Getting Back To Basics

This past weekend my family hatched two tiny fuzzy chicks in an incubator in our spare bedroom. I am a logic-minded person, and hatching eggs and raising chickens is not a logical thing to do. The cost of the incubator, feeder, waterer, & special food, let alone chicken coop, run, etc. is nowhere near worth the return of the few fresh free range eggs I will get! However, as a quilter, I am certain you know and appreciate the true value of this project. It seems that over the years we have become an over processed country. The pre-packackaged, perfectly made, beautiful goods we buy and use are cheaper and more convenient than what we can possibly make ourselves. Happily, there is a movement that is slowly taking hold. This is a shift in values from what is perfectly manufactured toward the handmade, handgrown, handraised & more personal. In appreciation for the time, skill, effort and love that is sewn into every stitch, a handmade quilt is far more valuable than any blanket purchased from a store. This is an age when time is more valuable than money. Anyone can go out and buy a mass produced bauble, but it is extra special for someone to take the time make a unique creation. Each personal gift is truly a treasure! Each minute and hour spent working on a project, or raising homegrown goods, is a gift to the person engaged in the effort. In some ways, the journey is even more valuable than the destination.

This is why I know that the first tiny egg I find from one of these new chickens my family is having so much fun raising will be more precious to me than all the perfectly sized, cleaned, stark white, prepackaged eggs in the supermarket! (Let’s just hope they turn out to be chickens and not roosters!)  

Happy Quilting!

 ~The Dream Team

Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS

 

Every day is Christmas here at Quilters Dream Batting because every day Fed Ex, UPS and our postal carriers bring in packages that pile up in the office, blocking doors, and creating a wonderful labyrinth of gifts!  It is so exciting – just imagine, Christmas every day, with gifts of quilts arriving from all over for ALS patients through Quilters Dream’s Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS.


We love Mark! He brings the best goodies!



 



What makes Neva smile? Bright & cheery florals.

We are in the fifth year of Hopes & Dreams, and, once again, we have been made aware that quilters are the most thoughtful, generous, and loving people around.  As Jennifer opens each box, it is a new surprise of colors and wonder.  Even though these quilts will not end up on our own beds, we rejoice in the unpacking, admiring, and coveting of these beautiful quilts that have been lovingly made for ALS patients and ALS research.  Although all the quilts are appreciated, each of us in the office is drawn toward a different style.   Kathy’s favorites are always the batiks and the hand-stitched lovelies.  Gina, our beachcomber, enjoys the peaches and teals of sea-themed quilts.  The pastels are Pat’s favorites, who feels the soft feminine teals, pinks, and blues are warm and calming.  Neva, an avid gardener, is immediately drawn to the bright and cheery florals.  Personally, I like the funky modern piecing designs and unique machine quilted patterns that accent them. 

 Jennifer, our photographer, is fortunate to be able to see each and every quilt unfolded, and enjoys posting the pictures on Facebook for an admiring audience of over 5,000 fans!

 

Look at all these jewels we get to open!!!!

 
 

Every day is Christmas at Quilters Dream because every day we are reminded of how blessed we are to be a part of the caring, generous community of quilters who have made Hopes & Dreams a success.

 

 

Check out all the quilts that have been donated by visiting http://www.facebook.com/pages/Quilters-Dream-Batting-sponsoring-Hopes-and-Dreams-Quilt-Challenge-for-ALS/150913912237?ref=ts&fref=ts

 

 

For more information about the Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS, click the link below.

http://quiltersdreambatting.com/HD/ALS.htm

Happy Quilting!

 ~The Dream Team

 

 

How do you enjoy your quilt?

 

I looked into the living room yesterday to see my two boys curled up together in a quilt on the couch watching a movie and eating pizza… how could it not make me smile.  The oldest, 4 year old Caleb, will often share the quilt with his brother, 2 year old Lucas, and together they watch movies or pull the quilt over their heads giggling underneath, or catch the dog in a quilt “net.”  This quilt, which spends most of its days on the back of the couch, is well loved, often washed, and, to be honest, it is very much abused.  As I looked over the beautiful fabrics offered at Quilt Market in Houston, I thought about what old and new fabrics I wanted to use in my next quilt, which I will be making for my niece’s new baby.  I am happily planning this quilt with the intention of it receiving the same kinds of loving abuse as the one my boys have.  Some quilts aren’t meant to be hung on a wall for a long time – they are meant to be very well loved just for a short while.

 

 

This got me thinking about a poem my co-worker, Neva, shared with me, written by Nancy Riddel. I am happy to share that poem with you, and hope more than a few of you recognize this quilt in your own family.  Happy Quilting!   ~Jane~

 

It’s Your Quilt

By Nancy Riddel

 It’s OK if you sit on your quilt.

It’s OK if your bottle gets spilt

If you swallow some air

And you burp, don’t despair,

It’s OK if you spit on your quilt.

 

There are scraps old and new

in your quilt

Put together for you on your quilt.

If your gums feel numb

‘Cause your teeth haven’t come,

It’s OK if you chew on your quilt.

 

We expect you to lie on your quilt.

If you hurt, you may cry

on your quilt.

On a cold rainy night,

Don’t you fret, you’re all right,

You’ll be snug, warm and dry

On your quilt

Happy Quilting!

 ~The Dream Team

 

You can count on us...



Scrap batting made into a flower.

We hope everyone had a fabulous relaxing summer and stayed cool! Now that the kiddies are back in school and the holidays are just around the corner ( Uggg so soon right?) we are certain you are going to be busy bees quilting and crafting away. Keep in mind we are always here to help you with your batting questions and needs. Please call us for samples of our batting to try! We will be more than happy to send you some and a user’s guide to go along with it. We will also be glad to help you with goodies (mini samples) to put in gift bags for grand openings, guild meetings or shop hops! Give us a shout and we’ll help ya out!



Mini Samples

Thank you for your support.We truly appreciate it!

Quilters Dream Batting
888.268.8664
quiltersdreambatting@juno.com

Happy Quilting!

 ~The Dream Team

 

Living in Virginia Beach, there are a number of church festivals and markets running almost every weekend where booths or tents are set up offering handmade wares.  My favorites, of course, are those offering quilts!  Most times, these would not be considered show quilts – instead they are quilts made for snuggling, swaddling, and cuddling. 

 With permission, I can’t help but reach out to touch the corners as I scan the piecing styles and beautiful fabrics.  At these events, I get a bit of fun out of guessing what type of batting is in each quilt, and I am always thrilled to find that one of our battings has been used.  “Oh, how drapey – did you use Quilters Dream Cotton?” I ask, or “This must be Quilters Dream Wool.”  The smiling sweet ladies sitting behind the tables confirm my guesses and always tell the quilts’ stories.

 

Each quilt, of course, has its own unique story of how it was made and what events happened during its creation.  After sharing that I work for Quilters Dream Batting, I have heard numerous stories about battings of the past.  There are those whose mothers made them separate the fresh picked cotton from the seeds and those who used whatever was on hand from old scratchy military blankets to pieces of flannel nightgowns or even older ragged quilts. 

                Battings have come a long way.  We are certainly living in an extraordinary time when the unique talents and gifts of traditional (and modern) quilting come together with the very latest in fine batting fibers and the best processing to make even the humblest quilt a real treasure that will last a lifetime.

Happy Quilting!

 ~The Dream Team