Be a Helper

Everyone knows about Boston and all the heartache that has happened in this city over the last week.  There have been so many images, quotes, and new stories that have focused on the event that it has been hard to deal with.  One thought that keeps bumping around in my brain is Mr. Rogers' quote reminding us to look for the helpers.  He is totally right.  When all is going wrong, it is important to look for the helpers and to be a helper.  

I teamed up with Sassy Steals and Kiss the Toad Creations to be a helper.  Along with other graphics designers from all over the country, we are doing a small thing that hopefully with change the lives of 384 boys and girls at the Boston Children's Hospital.  Everyone has a job!

Here's Mine!

1.  The graphics designers made the designs

2.  Sassy Steals is selling those designs for $4.99

3.  You buy a design for yourself, your mom, your dad, your kid, etc.

3.  Kiss the Toad Creations uses every $4.99 to make a super hero cape for a child at BCH.

4.  A child at BCH gets a cape and feels like super hero who can accomplish anything!

5.  Warm fuzzies for everyone!  Wooo!

So - you have the info and know where to go (http://www.sassysteals.com/).  Get going and make a difference!  Plus - you get a totally rad  digi print out of it.  

Madison Design Studio

Livy Love Designs

What should I do with this rad digi print you ask...

• Frame it!
• Put it on a t-shirt!
• Give it away to Mom for Mother's Day - she'll be impressed!
• Scrap it!
• Make it your desktop background!
• Make cards at your favorite printer!
• Do whatever you want!

Be a Helper!  

xoxo

b.

Vintage Hexi Project

Recently, I went to the Dallas Quilt Show where I was fortunate enough to run across a cute booth that was selling vintage quilting supplies, including these beauties!

I convinced the man running the booth that I just had to have all his hexis and we struck a bargain gaining me 40+ hexagon squares from the 1930s.  They are all hand cut and hand stitched.  Each one has a little bit of personality that just grabbed my attention.  All my life, I have had a weakness for anything from this era.  (Ever feel like you were born in the wrong decade???)   I am a complete sucker for this one featuring polka dots.

Now, the crafter in me says check the internet to see what can be done with these precious little hexis.  They cannot be made into a quilt without some serious work because they are on the frail side and because they were hand sewn, have very little seam allowances and honestly, are a little wonky - eh hem - unique.  I want them to be used in ways that will be respectful of the grandmother that spent hours making them, but modern enough that today's woman will appreciate them.  

These squares have been locked up for so many years, that they are begging to see the light.  So, it is my quest to make simple, beautiful art.  How will I do this?  I have no idea.  The internet is supposed to be chock full of ideas for everything and so far, no one has wowed me with fantastic ways to display vintage hexi squares.  I see them in frames, but they are blah.  I see them made into pillows, but as I said, that is not an option here unless I put some serious hours into each project.

So, tonight I made a prototype.  It's a little wonky, just like the hexis, but it's a start.  It's a shadow box with the square in it an then some lettering.  I went basic since this is just a trial run, but I can see a family name and the "est. DATE" after it on the glass.

So fans, followers, and fellow crafters, hook a girl up and spill the beans.  Is this a good direction?  Do you have better plans for my hexis?  Should I sell them as is or make kits?  Should I custom make shadow boxes for y'all?  Or, should I just hoard them and continue to call them precious???  What would you do?

One more picture, just because I love that she was so short on fabric that even the middle hexi is pieced together.  That says something doesn't it?

-b.