Friday, October 24, 2014

Whimsical Flower Garden (Blogger's Quilt Festival)

Okay! So when I read about The Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy at Amy's Creative Side I knew immediately the quilt I wanted to highlight this year!
(Also welcome if if you are new to my blog). Here it is:


This is my Whimsical Flower Garden that I made as a donation for Happy Chemo earlier this year.

First off let me tell you, I LOVED MAKING THIS QUILT!!! (It was actually hard to give away!)As a cancer survier myself, when I joined this QAL I found my heart and brain going right...in other words...I wanted to create a realllll happpyyyy chemo hug! LOL! Something different and unique.

My husband and I were practically newlyweds ourselves, our girls just two and three years old when my own diagnosis of Stage 3 Hodgkin's Disease threw our sense of normalcy out the door and was replaced with a new routine of doctor appointments, IV's and chemo followed by days of sickness. (Not to mention with the domino effect cancer has on your  poor family.) To this day, I will never forget, after 10 months of chemo, I then had to have daily "follow up" radiation for a month.  My mom would pick me up from school at lunchtime, my  two toddler daughters would be smiling at me from their car seats, excited by our "trip". My appointment was an hours drive away. They'd drop me off to get "zapped",  go refill the car with gas, return and we'd go for a picnic lunch in a nearby park. (I seriously can not ever repay my mother for her unconditional love and support to my husband and I during these times!!)

So....with every flower sewn on this quilt,

I found myself willing happy thoughts of a healthy,
 loving journey to the recipent of this quilt.

That they too are surrounded with the love of family and that they too have the courage and determination to LIVE life despite their obstacles of cancer!

I went through ten months of very advasive chemo and one month of daily radiation.
I found daily comfort in a blanket my mom knitted me, thus my genuine inspiration to create a quilty hug for someone else as our quilts make such a difference.


Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my story.
If you are new to my blog, Welcome and I hope you like what ya see and will return. I have a Tuesday Linky party that finds us digging through our archived blog posts and rejuvinating them  according to a specific theme here every Tuesday!
My linky is called:
Val's Quilting Studio
I hope you'll stop by and link up with us!!

Happy Quilt Festival to everyone!
I can't wait to start visiting everyone's elses entries this weekend.

Here are my quilt stats:
Title:  Whimsical Flower Garden
Created by and Quilted by Me: Val Reynolds
Size: 42"x64"
Category: Original Design

A BIG Thank you to Amy for creating such a very 
cool festival of quilting inspiration!!!

Fall 2014 BQF Button
With smiles,
Val:)




Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Tuesday Archives #33: Hexagons & Houses

Welcome to the linky party that let's you rejuvenate your old quilting/sewing posts! 
(Check over in my right margin for the list of  our October themes)
This week is all about two of my very favorite themes: Hexagons and Houses!!

Val's Quilting Studio

HEXAGONS:

This little wallhanger was my very first Hexagon quilt. I had so much fun making these scrappy 1" hexi's and enjoy that she now hangs in my laundry room.





HOUSES

Another first I made was this little heart and home wallhanging that I actually use as a table topper. It fits perfectly on our diningroom table:

Monday, October 20, 2014

Around the World Blog Hop/Part 2

Debra from Quiltingartist tagged me for this hop and though I participated earlier this summer, I couldn't resist her creative challenge to update by new followers. I am always inspred by what an inventive quilter she is and love her artistic approach to quilting.

I'm a pretty eclectic quilter/blogger.


I took my first piecing class in September of 2009 and made the above Pinwheel Quilt. 
I started blogging one summer day in June of 2013. 
(Here's a link to my FIRST POST.) 

 I live in the United States, in the beautiful state of Oregon. My blog is a place for me to connect with others who share my same passions. It's a place for me to document my works of heart as a quilter, along with snippets of life that go on in-between at home and as a second grade teacher. I'm a life-enthusiast and there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything  I want to get done! 
(Does anyone else ever feel like that?)


 Visiting my blog, you'll notice I'm a pretty eclectic sewer who dabbles in applique, English Paper Piecing, (love my hexagons) traditional and out-of-the box piecing, long-arm quilting, quilt/sewing area organizing (See my Sunday Organizing Series). I  have many W.I.P. but let's not talk about those! (wink! wink!) Feel welcome to check out my "pages" and/or "labels" in areas that may have sparked your interest. Hopefully you'll be inspired by what you see and you become a "follower" and I can visit your blog as well.


How is my work differ from others? What makes my work unique?


I received the nicest compliment from a fellow blogger last week so I'm going to use her description to answer this question: " Val is a quilter and she makes imaginative, happy quilts and she is lightning quick! Val's dog Jackson is a supermodel who somehow makes his way into most quilt pictures! "
See....I told you it was nice! LOL!
 I use patterns, but mostly enjoy creating my quilts from my imagination:


Annnnddd I have to admit, I do have a great quilt model too: Jackson!  
He's definitely my empty nest, quilting, walking companion.


A Quilting Discount for You!

Most recently, I've been working to establish myself as a long-arm quilter. If you are looking for a long-arm quilter, click right here! I have an extensive selection of patterns and offer quick turn-around service.  
Take advantage of my blogger special, and if you have me quilt for you from now through November, you'll receive free return shipping on your quilt. (U.S. orders only...sorry!)



So how does my creative process work?

I like to think of my quilt world as my way to:
Not a day goes by that I'm not stitching, sewing or quilting...even if it's just while watching TV at the end of the day. I'm a list maker. So each week starts with a list of blogging and quilting goals. I've always been crafty and realize it's just a part of who I am. 


Thank you!

 I've so grateful for this "virtual quilting guild" we've grown through blogging. Since many of us have already been tagged for this blog hop, here's a list of a dozen previous particpants that I've visited and invite you to check out: (If I missed your Blog Hop post, please feel welcome to add it to this post in the comments section so we can all stop by.) 
Zenia Rene at A Quilted Passion
Tanya at Tanya Quilts in Co
Vicki at A Quilter's Mission
Marianne at Adventurous Quilter
Faith at WillItNever End?
Deanna at Dreamworthy Quilts
France at France Nadeau
Marcy at Made By Me in Red
Pat at Life in the Scrappatch
Carole at From My Carolina Home
Terri at Quilt-N-Cards
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
See ya tomorrow for Tuesday Archives. Tomorrow's themes are two of my favorites: Hexagons and Houses! 
With smiles,
Val:)









Sunday, October 19, 2014

Little Letters QAL: J, K, L , M

Still singing my ABC's as I got caught up on my Little Letters this morning:
J is made from a Jack-n-Jill print.
K from a Kitchen print.
L from Little Letters. 
M from a cute polka-dot Mouse print.
The afternoon found me enjoying a long walk and some slow stitching outside.
Happy Sunday!
With smiles,
Val:)

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Baby Quilt Show/Garage Sale Find!

Today the weather was beautiful as I walked over to a local Cultural Center to checkout the Baby Quilt Show/Fundraiser being held for our local children's relief nursery.   

Most the quilts were simple, many created from charm pack and panel patterns.
 I found myself inspired by the simplicity of them all.
I couldn't resist picking this one as my very favorite:

Annnddd it's always nice to see your own donation among the bunch:

I also found this thrifty find at a garage sale right across the street: A larger dresser to replace a smaller one to aid in my studio remodel. (My neighbor and I  simply ended up swapping dressers as she wanted a smaller one! SCORE!)
I can't wait to start filling the drawers!
With smiles,
Val:)

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