Our Very Own Red & White Charity Quilt Show

About a year ago, our sewing group was sitting around on one of our monthly late Friday night classes and we started talking about the amazing red and white quilt show in New York several years ago. We have all probably seen the pictures or heard the stories of how amazing and awe inspiring that show was for those who were lucky enough to attend. So much inspiration in one beautiful venue!

Somehow the conversation turned to our own sewing and an idea formed to create our own small version of the red and white quilt show and for all the proceeds to go to a local charity near and dear to our hearts, The George Mark Children's House. George Mark is a local charity that provides care and housing for terminally ill children and their families. They do a beautiful job of creating a warm space and special time for the families to be together and receive the care they need in a home like environment. HERE is more information on the home and HERE is a wonderful story that will bring tears to your eyes. 

That night the idea was born and since then we have been busy organizing and sewing and talking to our friends about participating in our show. We can't believe that it is almost here! Several friends and MODA Designers have also graciously agreed to send quilts for the show... some as far as from Germany and England!

Today I will show you a few of them and in a few days, a few more...

First up, a quilt that I have been working on and is almost done is a red/white version of my Yuletide Snowflake pattern. A vintage Fig Tree pattern, this one just never gets old...

 

 

 

Next up, is a fabulous donation from the gals at Minick and Simpson, Laurie and Polly. Using their beautiful fabric, here is a wall hanging/small lap sized quilt that has both piecing and applique in it. Beautiful!

 

Next up, all the way from Germany and Brigette at Zen Chic, this sweet larger wall hanging size quilt has a whole array of red fabrics in it and cute embroidery in the center.

 

We have also been busy making red/white pillowcases. These will also be for sale at the quilt show. Here are a few that are done!

More quilts are arriving as we speak and I will show you more later this week. If you see something that you can't live without even if you aren't able to attend, please email me and I will give you more details on how to bid on some of these quilts before the show starts!

MORE ABOUT THE SHOW

Let me tell you a bit more about the show and how you might be able to participate...

ADMISSION TICKETS

For all those of you who are local, please attend. We would love to see you, to meet you and to have you see our lovely red and white quilts, both new and vintage! Hopefully you might feel inspired to bid on some of them! If you are local in any way, please purchase a ticket, email me for more info on admissions tickets.

Advance purchase of the ticket enters you into a drawing for a $100 Whole Foods Gift Certificate and other door prizes as well as entrance to the show, appetizers and white wine. Tickets are also available at the show but will not be eligible for the Whole Food Gift Certificate.

RAFFLE TICKETS

For those of you a bit further away, you could still participate by purchasing RAFFLE TICKETS! We have those available in our shop on the website and we will add your name and phone number to each and every ticket you purchase and put it into either the raffle for the Cherry Pie Quilt or the MODA GIFT BASKET OF LOVE! If you have a preference as to which raffle you would  prefer, please let us know when you purchase the tickets. Otherwise, we will add your tickets into whichever one has less tickets!

 

The Cherry Pie Quilt was made by a dear customer and donated to our cause! It is made from one of our fabulous Fig Tree kits and so the fabrics are Fig Tree as seen above. The quilt has also been professionally quilted! Our customer prefers to remain anonymous but we just want to thank her again for her generosity and willingess to help!

 

The MODA GIFT BASKET OF LOVE is another amazing and generous donation from the fabulous ladies and Mr. Dunn at MODA fabrics. The basket is chalk full of fabrics and notions and goodies in the red and white theme. Valued at $250, this is a basket that any quilter would love to win!

 

Click HERE FOR RAFFLE TICKETS!

 

DONATIONS

Some of you have asked if there is any other way that you could particpate. Yes, we would love for you to send checks made out to George Mark Children's House to our address Fig Tree P.O.Box 901 San Leandro 94577. Fig Tree will send you some patterns as our way of saying thank you for your donation so be sure to include your mailing address. We will take donations all the way to the day before the event on February 8.

We will then combine those donations with all the others we hope to receive through the quilt auction and the tickets and present them all to the folks at George Mark at the same time. Thank you so much for asking and to those of you who have already sent checks!

If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask. We will be showing you more quilts soon.

Thanks everyone!

 

Joanna

 

 

 

 

JOY: Fig Tree Style

We just did this post over on the MODA CUTTING TABLE blog but wanted to add it here too...

When I heard about the JOY posts over there at the mothership [what we lovingly like to call MODA whenever we get the chance] I thought to myself... now why didn't I think of that. To take a break from all the crazy, stressful days, all the shopping, all the everything and write and read stories of JOY. It's perfect.

For me joy is something that is most often found in the most unexpected places in the most unexpected times. Sometimes, though, I feel like joy is something that I have had to choose in order to find it.

 

FABRIC JOY
I have to tell you that cutting fabric is one of those unexpected joys for me. What seems like in another lifetime, I used to work in a fabric store and that is where I learned to cut fabric and where I fell in love with it. To this day if I am overwhelmed or just feel like I have been working on the computer for too long, I go and cut bundles. It is almost therapeutic for me. Sewing of course does this too but cutting fabric is one of those tiny unexpected joys in my life.

KID JOY
One of the things that has been bringing me a lot of joy lately is watching the friendship between my youngest who is 9 and my middle who is 13. They are both still so innocent and total goofballs and they play so well together that it makes me stop and watch. Especially in a time when most of their friends are "too cool" for stuff like this, the two of them are concocting silly games to entertain themselves. They clearly enjoy each other and watching them or their goofy expressions brings me a deep joy.

HUBBY JOY
For those of you who know me personally, you will know that I literally could not do any of what I do without my husband Eric. You would also know that despite the fact that we work so closely together, we are quite different from one another and many think it is quite a wonder that we are such good partners. He makes me laugh every day. He makes me crazy too. He makes me breakfast :-). He is my best friend and although there are many days when the fact that we are so different makes us both crazy, he still brings me joy.

 

CHRISTMAS JOY

Christmas time is one of my absolute favorite times of the year as I am sure it is for so many of you. There is something so wonderful about creating that Christmas feel in my home, it makes it all so much more than decorating. I think my favorite moments are when the kids open up a box of decorations [that they have first complained about having to take out] that they remember from years past and the "do you remember whens...." begin. That brings me joy.
Watching the house lights get turned on each evening and the smell of my favorite apple cider candle, that brings me joy.
Laying by the Christmas tree and reading Christmas stories... even to the teenagers... makes me happy. It brings me joy that they humor me!

 

GIVING
 
As others have already said before me, there is unbelievable joy in the giving. We have had some hard family times around the Fig home in the last couple of years and sometimes the only joy that there was to have was the joy of watching others receive. Something that Fig Tree is sponsoring in the year to come, in February to be exact, is a RED & WHITE CHARITY QUILT SHOW for our local children's hospice home. More on that on my blog later, but i just wanted to throw it out there. MODA and several of the other designers have joined in and are donating goodies and quilts to the auction. Thank you! If you are reading this and have a red and white quilt or would be happy to make one by February, please email me at [email protected]  We would be so happy to have you join us!
 
 
Whether it is this time of the year or any other, what is true for me is that joy happens in the little moments. Some of them are unmistakeable and some of them you have to choose to see.
 
I hope this season is filled with moments of joy for you. Any kind of joy!
 
Merry Christmas,  Joanna