Mom of the Year . . .

So many of us have an inspiring woman in our lives, and recently Walmart hosted their Mom of the Year contest and 16,909 Canadian women were nominated!  They then had the incredibly difficult task of narrowing it down to the finalists.

Walmart very generously treated the eight finalists to a gala event, $10,000 each and $10,000 to their charity of choice.  The grand prize winner also receives $100,000 to her charity!  So if you're looking for some inpirational reading today, you can find their stories here - stories of generosity, selflessness, and outpouring of love for others around them.


Disclosure: I’m part of the Walmart program by Mom Central. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are ALL my own. Mom of the Year Award: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY Internet access and valid email account required. Nominations open May 10, 2012 to July 8, 2012 for legal residents of Canada over the age of majority. Entrants cannot nominate themselves. One (1) grand prize available to be won consisting of $10,000 cash, a $100,000 donation by Wal-mart Canada Corp. to charity/cause and a trip to Toronto (ARV $22,000). Seven (7) runner-up prizes available to be won consisting of $10,000 cash, a $10,000 donation to charity/cause and a trip to Toronto (ARV $22,000). Charity/cause subject to verification and final approval by Wal-mart Canada Corp., at its sole discretion. Odds of winning depend on how the judging panel evaluates each entry according to the criteria. For Official Contest Rules and to nominate an entrant, visit [www.momoftheyear.ca].

a signature quilt . . .

A woman in our church is going through a difficult struggle with cancer.  A close family member of hers asked me to make a quilt for her to include messages and texts from her family and friends.  This is the third quilt that's been made now for someone in our church with cancer, you can see the other quilts here and here.

The fabrics were purchased from a LQS, and the pattern is a simpler version of an X and O quilt.  This quilt came together very quickly, and there was a lot of help from my friend Alisa and the woman in our church that organized the quilt.

In the four blocks at the center top of the quilt is written out the words of the song, 'Great Is Thy Faithfulness.'

Giving a quilt to someone going through cancer treatments is special - visits are not always possible because of a low immune system, meals are more for other family members because the person often has little appetite or is put on a special diet, and treatments leave the person feeling very sick and often cold.  There are organized quilt charities out there that specifically give quilts to cancer patients, such as Victoria's Quilts (there is a US and Canadian group).  I encourage quilters to look into donating to such a worthy cause.

Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Sew and Tell Friday.

a quilt finish . . .

This quilt top had been sitting in my unfinished pile for awhile.  But a close friend of mine is getting married in a couple weeks, and was having a bridal shower last week.  The theme for the shower was 'around-the-clock' and the time I received was 9pm - so since that's the time of day where I curl up on the couch to watch a show or read a book, a quilt is what came to mind.  And after seeing their beach-front condo recently, I thought the colors and feel of this quilt would suit them.

The fabrics are an assortment of bright fat quarters that were picked up here and there, and the cutting was mostly done with the drunkard's path die from my Accuquilt GO! Baby.

The quilting is just an all-over stippling, and the backing is pieced from two coordinating prints.

Linking up to Manic Monday and Fabric Tuesday.