the love, joys and blessings in her life. Did I mention inspire?

Charcoal Fabric - Background and Binding too!

All done!

Thank you Kaffe!

Shining all the way

This quilt is a celebration of Angel and her indomitable spirit, of her love and thoughtfulness.  How she keeps the faith, and not only shines through the darkest of times, but brings joy and hope to all those around her. 

That is Paul - modeling it

I will be seeing Angel at Christmas when I will give her this quilt.  I can hardly wait to see that expression on her face. And a few more because there is no such thing as too many pictures.

Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a flurry of happiness!!!

Hugs,
Preeti.