Quilting marathon is underway

OK, so it isn't really a quilting marathon, but it seems like that is what it is... I am in the process of quilting 14 quilt tops that were either sewn by myself or other WOCS members so far this year.  The garage where Nellie Belle, my long arm machine resides gets a little toasty, but thanks to a loving husband we have a portable AC unit to keep us cool as we work.  So here are some of the quilts in progress, when finished they will be delivered to nursing homes, Ronald McDonald House and a abused women and children shelter... I know these beautiful quilts will surly bring some smiles to those who received them..

Now on to the binding of the quilts.. Then off to be delivered.

More items for the nursing home

I have been making a few pillows to match the quilts that are in the works for the nursing home... I also finished the Scroll Square quilt top and it will be added to the other tops waiting for quilting.. I have the French Country quilt to assemble and then I will be ready to set up Nellie Belle my quilting machine... Looks like a busy week next week... at least the beginning of the week as Thursday will be another injection in my neck and the Meds they give me will make me sleep the rest of the day..

This is the Scroll Square quilt top, waiting for the quilting machine

To answer a question on the location where the quilts are photographed.. This is the porch of my Husband's wood working shop, I love the look of aged wood and if you look to the right you might see the pond area.. you might even catch a glimpse of the back patio of my house... there use to be a gazebo over the Patio, but time and time again the gazebo has been destroyed. We had hurricane winds take out one, and its replacement was taken down by a tree man who missed his mark when clearing a tree damaged by a hurricane.  Two more were taken out by strong winds, one was only up a week when it went... so I decided to stop buying the expensive ones and now I get a new cheap one every year..

These are the pillows that will go with the quilts to the nursing home

WOCS members stitched the squares

Down on the Farm Quilt

Well to say the least things are not moving here as they should be this year.  Hubby was ill and required many hospital stays and lots of TLC, but he is getting better... Slow recovery but I feel he is finally on the right road. 
I have been dealing with neck pain again and I started back with Pain Management.  This past week I had my first injection in my neck, I am hoping that two will do the trick this time.  But if three are needed then I will have to go that route.
Plus I am now the surgate mom of three pomeranian puppies... Mama dog takes care of them for so long and then it is up to me to feed, wash and make sure are their little needs are met till they go to their forever homes.
Also our Mel has been having one problem after another. She was doing so well after her two surgeries, but then fate once again steps in and she hurt her ankle at work.  So it was WC docs and tests and therapy and nothing helped, she is now in walking cast and seeing a specialist, I sure hope her luck soon changes as she is really due for some Good Luck.
Jen, is just Jen, coping with running a photography business and having the kids home from school for the summer..
With all the above going on I still had time to cut out and or sew some quilt tops.   For my Charity Group, The World of Charity Stitching I just finished putting together the two farm themed quilt tops.
The original theme was Hens and Roosters, we got all that was needed for one quilt with some left over, so members stitched some other farm animals and a second quilt was made..
For Jen's kids I have 5 quilts now cut out and the embroidery is done on all of them, just need to sew them together and then quilt... Still waiting on the 6th member of that family to decide his theme.
Plus in a few months we will have another addition to the family, Another Niece is having a baby so I let her choose the designs for her baby quilt, she choose bunnies... so cute.
I also have MY Fall quilt all cut out and ready to sew... so I am hoping to get that one done this year, about time I make a quilt for ME...

farm theme, with John Deere fabric and colors, I just know some lucky guy at the nursing home will enjoy this quilt.

A wonderful selection of ladies surrounding the main man, If you look close at the center square the rooster looks so much like one pictured on ceral boxes.. Loved the hen fabric, it was the perfect touch.

Have a great weekend, as for me and hubby, We will be putting up corn today.  I bought a bushel of Silver King corn this weekend and now need to husk, clean, shuck, cut, and package for the freezer

World's smallest Dog/ Pom??? Tink

In my past post I introduced you to our special litter of Poms. There was 4 tiny little puppies born to a Mom that weighed 4 lbs so by any means I was totally shocked she has 4 pups.  Most of the puppies weighted 2.5 to 3 ozs. That is except one very tiny little girl who weighed less the 2 ozs.. She was so small that I was almost afraid to hold her and I worried that she would get squashed by her Mom or the other puppies. We kept a close eye on that little pup and made sure the safeguards in the whelping box were in place. This little bitty pup continued to grow and thrive, as she got older she held her own with her bigger litter mates.. She was tiny but she was mighty.. When the time came to let the pups go to their new forever homes, we worried about the little Tinkerbell, she was still so small,  weighing  less then a pound.. So the decision was made to let her stay with her mom and become part of our family.  Tink has finally made the 2lb mark, I think. I can't get a weight on her on a regular scale as she isn't heavy enough, so I use a postage scale.. 

