Bloggers' Quilt Festival: A Quilt for Mack

So what was my secret project... well, here's some background.
I am a speech/language pathologist by trade though I have been home with my kids for the past 3 years. I worked at a local school for my last position and I made a lot of friends there. I also saw a ton of kids, one of whom was a great little kid named Mack. Mack has leukemia and has fought it since he was 3 years old. He got to attend school all year in 4th grade, but now he is in 5th grade and his cancer is back. He just underwent a bone marrow transplant May 11 with his mother as the donor. With all the chemo and treatments involved with Mack's cancer, his mother has been unable to work. She has taken fabulous care of him and she is a wonderful woman.
The beautiful people at the school where I worked decided to throw a fundraiser last night to help raise money for Mack's mom to pay the bills while she and Mack recover at the hospital and then Ronald McDonald House. For some reason, it didn't occur to me that I could make something to donate (I'm spacey like that sometimes!). Then my friend Mitzi showed up to our Saturday Sewcial for quilt guild selling tickets for a quilt she made for Relay for Life (her quilt is SOOO gorgeous, by the way, and I so hope I win it!). So Monday I made a quilt top, Tuesday I made a back and pinned together my sandwich, Wednesday I quilted it and put on the binding. I washed and dried it, then delivered it yesterday morning! My house is a wreck, but the quilt got finished!

Sorry the pictures are not crisp and clear. I've been cutting back on the size so I can fit more into my Picasa. Anyway! The top is done in Hello Luscious by Basic Gray for Moda. I used a quilt top idea from a Missouri Star Quilt Co. youtube video where they used a layer cake. I lucked out that my LQS carried Grunge by Basic Gray and I was able to get more of the teal to use as a border and binding.

I quilted it on my home machine with my walking foot using wavy vertical lines. The above picture is post washing and below is prewashing.

I backed the quilt in Ambrosia by Robert Kaufman which ended up being perfect. The colors melded together so well!

I loved this quilt so very much, I may have to make it again...for me!
I took the kids to go by the "Miracles For Mack" event to see what all was going on. Good thing I did...they had my quilt lying in a chair. They were floored, however, when I suggested they tack it up to the tack strip high on the wall. Well, people have to see it!

There were vendors all down the halls (each table was "rented" and some vendors donated percentages of their sales) and there were horse rides outside. My son jumped on that immediately; I could not talk my daughter into it even though she's ridden horses at camp. They sold spaghetti dinners as well; one of my friends told me they'd pre-sold 200 by yesterday at 2:00, and that wasn't including the teachers or vendors! I'm just praying they did well for Mack's family.

Quilt size: ~ 60X70

Fabrics: Hello Luscious by Basic Gray for Moda & Ambrosia by Robert Kaufman

Quilting: wavy lines by me on home machine

Enjoy all the quilts in the festival!
**********UPDATE***********
I just heard that we don't have any hard figures yet but they event raised over $7000 last night! Big Whoop!!!!!! I'm so ecstatic for Mack's family!!!
*****SECOND UPDATE*******
The principal just let me know they brought in right at $8000! I also found out who won my quilt; the coach was also there when I worked there won it! I hope she enjoys it and I emailed her to let her know how happy I was that she won!

    

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