Donated "Away in a Manger" today!

Today I delivered my "Away in a Manger" quilt to the chaplain for the NICU at St. John's Mercy. I have made lots and lots of quilts, but this one has given me the most satisfaction I have ever felt in being able to do this kind of work.

Probably I will never know what effect, if any, it has on the parents of the tiny, premature babies, but I hope it gives them hope.

In the bottom picture of the angel, if you look closely, you might be able to see the hand quilted star in the upper left corner of the sky. I quilted straight lines radiating down from the star to represent beams of light.

Away in a Manger top finished!!

Hooray! The top is finished for the quilt I am making for the NICU hallway at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in suburban St. Louis. My "applique fatigue" is fading away as I have been hand quilting it. It will measure 34" x 40".

I think it's kind of hard to see in the picture, but the outer border is 4" wide and is a woodgrain. I'm pretty pleased with the "dirt" fabric I found, too! It even looks like it has some hay scattered around on it.

OMG, Another Birthday

Here it comes again--another birthday! Well, it beats the alternative, doesn't it?

This was pretty much a day like all days, except I got a great Mexican lunch out, gifts, and cake. I am pretending I am 29 again and not having my 28th anniversary of that birthday!

The rest of the day was spent wrestling with tiny applique pieces for "Away in a Manger". I have gotten to the point where I am adding the animals around the Madonna and Child, and they have tiny feet, ears, horns, and beaks. I hate to say it, but I am suffering from applique fatigue! I never thought I could get tired of it. I should finish the top in the next day or so, and then I need to sit down at the machine and whip up a few dozen rail fence blocks!