Courthouse Steps Fall Wall-Hanging & Cards for Soldiers

CARDS FOR SOLDIERS

My cousin sent me the information on how to send a Christmas card to a Canadian soldier serving overseas. I've heard about this other years but always too late to get one done but this year, I'm definitely going to be sending some over. In fact, I offered  my Chatham friends one of my hand-crafted Christmas cards free of charge if they gave me a Tim Horton's gift card (minimum $5.) to include with the card...and yes, the military bases now have Tim Horton coffee shops there. So, if you are a card maker or willing to buy a card and would like to participate here is all the information you need.

From the website www.redfridays.ca    

For 2012 we are targeting 4000 Christmas cards and Tim Horton Cards. This is the number of men and women that are serving in away missions such as Afghanistan. Help us reach the goal of a Christmas Card for every soldier serving away from home during Christmas.

Through Operation Santa Claus we can send your Christmas Card and Tim Horton's gift card directly to all the troops that are serving away from home.  Here is how it works.

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1) Buy or create your Christmas Card

2) Address the card to "A Canadian Soldier"

3) Write in a message of thanks and seasons greetings.

4) Place the card in the envelope and the Tims gift card. 
Label the outside of the envelope containing the card "To A Canadian Soldier".

5) Place the card in another envelope in which you address to us.

6) Send the card to the following address.
    Red Fridays Foundation of Canada
     Christmas Cards to the troops
     398 Charrington Ave
     Oshawa, ON
     L1G7B2

I sure hope they get 4,000 cards so every soldier gets one!

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Now, on with the rest of the post.
There was one good thing that happened because I fell and banged my bad knee and couldn't go for a walk with hubby yesterday and that one good thing was - I got a lot of quilting done! Sewing blocks together means I do a lot of sitting which means my knee is getting rest and I stayed with it all day. I'm trying to get these scrap quilts done for the Alzheimer's ward at a nearby nursing home. They will need them soon. Trouble is these are orphan blocks which means blocks someone has made or won and never finished so they donated them to me and two friends and we are making quilts out of them. Some of them are pretty, shall we say, creatively different! However, I don't think the residents will mind if the points don't match or the colours are, well, colourful!

 I thought I'd post a small wall-hanging I made a few years ago when I first started quilting.

Our quilt guild made this as part of our Block of the Month program. First we made the two courthouse steps blocks, a log cabin type of block and then we sewed them end to end with a long plain piece in between. Then we appliqued (mine is fused) on the sunflower and then added as many borders as we wanted and then quilted it. It's OK, but I would do a better job now if I decided to re-do it!