Nabby's Dowry "Airing of the Quilts" ~ Part Four

We've had a lovely snowfall this morning and everything is covered in a new coat of pristine white snowflakes.  It has been very cold and will be brutally cold tonight with wind chills deep into the minus zone.  Winter is definitely here in Chicagoland.   I like it...it's the arrival of the fourth season, and exactly how it should be in December.  We all hope the snow will visit again for Christmas and New Years.  After that, it can go back to the Arctic and not return for another year!  HA!  No chance of that!  One of my favorite times of year is right after Christmas, when all the hustle and bustle are over, and winter settles in for the long haul..  It's the perfect time to piece a new quilt and snuggle under all the quilts folded on the couch waiting for us.  

All this talk about quilts is the perfect segue into the last bunch of photos from my Nabby's Dowry Sew~Along.   Here we go.......

Betsy from Illinois

Kathy from Connecticut

Mary C from Washington

Pam from Utah

Pam from Wyoming

Pat from Texas

 Patsy from Illinois....did you notice that Patsy changed the direction of the four Flying Geese blocks!  Love that!!

Rena from Georgia

Sandy from Maine

Sandy from Washington

Sharon from New York

Susan from New York

Terry S. from Tennessee

Yolande from France

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know I adore small blocks.  I think my love of small blocks has rubbed off onto my friend, Deb, who works with me.  Look what Deb did with her Nabby's Dowry!

My quilt is on the left, and Deb's little quilt is on the right.  It is so darn cute!  As with all of these quilts, the photos just don't do justice to how nice they are in person.  Deb's blocks are 3 inches finished!  

You have no idea how jazzed I am that all of you were sewing along with me.  It is sooo cool to think about all of us around the world, working on the same project together!  Often, along with sending my the photo of a quilt, I receive a touching email, telling a story about what was going on in the lives of the quilter while the sew~along was in progress.  I received one such email from a generous woman who wishes to remain anonymous.  She gave me permission to share her story with you.   She writes:

I live in a rural area.  I am a self-taught quilter, and I have always quilted alone in my quilt closet.  10 years ago I bought a computer, now, I "quilt" with friends (you) all over the world.

Last spring I got a call from a neighbor.  She is a minister's wife, mother of 4, grandmother of 3 1/2, works part-time, etc, etc, etc.  (busy, busy, busy)

She is also a self-taught quilter, trying to finish a quilt that she started 5 years ago.  Could I help?  Could I be her mentor?  Me? I'll try.

Now Monday mornings are OURS!  Don't mess with Monday Mornings!

Nabby's Dowry came out and I thought that it would be a fun project for us.  So, I dug into my re-cycled shirt box and made all of the HST's, plus a couple extras.

Next Monday, I gave the HST's and a pencil drawing of the first block to her and pointed to the design wall.  Have fun.  After a hesitant start, she was off.  Laughing, changing this HST for that one, moving it one place over, and back again.  She loved it.  Next Monday, I did the same...........and the next Monday, and the next. She was disappointed when the last block was finished.

I let her dig into my shirts for the sashings, corner triangles and the border.  The last she saw of it, it was pinned on the design wall in many pieces.  (I have her working on another project now.)

She has had a "rough" summer.  The parsonage is being gutted and re-built, so, they have been living in a borrowed house, for months.  It is almost over, and they can move back in by Christmas.

Nabby's Dowry will be my house-warming present to her.

Thank you for a fun project.  It was a great learning tool.  I hope that others have had as much fun with it as we did.

 I maintain that quilters are the most kind and generous people on the planet, and I'm so proud to be one along with you!

I hope you all enjoyed making Nabby's Dowry....I surely did!  And, yes!  To those of you asking if there will be more sew~alongs in the future, yes, yes, yes!!  I already have two planned for next year, with perhaps a third one....we'll see.  

If you'd like to participate in future sew~alongs, the very best way to do that is to receive my blog posts via email.  That way, you can easily print the email containing all the instructions.  To do this, simply type your email address into the "Follow by Email" icon, found on the right hand sidebar of my blog.  You will receive an email to confirm your subscription.  Follow the instructions to confirm, and you're all set!  

Again, my heartfelt thanks to everyone who sewed along with me, and for those of you who sent in the photos we've all been enjoying.