More Quilted President's Blocks

Funny isn't it? I had some days that I dedicated to quilting the President's blocks. . .I achieved little! I have no idea why that happens; but it did and it does!

Well, we had two days and an overnight with the two granddaughters so there went a whole chunk of time; but, it went happily and I wouldn't change a moment! Those granddaughters are so much fun to be around. They brought their sleeping bags and Papa pitched a tent in the back yard. They were excited about the experience.

The four year old, while checking out the sleeping arrangements, took me aside and crooked her finger. When I bent to hear what she wanted, she whispered in my ear, "Gran, there is no toilet." No problem, I replied. You just take your shoes and when you need to pee, you come in the house. You can use Papa's or Gran's bathroom--your choice.

She nodded her head and then asked, "Where's the faucet?" Oh, that's an easy one, I replied. You just bring your water bottle with you. She seemed relieved, looked around the tent one more time and asked, "Where's the light switch?"

At this point, I almost burst our giggling; but, I replied in all seriousness because this was a serious conversation, "No Worries. You bring a flashlight with you. If you ask, Papa might even let you be in charge of it!" With all her questions answered, she was ready to camp!

Their camping experience lasted about an hour for the 2 1/2 year old and three hours for the 4 year old. They decided sleeping in the house was more to their liking. It still was a hoot and they want to do it again!

I am staying "focused." This is my word for the year! I have quilted more blocks.

Isn't this a fun block? When I was a kid, my brothers, cousins and I use to take inner tubes to the lake to float on, dive through and have pushing wars. Marci, who made me this block, didn't know me then; but, she couldn't have made me a better block!

I quilted a medium stipple in the background; quilted some lines in the hair, stitched down some of the lines in her jacket, stitched some loops on the inner tube and added some waves so the water.





I have taught a lot of swimming lessons over the years. Sometime during the swim session, we would have a safety day and the participants often practiced throwing the rescue buoy. It was  a fun way to impart safety lessons!

Liz made me a great block. Quilting around the words to make rectangles was a good way to quilt the space and leave the words legible.

I also stitched around the letters and quilted some stars in the red polka dot fabric. One would see that if they were close to the block or looking at the back. Yes, it is all free motion quilted!

My friend JoJo embroidered this block for me. She digitized the design. She does amazing work in her embroidery business. If you want one or one hundred of an item, OR if you want your logo in thread, she can do it and beautifully too.

This block has her touch--that lilac fill stitch and the heart fill stitch are her trademarks to me because she likes little pieces!

I added the circle quilting (Cindy Needham's ultimate stencil) because when you teach others who in turn teach others it creates a ripple effect.
Not only have I taught CPR classes, I've also trained many people to be CPR instructors!



The appliqué on this butterfly block is beautiful. People couldn't understand how this had anything to do with Red Cross, swimming, Hawaii or CPR. I got it right away. It stands for the butterfly stroke! It was fun to add a little detail to the butterfly. I echo quilted the block. Jan and her sister Maxine both served on the board while I was president. So I decided their two blocks would have the same background.










This block, that Gail appliquéd, is the local Red Cross Chapter logo. She got it spot on! I added a gentle line in the green and the blue. Originally, I quilted some more circle rows around the appliqué; but, it didn't feel right. The straight lines work great.

Gail and I worked together at the Red Cross Chapter so this is a special block.

I put these next two blocks together so you could see that the quilting is different! I wanted to use the ray quilting here; but, the stitching would have interfered with her signature.  All the straight lines, I quilted using rulers. I'm starting to get the hang of ruler work. Holding the ruler though tires my hands.

Marvalee likes to play with new techniques and materials. The piecing on this block was puzzle like. I wished I could have quilted it to maintain that look.

No two red cross blocks were made the same. No two blocks will be quilted the same either! Lyn stitched this one. She chaired the Saturday Workshop committee and put on a wonderful event. It's nice to have one of her blocks.

Gosh, Wilma, I can't tell you how many laps I've swam over the years. I started swimming laps 35 years ago when I was pregnant with our first daughter. I haven't talked about lap swimming. . .how did you know?

I quilted along the print in the water to accentuate the waves and around each piece of the lane line to be sure that those fused pieces weren't going anywhere!

I still have many more blocks to stitch; but, it has been fun to think about each person who made each block while I work out how to quilt it!