Danielle's Quilt/Support Team London!

I have a special story to share with you today, and I hope you will read all the way to the end.  Or at least skim, because I know you are busy.

I met Danielle about 8 years ago when we were both working at JoAnn's.  I was between teaching jobs and had just gotten engaged, and she was also engaged.  I was hired shortly before the store closed to move to a larger store, and then I found a teaching job, so we only worked together for a couple of months.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago and I get a message on Facebook from Danielle, asking if I was the same Barbie that worked at JoAnn's years ago.  She had seen me comment on a mutual friend's post, and it turned out that we live just down the street from each other now, and have for a while.  (It's kind of a long street.)  I think I have actually gotten to know her better in the last couple of months than when we worked together.  It's hard to really get to know someone when you're working retail at different ends of the store, you know? 

 Danielle recently brought me this quilt which she made for her sister's wedding.  The pattern is from the May/June issue of Quiltmaker Magazine.  It's called Easy Breezy Hexies by Sonja Callaghan.

The pattern and layout of this quilt are fantastic, but unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the whole quilt.  My little guy threw up within one minute of me taking the last stitches, and then she came to pick it up the next morning, so I only got pics of sections of the quilt hanging off of my frame.  I especially love the pieced centers of the stars--the stripes make such a nice accent.  She said the pattern was really intimidating for her at first, but turned out to be really easy after all.  She did a great job piecing it. 

Danielle asked for allover loopy quilting. 

 She said that everyone at the wedding loved the quilt.

So here's the special part that I really hope you read.  Danielle has a 5 year old daughter with special needs named London.  She is such a sweet little girl, but having a special needs child certainly has challenges.  One of the organizations that has helped their family is Hope Kids.  From what I understand it is like the Make-a-Wish Foundation, but on a smaller, more frequent scale, helping families do things that you or I would do without a second thought.  Their family is running a 5K on August 3rd to raise money for Hope Kids to give back to the organization that has helped them so much.  They started out with a goal of raising $500, then raised it to $750, and last I checked they were up to $800 in donations to help this great organization.  Even so, I'd like to try to help them some more.

London with her adoring little brother.  Used with permission.

So here's what I'm doing about it and asking you to help.  For anyone who donates to Team London before the end of the campaign, which is technically August 3rd but the end of July would be a safer bet, I'm offering to give you a matching discount of up to $25 on quilting services, for up to three quilts per person.  So it you donate $25 and your quilting cost is $50, your charge will only be $25.  You come out even, but your donation to Hope Kids is tax deductible.  All you need to do is show me a copy of your receipt and you'll receive your discount.  You can choose to donate anonymously if you'd like to and still receive a discount.  Another perk, your discount will not expire for a year, even though the campaign ends in about two weeks. 

I hope you will consider supporting this cause.  I'd like to show my support for my friend. She has been so touched by everyone's generous donations so far.  Let's help them raise over $1000 for Hope Kids!