I’m reading the excellent book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide and came across this sentence in chapter 3:
Zach is part of an exploding movement of “social entrepreneurs” who offer new approaches to supporting women in developing world… social entrepreneurs create their own context by starting a new organization, company, or movement to address a social problem in a creative way.
By using quilting and sewing, I want to support others in the world, often women and children, through literacy, education, justice, clean water, and spiritual nourishment. I love that this is a growing movement and hope many more people will find their own creative ways to support what they are passionate about.
I’m excited to introduce new Stay Put Headbands! These great headbands are made of ribbon — bright colored ribbon on the outside to show off to the world and a velvet ribbon against your hair. This little trick keeps them from slipping off your head. Perfect for athletes, runners, yoga classes, or just to wear out every day!
Here are pictures of a few of colors and how they’re worn. More ribbon colors are visible on the Soft Goods page. You can always ask for certain colors and I can make what you need. These are great for friends, sports teams, or for everyday wear.
Visit the etsy shop to purchase or email threadsofhopedesigns at gmail dot com!
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Need a nice knit winter hat for a Christmas gift? Check out some of the knitted caps at etsy.com/shop/threadsofhopequilts. You can also see pictures of them in the Soft Goods section on this site.
And be sure to read the little story-descriptions for each hat. They’re half the fun!
This wedding present for my friend Bridget was inspired by a quilt I saw in a magazine. It was made from antique saris; mine was not. But I knew I could mess around with it and make up my own pattern, so I did! The finished size was approximately 96″ x 72″. I am very happy with how it turned out. I loved the fabrics and think it looks great! Maybe I will even share the pattern one day!
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This is a comment I regularly hear from people who see the fabric I’m buying or quilts I’ve assembled. I don’t think it’s a testament to my prowess as a quilter, but more an indication that I spend most of my time buying fabric around traditional quilters who get nervous combining various forms of gingham. Okay, that’s a bit harsh! But when most quilters I run into in Joann’s are middle-aged women, they are definitely used to warm, country tones. I am not a warm county, calico kind of girl (though I did love Little House on the Prairie when I was little). I like to find creative ways to combine colors and prints and make every quilt something I’d want to have in my bedroom.
I’m really looking forward to working on the fabric below for a very cool, pear-tree inspired quilt. But it will have to wait until I finish the other two in front of it. I’m also very excited about them!
This is a relatively easy quilt when it comes to fabric buying: you need about 19 fat quarters and fabric for the strips and back. (I used a black sheet for all of it.) It takes a solid amount of time to cut and stitch the colored strips, but otherwise, not too bad!
…I’m just doing it very quietly. 
My latest below, as inspired by the talented and popular Amy Butler’s pattern.
Thanks to Nashvillest.com for sharing the love! Welcome to my blog where you can learn about what inspires me to quilt! I’ve been making three commissioned quilts as Christmas presents, trying to quilt stockings to sell, and designing more patterns! So while I don’t have pictures to post of what I’ve been up to, I have definitely been busy!
And yes, I do accept commissioned projects, so if you have a quilt you’d love made or one you’d love to give as a gift, please shoot me an email to threadsofhopequilts(at)yahoo(dot)com and we can talk more about what you have in mind!
In the meantime, if you need a winter hat, check out them out below and email with your hat choice! They are $20 for adult sized and $15 for kids. (Hover to see which size they are.)
Last night I was looking through my I Love This Book and was inspired by a hopscotch board! I immediately saw this fantastic quilt for a kid where they can play on the carpet or (gasp!) the grass outside! (I’ll need a darker fabric for the back to hide dirt and stains.)
My friend Caitlyn is in town and loved the idea! Then requested one in Restoration Hardware-inspired colors, mixed with some more modern fabrics. The quilt could work for boy or girl with muted pastels. I am LOVING this one and would use some of the fabrics to make bean bags so you really could play hopscotch on it!
Hopscotch Quilt by threadsofhope
By the way, my I Love This Book was created by my wonderful friend Mickie, someone with whom I lived when I first moved to Nashville 4 1/2 years ago. Every time she got a catalog in the mail, she’d go through it and tear out all the pages with furniture, paint, a photo, vase, even flower she like. She put them in a big 3 hole binder, separated into various sections like Furniture, Paint, Details, Flooring, Outdoors. Then, the next time she was decorating her house or going antiquing, she had a book full of ideas she liked. She gave me an empty binder for Christmas so I could start my own book. I really do love that book!
