Friday, March 12, 2010

Fun Birthday Surprises :)

A couple months ago, several online friends from An American Primitive Gathering (AAPG), and I came together to make a special birthday quilt for our dear friend Kelley.
She had her big 5 0 birthday in Feb!
11 gals total, including me, - each one made an applique block of wool on cotton - of anything they wanted and thought would be suited to Kelley. They then sent me the blocks, and I got them sewn into a quilt.
This was so much fun! Seeing all the different blocks as they arrived. And trying to keep the secret for 3 months as we were doing it! Ack! That was HARD!! Emails were flying back and forth - checking and double checking the "to" line to make sure we hadn't accidentally included Kelley in our emails! LOL
The back was pieced in a scrappy way - i love how it turned out. Some people sent labels with their blocks, and I stitched them on behind their block. Just made for a more scrappy/patchy old look. Love it!!
Trying to remember everyone that participated in this... hopefully i get all the links right!
Now the crazy part, is that 12 or 13 other gals were hooking a rug for her at the same time! Ohh... and this rug was fan tas tic! Each gal would hook a portion and send it on to the next gal. Maria Barton drew the pattern up and got that part of the train going.
And as you hookers know... finding time to sit down and hook a bit, and get it sent on can take a bit of time!! This one was down to the wire time wise, and we were all having little panick attacks! LOL We so wanted Kelley to have a wonderful SURPRISE FILLED
Birthday!!! Joanne got it last, and did the steaming and binding and labeling - she was working like a madwoman to get it finished in time! ;D Didn't it turn out absolutely gorgeous?!
Well, we all made it in time, and they arrived on her birthday and the next day, I think. She was pretty surprised ;)
Things like this just make my heart all warm and fuzzy, and fill me with so much joy!
I am so very blessed to have such good friends, and belong to one of the neatest groups of prim crafters around!
(and they haven't kicked me out because of my new love affair with hot pinks and limes! LOL!!)
Hope you have a very blessed day!
xo
Bren

4 comments:

WoolenSails said...

I think we all got the easy part, you and Joanne are what made it all come together and to get them finished.

Debbie

Genny said...

What wonderful and beautiful gifts. There's nothing better than something that comes from the heart and made by loving hands.

Joanne said...

Oh Bren we love you even with all your pink and blue polkadots! You did the hard work with that quilting and sewing and patching! I would still be staring at it wondering how to do it! I'm so happy it all came together - It's so much fun doing things like this and giving smiles across the miles!

Jacque. said...

That quilt and the rug are so absolutely stunning! Kelley is a great person and deserves everything we did for her. AND, we are all blessed to have these women around us. Thank you to you and Joanne for all the hard work you did pulling the quilt and rug together.