Wooooo Hooooooo, proud to be introducing another blog post by one of my closest quilting friends, Stephanie B! Stephanie will certainly be persuaded by all of us to create a quilting blog too one day. Just not sure where she will find the time, I imagine she is flying / running / sometimes stumbling around in a quilted cape to get all of the things done that she does in a day! I am certain she is sneaking a few extra hours into her day...hehe! So here it goes, I hope everyone enjoys learning more about our groups! =)
Hugs & Smiles, Tiffiny ~ Smilie Mommy
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International Quilt Block Swap
Quilts of Valor IQBS
Stephanie Buscemi
Administrator
IQBS
Update: The Red, White and Blue Edition
It is so good to be back with Tiffiny and all of you following
Smilie Mommy Quilts! If you happened to
miss our last blog post about The International Quilt Block Swap: IQBS, here is a little info about our group. The IQBS is a group of quilters
from around the world sharing our love of quilting. Members of our group come from Australia,
Indonesia, India, Sweden, Spain, America, just to name a few. It’s an exciting
project for us and I feel fortunate to be the administrator of such a diverse,
talented and genuine group of quilters. It’s wonderful to see the different
fabrics and techniques that are used in other countries.
The month of August is under-way and our
“Star Quilters” for the month are beginning to receive their blocks from the
group! This month Carol Cricenti and Beth Blevins are our Star quilters. Carol
requested that we send her red, white and blue blocks so she can create a Quilt
of Valor with them. The Quilt of Valor Foundation is a wonderful organization.
They present quilts to members of the Armed Services who have been touched by
war. Here is a link to their website: http://www.qovf.org
If you’d like to check it out, volunteer, or just take a peek at the gorgeous
quilts made for their mission. The quilts, lovingly created by volunteers, are
absolutely beautiful; and, knowing they’re destined to comfort or soothe one of
our wounded service members, it just makes them a bit more beautiful, I think.
Carol has received blocks from all over the world from our IQBS members to help
create her Quilt of Valor.
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She has included circles in this block! You
know and I know how difficult little circles are to work with!
We’ve been happy to learn a little about
Tenerife from Luciana. It is of one the
islands of the seven Canary
Islands
archipelago. Five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the most of any
Canary Islands. I can see
why, it is absolutely gorgeous. Its beauty is enchanting and I plan on visiting
Luciana in Tenerife, one day. It’s too pretty to resist! Here are a few
pictures that Luciana has shared with us:
Picturesque
and peaceful, Tenerife, Spain seems dreamy, romantic and peaceful. Lucianca sews on her Terrace, with a
beautiful view and a few cats to keep her company while she stitches. Sounds
like a vacation, every day, to me! (click to see more beautiful pics!) =)
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Carol also
received this block from Ana Srihadiana from Bekasi, Indonesia.
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Located in West Java, Indonesia, Bekasi is on the eastern border
of Jakarta. It is a bustling suburban community with a large population; it is
the fourth largest city in Indonesia.
Indonesia may be far from Austin, Texas, yet Ana and I can share
blocks and ideas through our Face book group page, as if we lived next door.
She’s very talented. I love the “Indonesian” flavor that she gives to the
“American” blocks that I have done! For
instance, Ana took my Amish block and recreated it in embossed batiks. Such a
lovely combination! I wouldn’t have thought to do an Amish block in batiks but
I will now!
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| Qurrat Thakur from Austin, TX sent Carol this red, white and blue beauty (click to see even more beautiful pics!) |
More sparkling stars from IQBS members:
Photo credits: Rachel Spiteri/Thangool, Australia; Merrill Hogan/Melbourne, Australia; Qurrat Thakur/Austin, Texas; Linda Hashimoto/Ontario, Canada
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| Design by Rachel Spiteri |
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| Design by Merrill Hogan |
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| Design by Linda Hashimoto |
With over twenty-four members in IQBS, Carol will have plenty of
gorgeous blocks from all over the world to make one of her beautiful Quilts of
Valor! It is touching to see the blocks
from places not directly affected by the recent wars offered to Carol for such
a worthy service project. Hugs and Smiles to everyone in our group helping with
this project!
As you can see, IQBS is humming along with the quilters enjoying
being a part of an international group of talented quilters. You would think
this would be satisfying enough but you know quilters, there is never enough!!
From our IQBS group grew our own Quilts of Valor Group on Face book, which then
grew into two groups, Quilt of Valor IQBS teams 1 and 2. Though, these two
groups were formed just a few months ago, they have become very popular and
very successful! We thought why not join together to make a quilt every few
months? That is just what we did. Our first two Quilts of Valor are presently
under-construction. Each member simply makes one star block in red, white and
blue for the quilt. Someone volunteered to do the construction, another the
quilting, another the binding! By sharing the work, we’ll be able to donate two
quilts, every few months! It has been especially rewarding to work with these
two groups of quilters. Some are members of the International Swap but not all
of them. I’d like to share some of the star blocks we’ve received and the
progress we are making on the quilts, as well, in my guest blog posts. You’ll
receive two updates for the price of one sit and read!
Quilts of Valor IQBS, Teams1 and 2 are sending in some of the
prettiest star blocks that I have ever seen! It is so intriguing to see the
intricate designs created in the blocks and the fabric choices that make the
blocks sing! There are a few I’d like to share with you.
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Linette Ivanovich- Green sent this sparkling star:
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| Design by Grayson Murray- Nelson: |
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| Design by Angie Boyd |
As the administrator of Team 1, I am the lucky one who gets to receive all of these gorgeous stars in the mail!! They will make a very pretty creation together. Carol, our Star-Quilter of the month in IQBS, is the administrator and recipient of the Team 2 stars. It is a genuine group effort. Here’s a picture of the stars that I’ve received so far just thrown together:
It’s taking shape! Once all of the twenty-four stars have arrived,
I’ll sash and piece them together. I’m really excited to see our individual
stars make one beautiful quilt! Hopefully, by the end of October, it will be
complete and ready to donate to the Quilts of Valor Foundation thanks to the
generous time and talents of The International Quilt Block Swap, Quilt of Valor
Team 1 and Quilt of Valor Team 2! If
you’d like to find us and join our Quilt of Valor effort, you can find us at
our group page on FaceBook by Searching for Quilts of Valor IQBS.
Thank you for allowing me to share our groups’ progress and
inspirations. Tiffiny, a big thank you goes out to you for allowing us to share
our experiences with the blogosphere. I’m sure I will be back soon to share
more of our progress and successes. I hope so! Once our quilts are together for
Quilts of Valor, I promise to post pictures here in Tiffiny's aka Smilie Mommy’s
blog! They promise to be wonderful!
One last thing, before
I go back to the sewing machine to continue making stars. A beloved member of
IQBS, Qurrat Thakur, was accepted to show
at the 2013 AQS Des Moines Quilt Week Contest. Her wall-hanging of Batiks,
“Spring Flowers,” will be on display at Quilt Week! Isn’t it gorgeous? The
Binding is made from her mother’s wedding saris. Is that just so sweet?!? We
are rooting for you, Q! Good luck but you don’t need luck, you have talent!
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| Designed by Qurrat Thakur |
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