Blogging return for a great cause

It's been a LONG time between posts but I have a wonderful reason for this (probably) brief return.

Some of you may be familiar with Bianca. She's a crafty mumma with a husband and 4 young kids. Soon after a move from the top of Australia to the other end of the country, Bianca and her family found out that their eldest daughter, Maybelle, had cancer.

So, for the past year, Bianca and her husband have been juggling a new home, 4 kids, regular 2 hour trips to the city for hospital visits and treatments, and at the same time trying to provide for their little family and provide some sense of normalcy. I can't even begin to imagine the struggle and the stress!!

During her long and extended stays in hospital, Maybelle has watched a fair bit of daytime television. She has developed a great love of the Ellen Degeneres Show and her greatest wish, other than to be well of course, is to go along to a taping of the show. A whole community of people who connect to this family in a variety of ways, have banded together to try to make Maybelle's wish come true.

One of the fundraising efforts has come from the crafting community, of course. A Facebook based auction will be held in November with all manner of donated handmade items.

My donation will be this quilt:

A low volume style quilt with much inspiration from the fabulous Rita of Red Pepper Quilts.

The quilt measures 54.5 inches x 68 inches.
It is a good sized single bed quilt or a large lap quilt, perfect for snuggling on the couch.

The choice of fabrics include screen printed fabrics from local Australian designers such as Ink & Spindle, Yardage Designs and Pippijoe Textile Designs. Also included are a selection of international designer patchwork fabrics from Denyse Schmidt, Lu Sommers, Aneela Hoey and others.

 

  The quilt is backed with a simple red spot on white.

 

Binding is also simple in a red and white stripe.

 

Lovingly hand-quilted with red Purl 8 thread.

I will be setting a $300 reserve on the quilt because I HATE seeing quilts being sold for next-to-nothing!! Don't you agree?


So what am I asking of you? A few things:

1. If you would like to make a donation to the auction, please contact coordinator Mel at five2many@optusnet.com.au. She will let you know what she needs from you in order to participate.

2. Head over to the auction page and 'like' it. Items have already started to appear but the auction will officially begin on November 12th. It will be a perfect place to do some early Christmas / Hannuka shopping!!

3. Send a message to the Ellen Show via this page to make them notice Maybelle and hopefully play a part in getting her over to the show. Make sure in your message you mention the 'Let's Get Maybelle to the Ellen Show' page.  


I hope you have all been well this year and that you will end your year on a high with some gorgeous home-made goodies for a great cause.

Much love,
Andi x