Monday, June 7, 2021

Gingham Quilt for J

This is my OMG for June, probably the fastest one I've finished since declaring and finishing.

About two weeks ago, our daughter Brianne called us to let us know the son of one of her neighbours had just been diagnosed with cancer. He is the same age as Brady, and the two know each other through school. Although they have played together over the years, they don't seem to be able to get along, and so they tend to go their separate ways.
However.
No matter the conflicting personalities, we all feel terrible for him, and I immediately wanted to offer comfort...in the form of a quilt. He starts chemo soon, and having something warm and fuzzy may help a bit.

I took this photo in the 'golden hour'. There are two each day: the hour that follows sunrise, which was when this was taken, and the one that precedes sunset. That glow is actually the sun coming through the trees.

Nancy of Grace and Peace Quilting has made about a dozen gingham quilts over the past couple of months and I have loved seeing each one. I knew I wouldn't be able to resist the squirrel waggling its nose and whiskers at me for long, tap-tapping on my thigh or arm, Bella-style. The two needs merged, and this quilt was done in a few days.
I added one row to the bottom to make it slightly longer.

I just cannot fathom bad things happening to children, and there have been a few of late, this diagnosis, my learning of the Duplessis orphans, and the find, on May 28 I believe, of the mass burial site of approximately 215 children's bodies, killed by nuns and priests running one of Canada's largest residential schools, in Kamloops, BC. I will save my rage and sorrow about that for another time, another post.

I wanted to put minky on the back, and my LQS in Leamington, A Stitch in Time, has curb side pickup, so off I went on Friday afternoon to hopefully find some navy. And I did. Not a solid, as I'd envisioned, but this fun bright polkadot minky.

Even better!

Because it is summer, I elected to quilt it without batting. It's plenty warm and snuggly still! A fast meander with a royal blue Essential threads cotton, and it was done in two sessions between spelling each other off to be with Xena. She has to be kept completely quiet as the drugs start to kill the adult worms inside her bloodstream. Heartworm is a nasty nasty disease. Although she sleeps in her crate at night no problem, she isn't a fan of being in it during the day (unlike Rufus, who has loved his crate from day one and would trade places with her in a heartbeat). She is happy either in her IKEA poang chair, or on her memory foam bed, which used to be Rocco's. We spent good money on those two beds, and it has been worth it; Rufus uses Naala's. She's also happy in our truck!
She did not want to get out of the truck! She had a bit of a down day on Saturday, first day off the painkillers, and we think she was feeling pretty achey (probably like our arms feel). Sunday I gave her some of Rocco's CBD oil and it seems to have helped.

Anyhow, quilting has been slightly curtailed and will be until early August when she should be able to go for very short slow walks. The ride on Saturday was to my family doctor who was holding a drive-through vaccination clinic. It was quite the slick procedure. We got our second shot.🥳 

A note: to batt or not to batt a minky quilt: I've done both. I prefer using batting because the top adheres so well to the batting, and the batting seems to adhere better to the rather slippery wrong side of the minky. However, it does becomes a fairly heavy quilt, which is fine in fall and winter perhaps, not so much in summer! I find the top slips around slightly without the batting, but stabilizing by ditch-stitching (which I did not do on this one) helps considerably.

I used the navy to bind it. This is a really nice fabric I picked up from Connecting Threads (affiliate link) on sale a couple of years ago. It has a beautiful hand, weight and slight mottle to it. I used several navies, several medium blues, and one Island Batik basic for the off-white in this quilt.
His name is quilted into it, and on the label, which is why I'm not showing it. I did quilt in my initials in the lower right corner. 


I hope that all goes well and that he has a speedy recovery.