 I looked online and found a little Yorkie listed as the World's smallest dog.. Currently Tink has him beat, but she might get a little bigger then him as she can sure eat...  there was a tiny dachshund born named Beyonce and they thought that dog might take the title, they showed a photo of the dog sitting on a Iphone when it was a few days old. I just checked for the name of the little Yorkie and it seems there is a Chihuahua named Boo Boo that is smaller, now that is the breed I would have thought would be the worlds smallest dog. Tink may not make headlines or hold the world's record for smallest dog, but she might be the smallest Pomeranian.. At two weeks our Tink was photographed beside a pen and she wasn't even as long as the pen.    Below are some photos of Tink our tiny little Pom and some of her friends.  Tink might be the smallest dog in our home, but she rules the house.

This is Tink and her litter mate when they were 8 weeks old

Tink at 5 months beside our daughters Pom,  Tink was 5 months and Rosie is 6 weeks older then Tink.. They have the same father, but different mother.

Rosie and Tink just hanging out. 

Our beautiful little Tink

The results of locking Tink in the bathroom when we went out to dinner. 

The little Chocolate pom from our latest litter, she is sleeping on her brother's head

The pups were 3 weeks yesterday, their eyes are open, they are trying to walk, but for the most part they still just sleep and eat... Their Mom keeps them well feed, just look at that fat belly..

And they use each other for a pillow..

more puppies

Thursday our white pom delivered these three little puppies, 1 white male, 1 white female, and 1 chocolate female.  Mom and pups are doing just fine...

Donate to furry friends

Miss Minnie

Meet Miss Minnie, she is a little Min Pin that we met at our local animal shelter.  Minnie is waiting for her new family to take her to her new forever home.  Minnie is just one of the many furry friends that find their way to the shelter each month.  While the shelter is quite lovely and the staff are really great with these homeless animals there is still a need for YOU to get involved.  Now, I know the not everyone wants to take on a new pet, but you can still make a difference. You can donate to your local shelter, they are always in need of food, blankets, towels, treats, toys, cat litter, food bowls and yes they will even take cash donations.  I see so many people on my freecycle group that are offering old blankets and towels, I always email them and tell them their local shelter would make good use of the items.  What about the stuffed animals that have taken over your child's room and they don't want anymore, YES the dogs and cats would love to play with them while they are waiting to be adopted, after all it can get quite boring just sitting in a kennel looking cute. 

What were we doing at the local shelter, NO we were not adopting a pet, I have in the past, My little min schnauzer came from a shelter, my Dalmatian  was adopted at a shelter, we took Mel to the shelter one year and adopted two husky puppies that went to the grand kids.  As you can see we have welcomed some of the pound puppies into our home, but not this time. This time we were just taking a 50 lb bag of dog food in for the dogs.  We try to drop off 50 lbs every month, I think that next month we will go to the dollar store and pick up a bag of toys for the dogs and cats to play with.

If you have the means of buying toys or food, or if you have some old blankets or towels you are thinking of throwing away, then just load the car and make a trip to your local shelter.. while you are there take a walk down the aisle and visit all the furry friends who are just waiting for someone to love.

If you child is involved in a group like girl scouts, boy scouts, boy or girls clubs or even just as a schools helping hand type project, have them visit the local shelter and host a drive for the furry friends.  One local scout troop took on the shelter as a project and they collected $ 400. worth of supplies for the shelter.

