Huffington Post Article

This article was in the Huffington Post yesterday! Click HERE to read it!

Hugs!

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Quilts

I've decided with a lot of thought and research, that we will be donating our quilts to the first responders, police, firemen, etc., of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.  Being an EMT myself, I am saddened by what these men and women are going through now, and will be dealing with for the rest of their lives!  I am in the process of gathering the 200+ names of the men and women who played a part that day, so you can embroidered or applique their name onto their personal quilt. 

We've already donated quilts to people who lost their home to the wildfires in the Western United States this past summer, and helped bring quilts to 325 families who lost their home to Hurricane Sandy.  Because there are so many things being donated to the children (as there should be!!!), I decided to focus on those who risked their lives running into the school that day, not knowing what awaited them.  They are truly heroes!!!

Thank you so much for everything you're doing to help!  I would appreciate your help in spreading the word about what we're doing!

Hugs!

Quilts for Connecticut

Like everyone else, my heart was torn in half upon hearing the news of the school shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut.  I have five children and three grandchildren and I just can't wrap my mind around this whole thing.  Of course, my mind immediately turned to quilts and how I would love to give one to each family who lost a child or loved one in this unbelievable tragedy.  Then I thought of all the children who were affected, just because they went to school.  So I did some research . . .

There are almost 700 children and 39 teachers at Sandy Hook.  I began to wonder, is it possible to have that many quilts donated, when everyone is so busy with the holidays, so we could give one to everyone???  I never would have thought that giving quilts to wildfire victims and then 325 to Hurricane Sandy victims was possible, but we did it! 

What do you think???  Can we do this???  I don't know how else to bring a little bit of comfort to the friends and families involved, but I just have to do something . . .

325 Quilts are in New York!

It's true!  The quilts are in New York, ready to be delivered to the families that were affected by Hurricane Sandy!  It is so UNBELIEVABLE how everything came together!  I don't have room on this blog to tell you all the little details, but a LOT of "mini miracles" happened to make everything work out!

54 boxes of 325 quilts!  They weighed over 800 lbs.!

My cousin, Karen Western, works for JetBlue Airlines.  She arranged to have JetBlue fly all 325 quilts to New York for FREE!!!  There were MANY people at JetBlue who worked feverishly to get this request fulfilled in just a matter of hours!  At 3:19 p.m. on Monday, December 3, I got the text that the quilts were approved to be on the 11:30 p.m. flight that night!  I also got told that my uncle, Daniel Pugmire, bought a round-trip ticket for me so I could go to New York with the quilts!  I just cried with gratitude for everything that so many people were doing to help with this project!  :')

I got on the plane at 11:30 p.m. Monday night and arrived in New York at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday!  I was tired because of no sleep, but was full of excitement for what lay ahead!

One of the "mini-miracles" was that Karen was in New York the same time I was because of business meetings, so most of the time I wasn't alone!  My Aunt Karol and another cousin, Kristine, went with Karen to New York for fun, so the four of us had a great time together!

Tuesday night I couldn't get a hotel room, so my Uncle Daniel arranged for me to stay with a gal that he knows who lives in an apartment in New York.  I've never met Stephanie before, but she was so sweet to let me stay with her!  She even made me breakfast the next morning!  I was scared to death nervous because while riding the subway to get to her apartment (I've never been on the subway before!), I missed my stop and a few stops later decided I better get off and ask someone where I was!  Once I got turned around and got off at the correct stop, I proceeded to get lost walking to Stephanie's apartment!  I called my husband and told him I was lost and he stayed with me on the phone until I found her place.  *Whew!*

All day Tuesday and Wednesday we walked around New York City and saw so many awesome things!  Everything is so much BIGGER in real life!  (Can you tell I've never been to New York before???)  We went to Times Square, Central Park, and the Rockefeller Center!  We walked around the Lincoln Center, Julliard, Broadway, and the garment district!

Times Square!  I can't believe how BIG it is!

Ama-za-zing!!!

Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center!

Cool statue of a Jewish immigrant sewing!

Tunnel in Central Park from the movie Home Alone 2!
 

