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!

There are many quilt patterns out in the world, that’s for sure. But ever since I was a kid, I’ve had trouble separating a pattern from the colors of its fabric. When I was little, my mom would take me to look at the huge McCalls or Simplicity books. I was supposed to find a dress she could make me, but I was always so distracted by the fabrics, that I never saw what the actual pattern was like.

I’ve seen this a bit with quilts too. When I see a quilt made in various ginghams, I have a hard time imagining it in anything but gingham. Or a quilt in pastels I make in other pastel fabrics. However, as I’ve started designing my own quilts, I see them in any color I want!

One of the quilts I’m really excited about is below: the Fishbowl. I wanted something for kids and found this amazing Heather Ross fabric that is whimsical, modern, and young. Perfect for a little boy (or girl) obsessed with the ocean! Completed size will be at least 42″x42″ but since I may add another border, I’m not sure how it will look upon completion. At least 3.5′ square though. I can’t wait to get started!

Fishbowl by threadsofhope

Some of these numbers are what really got me thinking about how to get involved with Wycliffe, so take a look at them yourself:

6,912 — Languages spoken in the world today
2,251 — Languages without any of the Bible, but with possible need for a translation to begin
193,000,000 — People who speak the 2,251 languages without a translatation
1,953 — Translation programs currently in progress for languages without adequate Scripture
1,168 — Language communities which have access to the New Testament in their heart language
438 — Language communities which have access to the entire Bible in the language they understand best
6,500,000,000 — World population
1,000,000,000 — Non-literate adults, 2/3 are women

This video from Wycliffe shows their initative to finish translations by the year 2025. As they share in the video, that’s more than 2,200 translations in the next 17 years. Or 130 translations every year. Or 1 every 3 days. Pretty lofty goal! But they believe it’s attainable. And I’d love to be part of accomplishing that goal!

Take a look:

Welcome to Threads of Hope!

Threads of Hope was created by me (Allison) when I became familiar with the efforts of Wycliffe Bible Translators. There are still thousands of people who don’t have a Bible in their own language. When I realized that, it surprised me and I’ve felt compelled for quite a while to do something about it. This is one of my contributions to speading the Good News to the world.

In the past 6 months, I’ve discovered how much I love quilting. I want to make so many, but why do I need more than a few blankets? I finally connected the pieces (yes, that’s a sewing joke) and decided to start selling quilts to raise money for Wycliffe.

This blog is where you can find what I’ve made, where I’ve found inspiration, and what is coming down the pipeline. I’ll also be sharing my thoughts about hope, quilting, and creativity. Hopefully, you these quilts will add color, creativity, and excitement to your house while equipping translators with the funds they need to complete the gospel for someone else.

Thanks for stopping by!