Unveiled! Sunshine on the Water.

Diana of Sunshine on my Shoulders and Walking in Sunshine is a dear friend of mine. We've been bloggy buddies for a couple of years now.

2010 has been hard for her. I mean to say H.A.R.D. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, underwent lumpectomy and earlier this week had chemo treatment number 3. After chemo there'll be radiation too.

She's had to face her worst fears and give up those things we women take for granted...like hair. God Bless her, female baldness is NOT for wimps!! She has faced this journey with her customary courage, faith, love, and joy. And I admire her.

My 2010 Spring to Finish Challenge Quilt is for her. Originally from California, Diana loves the ocean. Despite the many years she's lived in Colorado, she's said the waves call to her, the sights and sounds and smells of the beach bring her peace and joy. As she put on facebook back in January "I don't think I can ever get enough of the salty-flowery smell of southern California."

This was the inspiration for this quilt. Back up from the monitor...squint your eyes....can you see the waves?





Many prayers are stitched into this quilt, Diana. Prayers not only for your recovery, but also for strength, hope, faith, love and JOY to follow and surround you along your journey.

Hang tough my friend, and enjoy your quilt!

Sarah.


P.S. all prayers on her behalf are appreciated!

Finally!!

You might remember Jacquie's Spring to Finish Challenge.

Well, 8 weeks and 3 days later...

I have FINISHED my surprise quilt!

While working on this quilt I have listened to the following books.

Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum
and am currently listening to
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain

Love love love the free audiobooks app for my iphone!!

I'm very pleased with how this quilt turned out. It represents many FIRSTS for me.

It's the first quilt I've made for someone who wasn't a member of my family.
It's the fastest I've ever finished a quilt.
It's the first time I've labeled a quilt.
It's the first quilt I've made that represents something...almost like an abstract painting.
It's the first quilt I haven't delivered by hand.


And, it's a prayer quilt. Many prayers have been said for it's recipient during it's making. I hope it will bring her many smiles and comfort on hard days.

Now, as soon as I can get to the post office (probably Friday) it will go winging its way to some (hopefully) unsuspecting lady. I'd sure like to see a picture of her face when she gets it. Barring that I shall take pictures of it before I ship it and once she lets me know it's been received I'll post them. So stay tuned.

Spring to Finish --Finish Line.

brought to us by Jacquie of TallGrass Prairie Studio the Spring to Finish challenge ended at midnight May 31st.

My project for this challenge was to make a surprise quilt for a friend.

You might remember the sneak peek of the quilt......


Well, I'm happy to say that the quilting is almost done on this quilt! I expect to have it bound and ready for shipping by next Monday! Whew! An entire quilt from start to finish in 7 weeks??

I'll let you know when it's done.

No pictures till it's safely in the hands of its owner. Wouldn't want to ruin her surprise now would I????


Thanks to Jacquie for once again inspiring us to get-r-dunn!!

sneak peek

got all the strips sewn and pressed for my Spring to Finish quilt.

:-)

Spring to Finish!

brought to us by Jacquie of TallGrass Prairie Studio Spring to Finish starts today and ends May 31st. Care to join us and see how many projects you can complete in 6 weeks? She says a project can be ANYTHING you decide.

As for me, well, my muse shat a new quilt idea on my head last Friday. It's a surprise quilt for a friend so you won't get any details till it's in my friend's hands. My goal is to see if I can make an entire quilt in 6 weeks. It's a feat never before tried so we'll see. And this quilt in particular will have both hand embroidery and hand quilting.... But my friend's need requires this to be done quickly anyway, so Jacquie's challenge is well timed.

I'll keep you posted of my progress. First step is going to the quilt store Monday (uh, I guess that would be today...) and getting the fabrics to fill out what I dug out of my stash Friday.

And for a little glimpse of Spring I present to you....da da ta da! My Flowerbed!




my irises are in full bloom and look better than I've EVER seen them! Lilies are growing nicely in front of the irises, my Grandma's 2 amaryllis are peeking up and the cannas are growing down to the fence.

:-)