Wednesday afternoon I met with President Kevin Calderwood, the mission president of the New York, New York South Mission, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He is in charge of the Mormon Helping Hands, one of many organizations that has been helping with the clean-up efforts from Hurricane Sandy, even before the rain stopped falling!  There have been over 7,000 non-denominational volunteers in Mormon Helping Hands, and over 100,000 hours spent helping people clean-up their homes and neighborhoods.  They are going to invite those who have been affected by the storm to a Christmas concert, where they will hand out the quilts!  I think it will be such a lovely setting to receive their gifts from quilters all over the world!


President Calderwood and I in front of the 54 boxes of quilts!

Wednesday night we went to the LDS Temple in downtown Manhattan.  So amazing how it's built in the middle of all the skyscrapers!


LDS Manhattan Temple with the Angel Moroni statue on top!


On Thursday we went to the 9/11 Memorial.  It was really nice.  There was kind of a reverent feeling there.  This is a picture of the Freedom Tower they are building there.  It isn't finished yet, but looks like it will be soon! 

Freedom Tower at 9/11 Memorial

Around the edges of this fountain are the names of those who died on 9/11.
There were two of these - one for each tower that fell -
the same size as the footprint of the towers!

Afterwards, we did a city tour on a double-decker bus!  You can get off any of the many stops and shop or look around, and then catch the next bus when you're ready to move on!  So cool!  We did lots of window shopping and walking around.  Of course, I also had to try out a hot dog from a street corner vendor!  When in New York do as New Yorker's do!  :)

Best New York hot dog I've ever had!  :)

Toy soldier built out of Legos in FAO Schwartz!

We left New York Thursday night and got home around midnight.  It was a very fast-paced trip, with lots to see and do, but one that I will never forget every single minute of it!  I am so grateful to everyone who made this trip possible!

Thank you for all you've done to help Phoenix Quilts help families who are going through such tragic times!  I pray that you will be blessed for donating your beautiful quilts!  In all my life, I have never known such generosity!  I am truly humbled!

Merry Christmas!

Hugs!

Hurricane Sandy Victims Need Our Help!

Just when you thought you were done hearing from me . . .

 

Hurricane Sandy Victims Need Our Help!

 

 

 

 

I have about 200 quilts that were donated to Phoenix Quilts that I was going to use for the 2013 wildfire season.  But hearing about the thousands of people who are still without power and are freezing cold, I've decided to donate the remaining quilts to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. 

 

I need your help, though.  I can't afford to ship all of these quilts by myself, so I'm asking . . . would you be willing to make a monetary donation to help me get these quilts out of my basement and wrapped around those who need it now?  There is a link on the right-side bar that enables you to donate easily with PayPal.  Will you please help me help those who have such a great need???

 

Thank you so much for your generosity!

 

Hugs!

 



THANK YOU!!!

I know it's been terribly long since I've written a post.  Sometimes life gets in the way when you have other plans!  :/



I've needed to tell you for a while that Phoenix Quilts is done accepting quilts for the 2012 wildfire season.  More important than that, though, I need to publicly thank some people who have helped Phoenix Quilts be so successful:  Debby F. helped me distribute quilts in Colorado Springs; Sarah at Fabric Seeds donated a lot of fabric and quilts; Barbie M. got a lot of fabric and batting donations, quilted some quilts, and donated some quilts; Marion M. helped collect many quilt donations and donated quilts; Annie M. and Carrie B. have both helped me monitor fires in different states and donated a lot of quilts; Aunt Spicy has donated quilts and has written several blog posts for me, highlighting some of you and the quilts you've sent in!  I also want to thank the Salt Lake/Ogden Longarm Quilt Guild for donating their quilting time and expertise for 60 quilts!  There are several other women across the country who have quilted quilts for me, too!  And finally, Riley Blake donated a lot of fabric, WinLine Textiles donated batting, and My Lazy Daisy donated a lot of fabric and quilts and held a quilt-a-thon!  Thank you to all of these people and companies for helping to lighten my load!




