Quilting Goal for 2013

Like many of you, I've been setting my goals for 2013 over the past few weeks.

It's only January and already the calendar is starting to fill up

which can be completely overwhelming.

 

So I'm determined to set realistic goals for the year.

One of those goals was to make one quilt.

If I got to more, great, but the goal is just the one.

 

And for that one quilt, I was going to finally get around to making a queen size for our master bed,

a project which I have been intending to do since Chris and I got married (almost 4 years ago).

 

That was my intention.

You see, one of my favorite local ministries expressed a need.

And it was a need I felt like I could should meet,

and one that, frankly, I'm thrilled to meet.

 

After years of borrowing space from local churches,

they are finally in the process of building a brand new facility.

And it's huge and amazing and will allow them to grow and achieve even more than they already do.

 

The East End Cooperative Ministry is one that I've written about before.

Among other things

they feed the hungry,

they clothe the naked,

they mentor children,

and as I sit in my warm house right now, I am especially grateful that they shelter (including serving dinner and breakfast to) the homeless.

Pittsburgh is beautiful in the winter, is it not? :)

 

With this new facility they will be able to expand that shelter to house more men,

more women and children,

and more of the sick and elderly who have been discharged from the hospital and need respite care but cannot receive it in their prior housing.

 

And I really could go on and on... but you can check it for yourself.

 

So here's the fun part:

The shelter's designer had the idea to have a handmade quilt for each of the shelter beds.

 

My first reaction when I heard this was one of shock (that's a lot of beds! they house over 650!!!).

My second reaction (the one that should have been my first reaction) was one of conviction.

For those of you who may not have made a quilt before,

it is a labor of love.

It takes time and patience.

It take vision and skill.
And often it takes some money. Supplies aren't cheap!

 

And who is more deserving of a handmade, loved over, and hopefully prayed over quilt, than those without a home, those with whom most people avoid eye contact, those who all too often are the forgotten ones?

 

So I'm once again putting my master bedroom quilt on hold,

and I'm diving in to cut, piece, stitch, iron, baste, quilt, and bind what will hopefully be a beautiful blanket but more inportantly be a labor of love from me to them, even though they will most likely not even realize it.

 

So why am I telling you this?

It's certainly not to toot my own horn, although I will be sharing pictures of my progress as I go for funsies.

It's to get the word out about this awesome place.

If you feel inclined to donate money, prayer, or even a quilt, I encourage you wholeheartedly.

And if you don't live in the Pittsburgh area, I encourage you to check out shelters in your area and ask what their needs are. There all always needs.

If you are in the area, I'm going to be collecting non perishable food items over the next few weeks to stock their food pantry.
If you would like to donate some food, please let me know!
I'm even willing to pick it up.

As for the quilt, my mom (who is the greatest as I've mentioned before) has gratiously donated the batting and the muslin.
And I'm hoping that this quilt will be a total scrap buster.
If I need more fabric, I'm shopping from my own stock with the hope that I don't have to buy anything new.

 

Do any of you have shelters/ministries in your area that you love?

I would love to hear about it. :)

Ben's Play Kitchen {The Roundup}

I'm about as excited as Jesse Spano on study pills right now.

Over the weekend I was able to hit up some of my fave places

and gather supplies for Ben's play kitchen,

a project that I've been wanting to tackle since... I don't even know... the age of 5?

First Stop:

Construction Junction.

I've mentioned it before, so I won't go on and on,

but basically it's a super fantastic architectural salvage warehouse

that specializes in recycling all the unwanteds from old Pittsburgh houses and then offering them to the public on the cheap.

They have everything from doors to church pews to toilets to paint to tile to columns to mantles

and I could just go on...

but I won't. They have cabinets and that's where I found these gems.

My saint of a husband even came with me and stood there gratiously as I checked out every.single.cabinet in the place to be sure I was getting the best ones.

What a dear.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
(the matching ones on the far left and far right)

After a long while, I could tell that he, not having the same vision as me, was about to lose his marbles.

So I settled on these.

and picked up a small older faucet to boot for the play sink.

Second Stop:

IKEA

This I did solo, and that was most definitely the right decision as I was there for approximately 8 million hours.

I got my "knobs" for the play stovetop,

some cutting boards for the "butcher block" countertop,

a stainless steel bowl for the play sink,

and of course a lot of other doo dads.

So much fun.

I'm not letting myself really get to work on this sucker until I catch up on some orders,

but my goal is to have it completed by Ben's birthday in February.

It is a birthday gift, after all.

The only task we've tackled is removing the crazy weird and old jar opener that was screwed into the upper cabinet.
Fun.

So wish me luck!

and keep checking back in for my progress. 



Wanna see some progress pics in somewhat real time?
You can play along on Instagram (@handmadebymegk)

Win Win

Just a quick post to let all of you know that I'm participating in an online auction this week.

My "Play Mass Kit," along with many other great items are up for grabs with all proceeds going to bring financial and prayer support to bring two orphans home to their family.

If you want more information about this beautiful family, click here

To visit the auction and place a bid, click here.

And for more information about Reese's Rainbow, the ministry that is helping bring orphans with special needs home to their families, click here.

Thanks! Give lots and lots of money! :)