Wednesday, April 27, 2016

April Desire to Inspire Challenger Sherry Stevens brings in a harvest with Harvest Blessings

Our Desire to Inspire Challengers come from all over! This month our challenger, Sherry Stevens hails from Lake Stevens, Washington. This was a pretty special month for her since she was selected for the challenge on her birthday!
Fabrics arrived, I began planning my projects.

Sherry received the fabric; the Harvest Blessings collection pieces as well as a video greeting from designer Janet Nesbitt on nearly the same day, and went to work. Meet Sherry Stevens, her husband Patrick and dog Emmy on their favorite beach. 




Starting to layout the first quilt
I live about an hour north of Seattle in a small town called  Lake Stevens, Washington.  We are known for our rain here and we see a lot of gray skies but the trade off is green everywhere on a sunny day like today.  We see the Cascade mountain range to the east of us and the Olympic mountains and Puget Sound to the west.  On a clear day we can see Mount Rainier to the south when driving Interstate 5 and Mount Baker to the north. 

The first quilt top finished!
We have a large family, six children and twenty grandchildren.  Our family has always spent our vacations at a place called Ocean Shores, Washington. It  is a three hour drive from our home if we avoid the city traffic.  My husband and I still spend time there together when we can get away and we meet once a year with the kids and their families. We take our 13 year old dog Emmy with us whenever we can, she perks up when we get close to the ocean.

I started making doll clothes by hand when I was very young and learned to use a sewing machine at about 12 years old.   My mom gave me a sewing machine for Christmas when I was 13 and I haven't stopped trying new things since.  I sewed everything from wedding dresses to tote bags over the years and was not really interested in quilting.  I have enjoyed crochet, embroidery and cross stitch and love to work in our garden. One day in 2009 I walked in to a quilt shop in Coupeville on Whidbey Island while on my lunch break.  The shop was small but full of beautiful fabrics.  I saw a quilt on the wall made with a jelly roll that I was drawn to.  That is when I met Melanie, the shop owner.  I asked if she thought pattern would be a good quilt to try and she said yes it was a great place to start.   I bought the jelly roll that day, made the quilt very soon afterward.  I have been hooked on quilting since.

These fabrics were perfect for this pattern

I have not had the opportunity to join a guild but hope to have the time in the future.  I have been attending "Sit and Sew" days with a group of ladies from Whidbey Island as often as I can. They have taught me so much and are a great inspiration.  I think the person who has been the most inspiring to me when it comes to quilting is Melanie, owner of the Fabric Chicks quilt shop. She knows what fabrics I will fall in love with before I have seen them. I have also learned so much from online Quilt-Alongs and Blocks of the Month.  It is amazing what people have shared through blog posts and tutorials.

At work on the Bookmobile


I work full time for the Library on Wheels department of Sno-Isle Libraries.  I have loved my job serving customers through bookmobile and outreach service to homebound and childcare centers.  My husband has been the pastor of a church here in Lake Stevens for 27 years.  We have been married for 43 years and have a very busy life but I always find the time to sew.   I tend to get grumpy when I haven't been working with fabric so my husband fully supports my time and money spent on quilting. 

I knew I wanted to make this project as soon as I saw the fabric













I want to thank you for the opportunity to participate in the Desire to Inspire Challenge.  I love the fabrics I had to work with and would have used every scrap if I had the time.  I enjoyed every minute of the planning and creating process and I thank you again for this honor.  Thank you also to Janet Nesbitt for the message of encouragement.  It was fun to hear that we live in the same state, just on opposite sides.  I will have to try to meet her if I get to travel that direction. 


P.S. I have been blogging since about the same time I started quilting.  I do not post as often as I used to but have posted pictures of every quilt I have made and about other projects and sometimes family events. http://sherry-blessingsfromournest.blogspot.com/ 


Sherry is so generous that she is offering up these two items for a give-away to readers of the Henry Glass blog. Enter below by commenting on Sherry's lovely work! 








Desire to Inspire Challenge gives away her own Harvest Blessings

26 comments:

Anna brown said...

Ohhhhhh loved reading your story...My son was stationed on whidbey ....I went for a walk in the village there and well was looking for a quilt store....hehehe I found one down a side street can't remember the name it was kinda in the basement ...I bought the big breast cancer block book....My son says that bit of the town has been changed big time....He now works for boeing in seattle Wa..Loved your work ty for sharing your bounty with us all.....happyness04431@yahoo.com

Cecilia said...

Sherry, your quilts are great! I love the table runner you made. Thank you for sharing and for the chance to win your beautiful towels and oven mitt.

Joanne said...

Absolutely beautiful work Sherry! I love all of the projects, but how could I not, when I fell in love with the fabric - just like you. :-)

Material Girl said...

Love the towel hangers and oven mitt. The fabric is beautiful, great quilt to make with that fabric too!

Sandra Walker said...

Wow, you did great AND you work full time! How wonderful to find out on your birthday..mine was April 3...was hoping I might get the chance on my day! These are such rich fabrics and you did them justice. Lovely photos of you and your family.

Farm Quilter said...

What a gorgeous quilt!! It looks like autumn here in eastern Washington!!!

Debbie said...

Such darling projects!

Judy1522 said...

Sherry turned the fabric into beautiful projects. She is very talented.

Michele T said...

Beautiful quilts!!! As soon as I spotted the oven mitts, I had a idea to make myself a pair... But winning them would be even better!!!

Michele T said...

Beautiful quilted projects!! I especially love those oven mitts!!! I'd love the pattern to make my own ,especially if someone else is the lucky winner!!h

Janarama said...

You made the perfect items to showcase the beautiful fall fabrics. I especially love the white quilt with the leaves and also the table runner. Thank you for the opportunity to win a few of your other creations.

Vicki H said...

I love kitchen towels that can hang over the oven door. Love the matching oven mitt too. Thanks for sharing.

Janet Sabol said...

I love the practical and pretty items you have for a giveaway. I, too, started quilting after many years of sewing. Now I really feel something is missing if I don't sew each day. Enjoy the ride!!

cjmont said...

i loved seeing what you did with the challenge fabrics, the quilt is gorgeous. tfs

Diane H said...

Lovely to meet you Sherry. Congratulations on such a well done challenge.

Danette said...

I love autumn leaf quilts, the fabric was just right for it. The table runner is so cute, plus the giveaway items, too! Very nicely done! Thank you.

Danette said...

I just love Autumn leaf quilts, this turned out beautifully. In addition, your giveaway items are so cute. Very nicely done!

Anonymous said...

So generous of you! My fingers crossed here

Judyk said...

How cute! I think you did a great job with your challenge. I keep looking at patterns for oven mitts then I decide I'm not ready to tackle this project. Glad you did. Thanks.

Needled Mom said...

Great work, Sherry. I have followed her for awhile now and am always inspired by her work.

Dody said...

Wonderful job!😄 What an inspiration. Thank you for sharing
,
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Kathy E. said...

Oh, Sherry, you did a fabulous job on this project! You are an inspiration!

Knittingdancer on Ravelry said...

I love these hanging dish towels and oven mitt.

Kathy G. said...

Beautiful projects! And I love the rich colors of the fabric!

Rose Santuci-Sofranko said...

Lovely designs all around! Thanks and God bless! ILuvTheEucharist (at) aol.com

Dee said...

Love the towels and mitt, such great colors!
Great Job!!!