A great BIG hug and thanks go to each of you who have donated quilts, quilt tops, quilt blocks, fabric, miscellaneous items, and money!  You have been so amazingly generous with your donations!  We received approximately 450 quilts!  They came from 42 different states and 8 different countries!  We were able to help so many people who lost their homes to wildfires this summer!  I'm sure they were comforted and appreciate the quilts that were given to them!  THANK YOU!!!  :)



Thank you for your kind words of support and encouragement!  Thank you for your patience with me as I tried to keep everything organized!  I could have never tackled such a big project without the help of each one of you!  My heart has been so touched by all that you've said and done - I will be forever grateful for all of you, my new friends!  :')



My final thanks goes out to my husband and children!  Thank you for putting up with the quilts and boxes and my crazy days!  Thank you for helping me sort and label and organize and distribute the quilts!  Thank you for being my family - the BEST ever!  :)




Hugs!

Stitching Circle!

I am super excited to share this next quilter with you, she is amazing!  Karen from Stitching Circle must never sleep based on the number of quilts on her blog!

Karen has been quilting since 2005. I am not sure how she does it, but she works full time, loves spending her free time with her grandchildren, and still actually finishes five or six quilts a year. She said, "Let's face it I love starting quilts more than I like finishing them. I've given quilts to several family members and friends. But what to do with all these other quilts I've started? I've donated quilts to my local women's group for raffles that support causes I believe in, I've made Quilts for Kids, I've made pillowcases. But I hadn't yet figured out how to give quilts to someone who would appreciate them in their time of need. So when Julie's plea went out on the web, I just knew in my heart I had to respond immediately." 

And we are so glad you did Karen!

Here is what she said about the quilt she donated, "The quilt that I donated had a lot of meaning for me. It's called Connect the Dots and was designed by Judy Laquidara from Patchwork Times to be our mystery project for the first retreat she and several of her friends organized in October 2010 Shipshewana, IN. We had were given the instructions to prep and cut our fabric before the retreat, but clumsy me fell and broke my elbow just six weeks before the retreat. So I had my sister-in-law, who is not a quilter at all, do all the cutting at my direction. It's a wonder the pieces went together so well. This quilt was also the first time I'd used fabrics from Connecting Threads. I really do love their fabrics (and their prices). "

The pattern is available free now from Judy's web site. 

Karen continues, "I not only went to that retreat in 2010 not knowing anyone beforehand, but shared a table with Judy and got to know her. In addition, I've met some wonderful quilters that I consider friends and look forward to seeing each year at retreat and sometimes in between. I finished the top at that first retreat and finished the quilt the next year. I'll be traveling from California to Indiana again in two weeks for my third retreat with that group. The quilts that I have kitted up to bring with me are destined to become donation quilts as well."

But here is my favorite part about what Karen said (and gosh I wish I was this organized), "Now when I see a quilt that I just have to start, I justify it by lining it up in the queue for quilts that will eventually become donation quilts. I keep track of my quilting on my blog. And though I sometimes go for a few weeks without posting, just know I'm busy sewing away instead of blogging."

Make sure you stop by to say hi to Karen and see all her amazing projects!  Thanks again!

KS Quilting Korner

I am having so much emailing all of you to find out the stories behind the quilts you are donating!  I love that everyone so far has been shocked that we want to post about them!  But the stories that each of you share are so touching, and hopefully inspiring to others!

This next quilter falls into that category!  Karen at KS Quilting Korner has been sewing beautiful quilts for charities for five years, it is her way to give back! She said, "I pray each one of my quilts bring comfort and love to the receiver" and I am pretty sure that they do feel the comfort and love!

Karen first started with an online group called Charlotte's Garden.  THey made quilts for serious ill children and adults, and had Caringbrige sites so you could keep up with their progress.  They knew someone was making them a quilt and we tried to made the quilt with fabrics they might like.  The unfortunate thing is the online group is no longer active.  Then she found Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  I made quilts for her Hands2Help projects.  She has made some QOV quilts and a bookkeeper for a lady going through chemo.   She reads blogs and hears of quilt needs like Phoenix Quilts and jumps in to help!   She is also making Bead of Courage Bags for children's hospital.   This is another charity group who could use lots of help (hint, hint).  The first 10 bags she made were given to the children the day she donated them.

As Karen said, "Phoenix Quilts is touching many who is going through a terrible time and I wanted to help."

I dont even dare alter what Karen wrote below, its just beautiful:

"As you know we can never sew enough quilts for all the needs. Here is a quote that sums up what my quilting passion is about: 'You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you' (By John Bunyan). I pray for the quilt receiver as I sew even if I don't know their first name.  May my quilts bring warmth to each person."

