We had a beautiful fall this year. It lasted until the first snow fell on Nov. 13. Last year the snow started on Oct. 12. We loved the extra month of fall this year. We went on a road trip to Prairie du Chien, but found the prettiest trees in our own yard and east of Eau Claire. The quilts shown here include two HeartStrings quilts that will go to Teresa for Minneapolis Children's cardiac ICU. The primary colored on on the bottom is a gift to a co-worker who had a baby boy a week ago. All easy patterns, but striking quilts.

Here are Sue (the blonde) and Mary (the brunette) working on HeartStrings quilts. Mary started this project in Dec. 2006. Since then it has gone worldwide! And loads of quilts are made every year to help various charities. The person that finishes the quilt has the pleasure of donating it to a charity of their choice. Some go to benefits, some to hospitals, some to people who are ill to help them feel better. Many are made of "strings" of fabric. That's leftovers from other projects that are sewn to a fabric base. Nothing goes to waste. What Mary started has been a blessing to many. These photos are from the 4th WI/MN Sew-In.

These are some of the charity quilts we worked on this summer and fall. As we continue to support the local hospitals with quilts for babies we also support Grace Place a home for families in transition. Early in Sept. our guild felt a big emotional blow when one of our members lost her son to heart problems. He was born 20 years ago with heart issues and has gone through numerous surgeries over the years. Living to the age of 20 was a miracle, but still a chock when he passed. In his memory and his mother's honor we are now making quilts for the cardiac ICU at Minneapolis Children's Hospital. These are just the beginning of what we will donate by the end of the year.

Here's Grandson Brandon up at bat. He keeps getting better each season. We love watching him. Later the day this photo was taken he was playing outfield and not paying much attention to what was happening in the game. The batter got a hit that was coming right to Brandon. But Brandon was busy watching the ground. Just as the ball approached Brandon looked up and caught the ball to make the out to end the inning. Running into the dugout Brandon carried the ball in one hand and a 4-leaf clover in the other hand. That's what he was picking while watching the ground as the ball approached. He was called Lucky for the rest of the day.

2010 Charity Quilts

The quilt on top is called Threads of Time. It was designed by Rhonda of Windy Hill Cottage and used as a Block of the Month for a local quilt shop in 2008. Rhonda also long arm machine quilted it. I think it will be a wedding anniversary gift for friends of our's next year.

The quilt on the bottom has a garden theme. This was a kit I bought on a guild bus trip a couple of years ago. It's the colors that attracted me, they are so soft and gentle. I donated it to our church's silent auction and it quickly sold.

Summer Time

Where did all these months go? We've been busy, but not much major happening in our lives. The new library opened in Sept., so much of August was spent moving and getting settled along with the beginning of Sept. This summer also saw us following Grandson Brandon to many baseball games and a trip to St. Louis for my aunt's funeral. So we had the ups and downs of family events.