Blocks for Bella

Sunday, July 14, 2013

This quilt symbolizes love, friendship and hope.


It's going to the home of a dear friend of mine whom I've known since Junior High.  She just found out that her 3-year old daughter has stage 2 Burkitts Lymphoma.  Recovery looks promising for her daughter, Bella, but we wanted to send something warm and comforting for her to wrap up in during her chemo treatments.


When I say "we" I am referring to some of my best friends from high school.  They had the idea that we make her something warm and I knew this pattern would be the perfect one.  It's adapted from a cute pattern by LizzieB Cre8ive called Listen to Your Heart


Now.  I grew up in Washington State.  So they all live there and I live here in Utah.  Most of them do not sew nor do they own a sewing machine.  But through email, a few phone calls, and lots of texts they were able to make some beautiful blocks for Bella and send them my way.



I made several simple ones, like this:


But they all really went to town and embellished with flowers, lace, 


rick rack, ribbons and buttons.  Their blocks were beautiful!


It didn't take long to put all the blocks together and 
then I took it to my quilty friend Jen Ostler, who quilted it the day I dropped it off to her!  She gets the award for faster turnaround ever!  


Jen is my quilter who I go to if I need something free handed. I needed someone who could quilt around buttons and rick rack.  She did a beautiful job.  And, as an extra, fun little bonus, she always hides an unexpected object for the recipient to find.  Do you see it?  

 
I'm sure Bella will love hunting for her butterfly!

I have to thank Jen (again) because when I went to pick it up that night she told me that there would be no charge.  I really wanted to pay her but she insisted.  So with the money we would have spent on quilting we'll be getting Bella some pj's and/or a stuffed animal.  


I have really loved being a part of this special project.  It's been so fun to reconnect with old friends and pull together in honor of Bella (and her mother ~ our dear friend, Kym).  We hope and pray for their family and hope this quilt will symbolize our love and concern for them.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Happy quilting!
~ Amber

29 comments:

  1. Amber, I love the quilt. It is darling! Such a nice thing to do for a friends sick child. I know she will love it. You guys did a wonderful job on creating a quilt that will comfort and bring joy. Prayers for you friend child. Hugs to you. Karen ps. Love that butterfly too!

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  2. It's beautiful and perfect! Better than I could have imagined! Thanks for all the fabulous quilting Ambs and helpers!

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  3. A beautiful quilt which has been made with so much love! Best wishes to Bella!

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  4. I Iove how the heart quilt turned out. Bella is going to love it too.

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  5. That's so darling! I have a huge stash of reds and hearts but I'm desperately conflicted about mixing reds! You made it absolutely effortlessly beautiful!

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  6. This is so beautiful! A beautiful expression of love.

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  7. This is so beautiful it has made me cry, I hope Bella is thrilled to bits with her quilt and she has a complete recovery. My son has been battling a brain cancer and I know how devastating this can be. Well done, enjoy your week.

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  8. I love your quilt. It looks so warm and inviting. I feel that it will be loved by the special little girl.

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  9. Thank you Amber. It is beautiful and so meaningful to work on together.

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  10. It is a darling quilt! You are all awesome!!!
    Esther
    esthersipatchandquilt at yahoo dot com
    ipatchandquilt dot wordpress dot com

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  11. Gorgeous! Lovely story to start the week x

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  12. What a sweet project for you all to do together. It's darling!

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  13. What a beautiful and sweet, sweet quilt. Very touching story. I will pray for them and hope for a quick healing process.

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  14. What a beautiful gift of love. I know they will cherish it allways.

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  15. What a beautiful gift of love. They will treasure it allways.

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  16. Great job! It is beautiful and something I'm sure Bella will cherish for years and years and years to come! Get her a Gund Teddy Bear, they are great and they hold up forever. Got my baby one when she was 10 months old and not felling well, she is 20 and still sleeps with it every night!

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  17. What a wonderful story. Praying for a just as wonderful ending to the story when that precious little girl recovers.

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  18. What a pretty quilt! I'll pray for God to finish healing Bella.

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  19. Beautiful story. I feel a bit emotional reading it. I can't imagine going through something so traumatic with my children. It's a gorgeous quilt that Bella and her Mum will treasure.

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  20. A beautiful story and a beautiful quilt

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  21. Wow, Amber! Such a beautiful piece of art and comfort you and your friends made. I'm sure it'll help the little girl heal:)

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  22. What a beautiful and very thoughtful gift you and your friends have made for that precious little girl. The quilt is just incredible.

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  23. I am glad I linked over….this just swells my heart …I hate to hear of any child and family that has challenges such as this…certainly a quilt of hearts made with sooo much love will be embraced for a very long time…kudos to you all..x

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  24. Mdm Samm,

    Thank you. I was glad to be a part of that project and I believe the little girl is doing very well!

    Thanks for stopping by! Take care!
    Amber

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  25. Love this quilt and its story. I'd love to see your instructions for the Blocks for Bella quilt. I think it's hard to end up with coherent blocks when working with lots of people. Would appreciate your tips, and to see what kind of instruction you provided. Thanks!

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  26. Where can I get the heart patterns?

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    Replies
    1. The pattern was adapted from a pattern by LizzieB Cre8ive called Listen to Your Heart but it is no longer in print, unfortunately.

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I ♥ to hear from you so please feel free to leave a comment. I read each one and try to respond as often as I can. Thanks so much for stopping by! ~Amber