Thanks Karen!

Happy Quilting

Have you all visited Melissa at Happy Quilting Melissa? you probably have, she is just prolific and has amazing talent!

She has graciously donated two quilts to Phoenix Quilts...the first quilt (above) is from Melissa's pattern that she made for a Sew Mama Sew tutorial, "Game Time Picnic Tutorial".  Even though her kids loved the quilt for checkers, they decided that donating it was far more important (such good kids!)!  Here is a link to her blog post about this quilt.

The second quilt is made up of blocks from what looks like an amazing and talented bee group, Melissa decided they would be perfect for a little boy who had lost his favorite blanket!  But truth be told, I think anyone would love this blankets sweetness!

Here is what Melissa said about donating to Phoenix Quilts:

"I donated to Phoenix Quilts because I know the devastation these fires create.  I grew up in Utah and now live in southern Utah.  I have seen these wildfires rage across the dry landscape and burn and destroy along the way.  I can not imagine the sorrow and hardship a family must go through to start all over.  I just hope that the little quilts help to bring some hope and the start of a new day."

Well said Melissa, well said!

In addition to Melissa's gorgeous quilts, her Mother-in-Law also donated 6 quilts!  So much goodness!  Thanks to both of you for your donation!

A lot of Giving Going On

Julie at <a href="http://phoenixquilts.blogspot.de/">Phoenix Quilts</a href> is so grateful for everyone's efforts to help and thought it would be fun to highlight the quilters, and helpers, and supporters that are making all of this work.

So today we start with an amazing quilter (um, hello, look at these beauties she has donated!)  She chose to remain anonymous, hoping  that her story would inspire others to believe they can do this as well!  For the sake of this blog post, I am just going to call her Charity!

Charity made all these quilts with the intention of donating them to a good cause,  with the exception of the jewel-toned vegetables quilt that was made specifically for Phoenix, and not knowing where these quilts would end up at the time she made them.  

Charity has mad quilting skillz, she has been quilting for 40 years, and now that she has already made quilts for all her friends she is donating these stunning quilts to charitable cause.  She said, "It’s very freeing; you get to pick colors and patterns that appeal to you, and delight in the knowledge that someone receiving the quilt will enjoy and be comforted by it!"  

Here is why Charity was inspired to donate to Phoenix Quilts:

"I was compelled to donate to Phoenix Quilts after I read about Julie’s leap of faith in deciding to do this.  Julie was herself evacuated from her home by a wildfire, and her response, to make quilts for those who had lost their homes to the fires, impressed me so much.  It seems as if we all want to “do something” when confronted by a need, but most of us sit by wringing our hands.  Julie and her husband jumped in with both feet, quickly expanding their efforts as fires in other areas claimed more homes.  She offered us a chance and a direction to help – and be a part of a project that provides comfort and support to people who may have lost everything.  As quilters we know that there is something special about the effect of being covered by a quilt someone has made for you.  A part of ourselves is stitched into each quilt we make, and you take comfort as well as give comfort in sharing that with another human being."

The queen sized sampler quilt was the result of participation in a year-long free online Block of the Week put on by quilt historian and author, Barbara Brackman in recognition of the sesquicentennial of the beginning of the Civil War.  Charity has long been a fan of Barbara’s work, and this was a terrific adventure – each week she presented a traditional block either of the period itself or that symbolized some aspect of the conflict.  She accompanied the block with a write up about some aspect of the Civil War.  Fascinating, and educational.  Barbara just started another BoW on Women’s suffrage called Grandmother’s Choice:http://grandmotherschoice.blogspot.com/ 

From Charity: "The smaller kids’ quilt (very top picture) was a very simple pattern offered by the manufacturer of the fabric which featured cute little sheep. It had been hiding in my UFO collection for some time, and Phoenix Quilts prompted me to finish it.  All of these quilts were quilted by Nancy Weed, my long-suffering long-arm quilter who kindly fits my quilts into her busy schedule."

"The Hovering Hawks quilt (I took a photo before I put borders on it) was my New Year’s quilt.  Every year on New Year’s Day I start a new quilt for charity not knowing where it will go, but knowing that some good cause will arise to claim it.  Nice way to start the new year looking forward!"

Thanks so much Charity for sharing your beautiful quilts with those who are in need!

