Inspired by Kathy!

Wow, I have goose bumps all over. I have been creating this post in my mind for several days but had come upstairs just now to write and post it.  Every day I go look at a few blogs before I get down to whatever the reason is that I sat at the computer. For tonight I was planning to show you a quilt top that I was involved in making with a group of friends as a farewell gift to a quilt friend who is moving away from the area.

When we decided we wanted to make something I headed to the library and the section on quilt books to look for something special. I carried home books by Kaffe Fassett along with a couple of books by Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke of Material Obsessions, a quilt shop in Sydney Australia. Since our friend is known to like and use bold colors and combinations and to also like Kaffe fabrics I felt sure I would find something in the books. And I did.

I showed the group several options and was delighted when they echoed my first choice and said a resounding "yes" to the pattern "The 'Burbs" by Sarah Fielke that can be found in the first Material Obsession book.

We had such fun making this quilt top and giving it to our friend as a top; we felt that she would like the fun of embellishing and quilting it. And yes, she was delighted by the gift.

Let's get to the nitty gritty...

 We wanted to make something featuring Kaffe Fasset (and the like) fabrics. Firstly we selected two shot cotton solid fabrics and two polka dot fabrics in co-ordinating colors (we chose blues and purples). Each group member was given one piece of the solid and one piece of the polka dot and asked to make at least one house block (using the solid as background) and one lady from the 'Burbs (using the polka dot as background) and bring it along to our group sewing day.

On the day we had such fun creating our top. Some people sat and stitched tree blocks, some sat and stitched pieced filler blocks, some figured out how to put the jigsaw puzzle of it all together. And at the end of the day we had this great, fun top.

We had a laugh about how none of the ladies could fit in the houses and that the cat was the biggest of all! And that was such a freeing portion of our creation. The best part was the camaraderie of getting it all together on the day. Quilters make such great and supportive friends.

And now, you're perhaps wondering about the goosebumps.  Well, before I started this post I went to read the Material Obsessions blog. I started reading it when I found the books in the library late last year and do so enjoy seeing all the great quilt photos and reading Kathy's wonderful writing.

Go here to the blog (click on those words, they should be a live link) to see the posting for today and read the many, many comments made by quilters around the world. It firstly brought a tear to my eye and then a very warm feeling as I was enveloped in the realization of what being part of this intimate, yet worldwide, circle of quilters means.

I love my quilt buddies, both those in The 'Burbs and those from near and very far. We share life's challenges, both good and bad.

Thanks for being my friends!