Blocks for Charity

When I was still sewing the large wall hanging I probably made too much rounded down patches and I really missed the good old triangles, so I made the three blocks from triangles on Melinda’s appeal. You may read that in her blog (in Hungarian), I just copied some of it out here.

Melinda, who posted the appeal is one of the leaders of „Nazareth” Social Service institution and she is a social worker herself, who helps families.

They are taking care of about 500 children from all around Komárom-Esztergom county, whom get support in multiple forms of nurturing. The luckiest ones already got to foster-parents, but there are children homes with 20-20 children living in each and “Apartment-Homes” as well with 12-12 children living in them. They want to make these Homes somewhat friendlier by decorating them with quilts.

They are expecting 10 x 10 inch (25 x 25 cm) (+ seam allowance around it) blocks, with any kind of pattern. There is no restriction at all, they only asked one thing: if possible, use the color yellow in the quilt (as that color represents sunniness, cheerfulness and optimism). The creators should write their name on the back of the block (or attach a small piece of paper to your work with a pin), so they will know who the finished quilts can be thanked for.


Sewing the blocks together is done by both members of Melinda’s quilting group (Folt-Volt Klub) and the people who work in the Home. Another purpose of this event is to teach them the basics of quilting as well. By using the blocks from fellow quilters, even beginners can finish with amazing looking works and by experiencing the helpful nature of the quilting community, they might get the appetite to start doing patchwork.

Of course this wont go overnight, but it would be great if every Home had a sewing machine and someone who both knows how to use it, and enjoys doing so. Thus quilting would turn into an activity that creates both communities and values for them as well. It’s certain that the children would like to work with fabrics on a level that is appropriate for their age.

To have a pleasant start, they would also happily accept cheerful mooded wall hangings as well.

They constantly upload pictures and written posts about the help they get, the supporters and the current situation of the project on both Melinda’s blog and the Hungarian Patchwork Guild website.

So I created the three blocks for this appeal. I used a cheerful yellow fabric as a base for which I got some more fabrics with small flowers. I sewed with quick piecing the triangles and played around creating the three kinds of blocks.


It was pleasant to work with the yellow fabric as it brought up some nice memories: I bought it in Biloxi (USA, Mississippi) when we first visited a Jo-Ann store. Now we have some shops in Hungary with nice supplies and fabrics, but right then in 2000, when I saw how these quilting fabrics got their very own wall with a several yards long shelves, piling up the “green ones” and the “yellow ones” etc. – well I could hardly take a breath.

Back on topic: as I discovered, my math knowledge is pretty dusty, I probably miscounted when I tried to recalculate my plans into inches (I must plan in inches as all of my tools use them). So the end result: 22 x 22 cm (8 ½ x 8 ½ inch) blocks, so I was really glad when Melinda told me that they are happy for every block.


The group are constantly waiting for blocks so anyone can join anytime they want!

I wish happy sewing for everyone and if someone would like to join then I would be more than happy to write the address where you may send the blocks! (Melinda posted the address in her blog so you may find it there as well.)

Tex-Mex Hat

This short post was written because Matyofej previously asked in a comment about the Tex-Mex hat. So, this is the “famous” hat, that my husband is wearing keenly since we came home – from Autumn to Spring. 

As far as I know (as a Hungarian woman), it is called Tex-Mex because it isn’t really a Texas-hat (like the “Stetson”), its form was rather influenced by being close to Mexico. I would appreciate it if somebody would check my knowledge about the matter. Please, make a comment.

This “Don’t mess with Texas”plate is from my husband who lived in San Antonio for a while. ☺

Biloxi

Well, about Biloxi. The year was 2000, my husband went to study in the USA, first to San Antonio, Texas for 3 months, then he moved to Biloxi, Mississippi. Our son and I joined him soon after. The traveling itself was a huge adventure for us, with multiple transfers, and a big run all over the Zurich Airport, the kind you see in movies. We spend hours waiting there for our next flight, so we took a walk at the airport and look around. Then as we were sitting on a comfortable bench, I noticed (pretty late) the handwriting on our boarding card, which stated that we had to check in 3 hours before our flight, hence the running! By the way after the big run and spending some time filling of a long questionnaire we had to sit for another 3 hours in the transit lounge.

We traveled from East to West for 19 hours, following the sun around the globe, so we didn’t get to sleep the whole time. Our last landing was Gulfport. By the time we arrived with our small plane it already got dark. After Atlanta’s huge airport it was a bit strange to just walk over to the building where my husband was already waiting for us, in a check shirt and a “Tex-Mex” hat (these, and his strange accent did that a security guard thought he was an Australian ☺).

We have spent two and a half months in Biloxi, and we really enjoyed our time there. Our flat was in an apartment building near the shore, and if you think about that Hungary has no sea, you may understand how wonderful it was to step out the door in the morning to just admire at the endless ocean.

If you don’t mind I would like to make more posts about this lovely small town of Mississippi, and our adventures there, because even though it sadly didn’t last long enough, it became a very important part of our lives.