HI Marilyn, You've joined a great board.. Someone here can answer any question you can ever think of! I was born and raised in Calif.. Born in LA county, lived the last 20 Calif. years in San Diego.. but now I'm living in Missouri... Your are going to be busy with that lofty goal.

Go to http://quilterscache.com for so many blocks you'll just be amazed.. and Marcia Hahn gives very good directions for making them.. It's one of my favorite go-to sites.

Welcome from your neighbor down the hill, Marilyn!!

Welcome to the board! You'll learn lots here. I have!

Hello back at ya....from cold Va.

Welcome from Bakersfield Ca. You will enjoy this site very much. Good luck on trying different patterns that's the best way to learn.

Hello and welcome from over the hills in western Nevada! :thumbup:

Welcome from San Gabriel California.

Hello from West Virginia and welcome to the group
jazs2

Hello Marilyn and welcome from northern California! I enjoyed reading your lovely introduction. You will learn a lot here, everyone is very helpful.

Welcome from NJ, I recently copied directions for quilts going to our troops overseas. Injured in the line of duty. Hope to get some done after the holidays so I can help out too!! Good luck and happy holidays.

Oh My, the responses on this thread have been wonderful. Thank you all so much for your warm, generous and kind welcomes. I'm honored to be here.

I just love the quilts that are in some of the avatars. I also love the dog and cat. They are so cute. MNM, I'm so glad you also have 2 sons on the Sheriff's Dept. What a coincidence.

I have been busy today TRYING to make an 8 point star block. Oh wow, it was so hard to get that star right. I had to throw away my first attempt because it was a disaster. After 8 hours, on and off, all day long, I finally got it done correctly. It took a lot of precision measuring and cutting and making sure my seam allowance was exactly 1/4" before every square/triangle fit together nicely. I'm pleased with the result though but because it was so hard to put the star together, I'm not sure I want to make a 12 block quilt using it. Here's a picture.

I welcome critiquing of it but please be gentle in your constructive criticism, hahahaha.

Welcome from Michigan. We are glad to have you. May you get really fast at quilting so you can accomplish your goal.

Also for a first attempt star block you did a fabulous job.

Hahaha. I don't know how fast I can become because that 8 point star today kicked my butt and I was at stress level 10 trying to get it right.

Yes, 92 wheelchair quilts and 92 throw size quilts is quite a project to take on but..............I must confess, I have started to cheat.

Along with making my own blocks which I will, of course, make into quilts for the vets, I'm buying blocks already made from Ebay. I got some lovely flannel blocks today (30 of them) and will be able to make 2 quilts with them. I usually put borders around each block to make the block larger, then sew them together to complete the quilt.

Of course I will let the VFW lady know I did NOT make the blocks themselves (the ones I bought off Ebay) but that I did put them together and completed the quilt. She won't care. She's just glad to be getting nice quilts to share with the vets in the Barstow vets home.

At least now I have a purpose for them; they will actually be used for a good cause so I am motivated to sew every day. It may take me a few years to get 184 quilts done but it shouldn't be too bad because 92 of them will be crib size (perfect for wheelchair bound people).

So, when I post here, don't be surprised if I am huffing and puffing while wiping the sweat off my brow and I'm in a frenzy. It's just me joyfully sewing my fingers off.

Hey, maybe I will get to be fast. Is there a Guinnes Book of World Records entry for the person that makes the fastest 12 or 24 block quilt? I just may win that coveted title. I won't guarantee the quilts will be any good but...

Hahahaha.

Oh Jojo, thank you so much. However, if you could have been here, you would have heard "sailor's talk" coming out of my frustrated mouth. Hahaha. My daughter-in-law was laughing so hard watching me spaz out over not getting that block right. I was bound and determined though. I hate giving up. I refuse to allow something like sewing a block to get me down and make me give up. So, I stayed with it (with breaks in between of course), until the job was done.

I feel a "break" comin on...that block beat me up today. I'll try another pattern tomorrow. :)

Hi Janetter......oh tell me about that project of yours. I'd love to make one and send it on. Someone on Ebay also is involved in making blankets for soldiers. I saved the link and am going to check it out. It's:

http://soldiersangels.org/blankets-of-gratitude.html

I dabble in crocheting as well. I managed to learn the granny square and am in the process of putting my first one together now that all the squares are done. I'm sure they would love to have quilts too, not just crocheted blankets.

Hello and Welcome from Valley Center, CA. You will enjoy everything in here and want to try everything you see. Lots of pretty work in here.

Welcome from Chattanooga!

Thank you for your work on behalf of the veterans... May God bless you,
GrandPa

Welcome from Bay Area, CA. I'm a newbie to the message board myself and love it. Also get lots of helpful suggestions from message board members posts.
Carolynn in Mtn View, CA

Hi and welcome I know you will learn heaps from all the talent people on this board because I have.

I already have learned several things from the message board.
ARe you perhaps a cat person also? I noted the cat picture by your name. We have several cat children. I'm always on the lookout for good cat fabrics and quilting patterns of cats.

We have 4 cat children.
Piggsy[pictured in avatar] is the youngest & is my quilt inspecter.
I have a collection of cat themed fabric, patterns etc. but haven't done anything with them as yet, Building up the stash while I'm still working for when I am retired.

Lis

Welcome to the board, and I thank your whole family for their service in the various military branches and public service organizations!

Welcome to you from Northern California.

welcome from mo

Welcome from S central Oklahoma!