Helping Out When Disaster Strikes

Many of you know I'm a consultant for My Lazy Daisy, a direct-sales company that sells complete quilt kits.  Look at this article that Diane Card, co-owner of My Lazy Daisy, just sent me!  I'm so excited!!!  :o)

Click here to see the article!

The donations I'm receiving daily are ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!  My thanks to each of YOU for "helping out when disaster strikes!"  You guys are so AWESOME!!!  :o)

Hugs!

Changes for Phoenix Quilts

What a whirlwind of events we've had around here lately!  With speaking assignments, attending quilt-a-thons, delivering quilts, having a Phoenix Quilts booth at an event where there were approximately 1,200 women in attendance, PLUS keeping up with the day-to-day work Phoenix Quilts requires, it's been CRAZY busy!!!  But oh, so AWESOME!!!  :o)

Because of how much time I'm working with Phoenix Quilts I need to make some changes that will allow me to stay sane!  :o) 

• I would appreciate it if you would now send in completed quilts and/or monetary donations.  It's taking a lot of time piecing tops with the blocks that are being sent in and then finding people to quilt and bind all the quilts.  Everything I've received has been so beautiful - there are a lot of talented quilters out there!  I have been totally amazed by the generosity of everyone sending in these donations, but for now I need to limit it to completed quilts.  I also think I have enough fabric to make the backs for all of these quilt tops.  The monetary donations will be used to help complete quilt tops and blocks that have already been sent in and to help with distributing the quilts.  If you are currently working on something you were planning to donate, please still send it in!  I really do appreciate everything all of you are doing!  :o)
• I'd prefer that you send in lap-size quilts to be used for Phoenix Quilts purposes.  That way we can give one quilt to each family and the entire family will be able to use it.  I have received soooo many baby/child size quilts, it's unbelievable!  They are all so darling!  :o)  I've got enough to cover our needs for now, though.  If you would still like to donate smaller quilts (which would be awesome!) I'll be donating them to our local ambulance service (I'm a volunteer EMT when I'm not quilting!) and hospitals.  If that's all right with you then keep sending them in!  :o)
• I would love to have a picture on my blog of every quilt that is being sent in, but that also takes a lot of time (I'm not very fast with cameras and computers).  If you would please post a picture of your quilt in the Phoenix Quilts group on Flickr (use the Donations tab above) then we'll all be able to see the quilty goodness being donated!  :o) 

I am deeply grateful for all the donations that have been sent in and hope that you will continue to help us help those who have lost their home to a wildfire.  I hope that you can understand why I'm making these changes.  I haven't ever done anything like this before and I'm having to learn what works best for everyone as I go along!  :o)

If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave me a comment or send me an e-mail at julie@cut.net. 

Hugs!

Help Wanted - Inquire Within

Well the time has come . . . I need some help!

Those of you who have been following Phoenix Quilts from the beginning know how quickly things have grown in the past month and a half.  What started as wanting to give one quilt to some friends who lost their home to the Wood Hollow wildfire near our home, grew to a desire to give a quilt to the 52 families that lost a home in that fire.  Because of your generosity, we decided to help every family in the Western United States who has lost a home to a wildfire this summer.  Today we are at 897 homes that have been destroyed.

As you can imagine, this has turned into a very large, time-consuming project.  It's a project that I LOVE, but now I need help with it.  Here's what I'm thinking . . .

I would like to have one person per state monitor and research the fires in each state in the Western United States.  That person would inform me through e-mails about the status of the fire(s) in their state.  That will help me keep our lists up-to-date of the homes that have been lost to a wildfire.

The way I research a fire is by clicking on the map of the United States on the right sidebar to see where new fires are.  I then go to the two websites listed on the sidebar under the map and look at the information for the different fires in each state.  Sometimes those sites don't tell me how many homes have been burned so, if needed, I then go to the local news or newspaper websites. 

If you are interested in helping me with this, please send me an e-mail (julie@cut.net), not a comment on this post.  If I happen to get more than one offer of help per state then I will use the first person that e-mails me and put the second person on a back-up list.  You can click on the Volunteers tab above to see who the volunteer is for each state.

Thank you so much for your willingness to help!  In my wildest dreams I never thought Phoenix Quilts would need to help so many families and that so many people would step up to help fulfill those needs!  Thank you so, so much!  =D

Hugs!