In case you missed the 20% off Sale at Connecting Threads last week, Needle and Foot Fine Fabrics has one going on right now as Bernie clears out stock in preparation for closing her shop and retiring.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern: Gingham quilt by Simple Simon
Size:  40.5" x 45"
Fabric: scraps and stash
Backing:  Minky by Shannon Fabrics
Batting: none
Quilted: on Avril:  25 174 stitches
Threads: pieced with Exquisite polyester; quilted with Essential cotton 50 wt

After I did the photo shoot for the gingham quilt, Bella and I enjoyed the solitude, me with a coffee, her watching birds and sniffing the morning breeze.
We are making very slow progress getting Xena used to Bella, but there has been some, so we're holding onto that.

18 comments:

  1. What a wonderful quilt! I'm sure it will give him comfort as he goes through a difficult journey.

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  2. Hehe, love that you joined us in the rabbit hole! Wishing the boy a full recovery from this nasty disease.

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  3. I, too, just hate to hear of a child going through something awful like cancer. You are such a warm-hearted and generous quilter, and that is a perfect quilt for a boy! I hope Xena responds to the heartworm treatments quickly. Poor girl! August feels far away!

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  4. You are such a loving and generous person, Sandra and no matter how the two boys do or don't get along, the quilt will be loved. Poor Xena. Hope she feels better soon. Love the view of the deck and the pool beyond. Oh, poor observer that I am, I just noticed your new(?) LOGO and really love it!

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  5. Oh Sandra, I hope he has a very speedy recovery as well. And may Xena's heartworms be a thing of the past before you both know it as well. I think leaving the batting out makes perfect sense for a summer quilt.

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  6. Having something warm and comfy is almost a must for chemo patients. I don't know if it was because the meds needed a certain temperature, but the room my mom had chemo in was always COLD!
    Hoping that all goes well with J's treatments.

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  7. What a lovely, generous thing to do. I hope J soon recovers. Like you I hate when children get sick. I remember a boy at my primary school had leukemia; back when they couldn't cure it - so sad as he was a twin. Hope that Bella and Xena soon make friends. I remember at one stage when I was living at home we had three dogs and five cats; they all used to go for a walk in the evening with my mum is was quite a sight!

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  8. Such a wonderful quilt for this young man. I love the photo of Bella looking out over her domain...don't let those dogs even think they are in charge. Great finish!

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  9. A lovely gift for the young boy & hope all goes well for him & his family. I've a friend who lost an only child to cancer & understand it can be so devastating. I love the look of those gingham quilts, but the squirrels will have stay away & play elsewhere as I've sort of joined a few QALS. I love hearing about your pets. Thanks. Take care, stay safe & hugs.

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  10. Hi Sandra! That polka-dotted minky is the bomb! I adore it and want to get some myself. Addison would love the texture and me those playful dots. I'm am so sorry to hear about the need for this lovely quilt but what a wonderful and heart-felt gift it is. I'll add him and his family to my prayers. You have to keep Xena quiet until August??! WOWEE. She just looks so content and happy to be settling into her new home. Congrats on your second shot! Woohoo. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne

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  11. I know you feel relief with having had that second shot. I'm glad you've gotten to get it!

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  12. I saw the gingham quilt on IG, but didn't have a chance to read the blog until tonight to see the back story. Cancer treatments for children have come a long way, so hopefully he will have a full recovery. And no surprise you had to make him a quilt. I keep asking myself, how the heck do you keep a dog quiet, especially for so long a time. But the good news is that 2nd vaccine. That must have lifted your spirits.
    Pat

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  13. The perfect quilt to make in a pinch. The minkee back is a great pairing. Praying your neighbor boy comes through it all.

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  14. A perfect quilt for the young fellow. I, too, love the gingham quilts I've seen online and hope that one of these days I'll have the excuse to make! I didn't realise what a long journey dealing with heartworm is.

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    1. OMG I've just read up about the Duplessis Orphans. What a sad and shocking story that is.

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  15. This turned out great - I like all the various blues in it - and am sure it will bring comfort. and poor baby... I don't like when my dog hurts - this must be tough for you too!

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  16. Such a great quilt. And for such a great reason. I hope he recovers quickly. Well done on the second vaccine. My appointment is currently the end of August. Hoping it gets moved up sooner.

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  17. Beautiful finish. Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and congrats on your finish.

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