Remember You Can Make a Difference

Quilts in progress

I have been busy these last few weeks taking care of my husband who has had some major health problems.  He seems to finally be doing a little better this past week.  But it will still be weeks before he begins to get his strength back and can get back to his usual activities.
I have been using my time in the evening to work on the charity quilts for The World of Charity Stitching Group. I am slowly getting caught up with the stitched squares that have been collecting here for the past few months.  Here are the quilts in progress, the tops are sewn together and now wait their time on Nellie Belle's frame. Nellie Belle for those of you that haven't met her is my Bailey's Quilting machine, she hums as she turns fabric and batting into warm and cozy quilts.

this is the second of two snow globe quilts, each snow globe represents a month of the year

Designs are by Vee and Company..

A Patriotic quilt for a veteran at the nursing home, this is always one of the most popular theme for senior men

our bird watchers special quilt, this colorful quilt is the second quilt using this technique, stitchers will stitch a square in their favorite color and they select the fabric for the frame. Our members are currently working on a Scroll Pattern for the next quilt of this type

Member Gisela had made the log cabin blocks and donated them to WOCS, I asked members for orphan squares to use in a quilt and together they make this beautiful county themed quilt.

Orphan squares are ones that are not stitched for one of the themes, they are just special squares that members might have finished and never framed or ones they just liked the pattern for.

These beautiful stitched ladies of color were donated to WOCS, the scrappy quilt blocks were also a donation from a reader of the WOCS blog. I love how they come together to make a beautiful quilt for a Senior lady. Kind of reminds me of the quilts my great aunt used to make.  She had a old Singer Treadle sewing machine and she would use any scraps of fabric she could find, as for batting she used old blankets.  

This is the 1st of the two snow globe quilts, I just think the snow globes are so cute, I didn't get to stitch one as our members snatched up the patterns in record time.  They went so fast that it was decided to make two of the globe quilts so more members could stitch a globe.

and I just love the 3D look of this quilt pattern,  a shelf for a snow globe collector.

Snow globe patterns by Vee and Company...

Doesn't my husband's woodworking shop's porch make a perfect backdrop for the quilts. Love the look of the rustic wood as a backdrop for the quilts. Oh and YES that is a hanging flower basket sitting on the porch railing, had to take it down to hold up the quilts..  YES, I did hang three baskets of flowers and two bird feeders on the porch of his workshop, just because it is a manly shop doesn't mean I can't make it pretty with the flowers, he really doesn't mind.. I even placed two chairs and a little table so if he needs a break he can enjoy the porch of his shop. The porch overlooks a small pond that is surrounded with day lilies, a bird bath and more feeders. Birds do stop by for a visit and a snack while you are sitting on the porch.  I hope he will soon be able to use his shop again, I made him  lots of patterns to cutout using his new scroll saw..  He cuts them out and I paint them, the last set was pumpkins and crows that were placed in the flower beds at Halloween time, the pumpkins stayed through November and I later placed the birds back in the flower beds, they are still there. Hubby now has patterns for cardinals, and blue Jays to cut out for the flower beds.

I now have enough of the Hens and Roosters that members stitched for the quilt, the leftover birds will be made into a barnyard animal quilt, members are hard at work stitching for that quilt.
Also in the works is the Scroll Square multi color quilt, similar to the birds that is shown above, the pattern was designed just for that quilt by one of our WOCS members Kell.
There is also my Birthday quilt request which is French Country Designs by JBW Designs, there will be a quilt with animals and one with fashion. The squares for the French Country quilt have started coming in and they are beautiful, this will be a great quilt.. Members are also stitching sports equipment for a quilt, and the newest theme is stitched cupcakes, we also have a tropical fish theme in the works. Our members are always stitching and what a great job they are doing..
As for me, I will be heading into the quilting room and spending time with Nellie Belle, quilting the night away...
So as you can see, WOCS Members, Nellie Belle, and Myself are all working hard to bring smiles to ill children and seniors.  If you are interested in learning more about WOCS or becoming a member and stitching for a great cause you can visit, our facebook page, our blog or our yahoo website just follow the links below... and don't forget while visiting the WOCS blog, take time to go to the contest page and enter the current contest.  We just gave a $ 50. gift certificate to the Fat Quarter shop to a lucky winner..  We try alternate between stitching and quilting giveaways monthly.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WOCS/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=feed&id=758182021#!/pages/World-of-Charity-Stitching-Cross-Stitch-Quilting/208593035822435

http://www.worldofcharitystitching.blogspot.com/