Charlotte Fire Quilts Donated

This weekend was so AWESOME!!!  We donated some quilts for the Charlotte Fire victims on Friday in Pocatello, Idaho!  There is a quilt store in Pocatello, Sages Creek Quilt Co., that has been collecting quilts for those who lost their home to the Charlotte wildfire.

When we drove up I thought it was going to be a tiny store.  Boy was I wrong!!!  :o)

This sign was on the door we went in.  It's asking for 66 quilts for the fire victims!  I was so glad I was there for just that reason!  :o)

The store was amazing!  So much fabric and so many beautiful quilts around the store!  I LOVED IT!!!  The people there were so friendly and extremely grateful for your donations!  :o)

The local quilters in Pocatello have been so busy!  They had already donated 46 quilts so all that was needed was 20 more from Phoenix Quilts!  I was so happy to help them reach their goal of 66 quilts to help all of these families who have lost their homes!  I'm so grateful to each one of you that have been so generous with your donations!  This trip made me realize that I am just representing Phoenix Quilts, but you guys are Phoenix Quilts!  THANK YOU!!!  :o)

Hugs!

Pocatello, Idaho - Charlotte Fire

Today Todd and I are headed to Pocatello, Idaho, to take quilts to those who lost their home to the Charlotte fire!  I'm so excited!  It's weird . . . these quilts kinda feel like my "babies" . . . I've tried to take such good care of them . . . it's almost sad to see them go!  I'm so happy that they'll finally be where they belong, though!  :o)

There are a couple of gals in Pocatello who have also been collecting quilts from local quilters so I'll be adding 20 quilts from Phoenix Quilts to the 46 they already have!  In a couple of weeks they are going to have a "tea party" for everyone who lost their home and will be distributing the quilts then.  I'll ask them to be sure and send me some pictures so I can post them on my blog!

Thank you so much for all you're doing to help!!!  :o)

Hugs!

It's a Small (Quilting) World After All!

Today I got a quilt top in the mail for Phoenix Quilts clear from Australia! And yesterday I got a quilt and a fat quarter bundle all the way from South Korea! The world is full of such great people! THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! :o)

Hugs!

Interview on ksl.com

It's here!  Click HERE to see the story about Phoenix Quilts on www.ksl.com!  I'm so happy!!!  :o)

Hugs!!!

Interview with KSL

Today I was sooooo nervous all day!  I had a phone interview about Phoenix Quilts with a reporter from KSL this afternoon!!!  KSL is one of the major news stations in Salt Lake City.  They report the news online (www.ksl.com), on TV, and on the radio.  They are going to post the story from the interview online this Sunday afternoon as their feature story!  I'll write a post with a link to it as soon as it's there!  The reporter, Stephanie Grimes, was so AWESOME - I didn't need to be nervous after all!  :o)  We talked for 30 minutes all about Phoenix Quilts and what we're doing!  I can't wait to see how she writes the story!  I'm so excited about the help this will give Phoenix Quilts!!!  Woo-Hoo!!!  :o)

Hugs!!!

Things are CRAZY AWESOME around here!

WOW!!!  What an exciting week it's been!  I first want to send out a HUGE thank you to my INCREDIBLE husband, Todd, for surprising me and taking me to Park City, Utah, for a couple of days!  It was so nice to get away, just the two of us!

Well . . . we did find a friend to hang out with for a minute or two!  =D

This is Main Street in Park City.  It's definitely not as busy in the summer as it is in the winter, which was really nice for us!  On Main Street they have lots of cool shops (pretty expensive, though!), but the thing we love the most are the art galleries!  We spent our time in the ones that have the most fabulous photography!  Such amazing talent!  Obviously, I'll never have any of my photos in a gallery!  Especially with my silly camera phone pictures!  :/

I liked this sign's message!  I didn't even notice what kind of store it is, but the sign made me smile!  Isn't that what life is all about?  Actually "Livin' Life" instead of just sitting on the sidelines and watching it pass us by!  Love it!  =D

OK . . . now for the other part of my week.  You're not going to believe this!

Last Saturday (July 21), I spoke at the Salt Lake/Ogden Longarm Quilt Guild to tell them about Phoenix Quilts and to ask for their help in quilting some of the quilt tops I've been receiving.  I had no idea what to expect -- how many of the tops they would help with -- but they took ALL 60 OF THEM!!!  I couldn't believe it!!!  =D  I really shouldn't have been surprised, though . . . I've found that quilters are the most generous people I've ever been associated with!!!  Thank you so much!!!

After the meeting, my new BQFF (Best Quilty Friend Forever), Barbie Mills, and I went out to her car because she had something she wanted to show me . . .

You see, Barbie contacted me a couple of weeks ago about wanting to help with Phoenix Quilts.  She told me she would arrange to have me speak at the Salt Lake/Ogden Longarm Quilt Guild.  Then she suggested getting in touch with Riley Blake Designs in Salt Lake City, to see if they would donate any fabric to Phoenix Quilts.  I forced her to I asked if she would call them, and she quickly said, "Yes"!  She also offered to contact Winline Textiles to see if they would be willing to donate any batting.  What they each donated was what she wanted to show me in her car . . .

There was HUNDREDS of yards of fabric in there that Riley Blake Designs donated and a 30 yard roll of batting that Winline Textiles donated!!!  =D  TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE!!!

This is me -- after doing the happy dance and stuffing everything into my car -- giving a great BIG shout out to Riley Blake Designs and Winline Textiles to thank them for being soooooo generous!!!  THANK YOU!!!

You ought to go over to Barbie's blog, The Quilting Mill, and you can read more details about the part she played in making this exciting day happen!  You need to check out how creative this gal is!  Everything she touches turns out amazing!  While you're there, become a follower, enter your e-mail to receive her blog posts (you won't regret it!) and give her some comment love thanking her for all she's done for me and Phoenix Quilts!

I'm still receiving several boxes everyday with all of the beautiful quilts, quilt tops, and blocks (fabric and money donations, too!) you have made for Phoenix Quilts!  THANK YOU for all you're doing to help!!!  We still need a LOT of quits to reach our goal of 849 quilts (so far), but I just know WE WILL DO IT!!!  =D  Our next delivery of quilts will be to Pocatello, Idaho, on August 10th!  I'm so excited!!!  =D

Hugs!!!

Exciting news . . .

Hi everyone!  I don't have time to write now because I'm on my way to go on a surprise get-away with my husband for a few days!  I asked my husband to stop at a McDonald's so I could write and let you know there are some VERY exciting things that have been happening, but I just don't have time to write about them now!!!  :/

When I get back (either Friday or Saturday) I'll update the quilt numbers in the right sidebar (they are way off now!) and I'll write a big ol' post about what's been happening!!! 

My kids at home have been telling me we're still receiving packages everyday, so when I get back I'll be sure to let you know if yours has arrived!

Thank you for everything you're doing!!!  Keep spreading the word and keep on quiltin'!!!  :o)

Hugs!!!

Wood Hollow Quilts Delivered!

We've made our first delivery of quilts!  I'm so excited!!!  =D  The Wood Hollow fire victims, near Fairview, Utah, now have their quilts!  There was a local group of women who wanted to make quilts for this fire because it was their neighbors that were affected by it, so all they needed from us were three quilts!!!  What AWESOME women they are!!!  They worked so fast!!!  =D  I'm sure the recipients of these quilts will feel much comfort from this sweet gift of a quilt made with love!!!

As you can see, we've added a "Donate" button to our blog so you can donate directly to Phoenix Quilts through PayPal!  This should make things much easier for everyone wanting to donate!  Any amount you are willing to donate will certainly help us with reaching our goals!!!  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU'RE DOING!!!  =D

We have also set up an account at Wells Fargo Bank under the name "Phoenix Quilts."  You can go into any Wells Fargo branch across the country to make a donation into the "Phoenix Quilts" account.  Again, thank you for your support for these people who have lost a home to these terrible wildfires! 

FYI:  Any money donated to Phoenix Quilts will NOT be going directly to the people who have lost their homes.  It will be used to buy quilt supplies (mostly batting and backs for quilts) and other expenses in making and distributing these quilts.

Our next group of quilts will be going to help those affected by the Charlotte fire near Pocatello, ID.  We'll be going there August 8th and 9th.  Then it's on to Colorado the following week!!!  We, obviously, need a LOT more quilts to be able to deliver to those locations by then!!!  I have had MANY people ask what size quilts we need most - we will still accept anything you are willing to donate, but we really need lap-sized quilts to be able to give one to each family! 

Oh how grateful we are for your generosity!  I wish I could personally give each one of you a hug!  Please continue helping us spread the word!  And keep on quiltin'!!!  Things are getting so EXCITING around here!!!  =D

Hugs!!!

New Post Isn't Showing Up

I've been told by quite a few people that my latest post "I Am So Humbled" isn't getting out to people!  I'm also not getting the comments sent to my e-mail!  What's up with that?!?!?!?  :/  I'm sorry . . . I'm not ignoring you!!!  PLEASE go to the post "I Am So Humbled" and see what we've been doing!  It's so exciting around here!  Hopefully, this post will go through!!!

While you're on our Phoenix Quilts blog look around a bit!  We've added some new things, especially the information under the "How Can I Help?" and "Press Release" tabs.  Check out the "2012 Donations" tab, too!  The quilts, quilt tops, and fabric being sent in are amazing!!!  THANK YOU!!!  :o)

Hugs!

I Am So Humbled

What a whirlwind couple of weeks it's been!!!  And it's not slowing down (which is GREAT)!!!  =D  I've been going through such a roller coaster of emotions!  The generosity of so many people has brought me to tears many times as I see the beautiful quilts, quilt tops, pieced quilt blocks, and fabric you are sending to Phoenix Quilts, along with your kind words.  :`)  You'll never know how many lives you will bring comfort to because of your sacrifices.  I wish I knew how to say in words what I'm feeling so strongly in my heart!  All I can say is, "Thank You so, so much!  I appreciate you and everything you're doing!"  =D

Here's a few things that I haven't posted about yet from the last couple of weeks (You're gonna love this!) . . .

I got to meet one of my quilting idols, Melissa Corry, from Happy Quilting!  She donated 8 beautiful quilts!  She's as awesome in person as she is on her blog!  :o)



Then I met Marion in Payson.  She contacted me and told me she had 21 quilts to donate that she had gathered from various friends . . . When I got there she gave me 47 quilts!!!  Totally AMAZING!!!



I started receiving quilts in the mail July 3rd.  We have now received 127 completed quilts, 60 quilt tops, and 218 beautiful blocks and fabric to make quilts with!  Unbelievable!  =D

On July 5 and 6, I went to St. George to a "quilt-a-thon" at My Lazy Daisy.  They donated the fabric and batting and we were able to complete 27 quilts!

We made "rag" quilts (at least that's what I call them).  For each block the fabric is 10" square and the batting inside is 8" square.  For a lap-sized quilt we made it 6x6 blocks.  For a baby-sized quilt we did 4x4 blocks.  We just sewed an X through the "block sandwich" (top, batting, back) and then joined the blocks together, wrong sides together.  We snipped the seams, then washed and dried the quilts.  No quilting or sewing bindings on!  Simple and done!  =D  Click on the "Quilt Stores" tab above to see how your quilt shop, bee, guild, church group, or neighborhood friends, can organize something similar!  Here's a closer look at some of the quilts we made:

Then Dana Brooks, one of the co-owners of My Lazy Daisy, brought out several quilts from her own "stash" that she had previously made and quilted!

I wish you could see in person all of these quilts I'm receiving every day!  I am so impressed and amazed with all of the time and talent you are all putting into each quilt you are donating!

Yesterday I picked up 10 more quilts from Marion in Payson and 15 quilts from my cousin, Jen Stemmons.  AWESOME!!!  =D

If you want to see a "Quilt Show" click on the "2012 Donations" tab above and see some of the fabulous quilts being sent in!  I'm not done taking pictures of all of the quilts, so check back often to see what people are doing!

If you would like to help us spread the word, click on the "Press Release" tab.  It has an article you can use on your blog, send to your quilt guild, local newspaper, radio station, put in your church bulletin, or have your city put it in their newsletter!  I really appreciate you bloggers writing about Phoenix Quilts on your blog and using our button!  People that have lost their homes to these awful wildfires need our help to bring them a little bit of comfort during this tragic time in their lives.

Thank you for all you're doing!!!

Hugs!