The NEED to be creative?

Do you have that feeling, the absolute NEED to do something creative? I get it all the time, and sometimes I can't sleep because I feel the need to make something or to work on something and be creative!
Yesterday I sewed all day long.  I saw a wonderful cross quilt and so I decided to make one, terribly easy and quick and fun!   Carla over at  Lollyquiltz  has some pictures and a tutorial on her blog.  I think my blocks are smaller, but basically the same idea and LOTS OF FUN!  Here's some pictures....

This is the first one I made, before sewing it.  I put the pieces between sheets of paper so I know what piece goes where.  I like to cut out 10 or 15 blocks and then sew a bunch of them together at the same time.  And I tend to like bright colors, so I have a lot of those in my scrap bag and in my stash!  And I have tons and tons of stash and scraps!!

And here's a bunch of them all sewn up!  What fun they are.  We are getting a new priest in our parish in July, and I'm thinking I might make a wall hanging for him as a welcome gift.  So I'm trying to make "guy" blocks too, not just flowers and such!  Though I do like the flowers myself.  :)

I thought to myself, self, if you can do crosses on bigger blocks, how about doing something similar on smaller blocks?  So I cut some 6" blocks and started cutting and sewing and this is what I ended up with!  I squared them down to 4" blocks, I'm thinking this would be a great kids quilt in bright colors, and oh so easy and fast!

 And when making those 4" blocks, this is what's left!  I'm thinking that I need to sew them together and square em up and make blocks out of them too!  I love a challenge and I hate to waste fabric of any kind.





Once a month during the months of Sept. through May, I quilt with the Mennonites here in town.  I love my Mennonite friends, they are such good and kind and gracious folks!  Anyhow, I'm hoping to make a few baby quilt tops over the summer to take with me in Sept. to give them something great to start the year off with.  They generally tie the quilts they make on quilting day. They rarely put on separate binding as they bring the backing around to the front and sew a neat edge down and waaallaaa... it's done!  Many of the quilts they make go to Mexico in layettes for new mom's who are not financially well off.  The youth girls sew baby clothes and do fund raisers and buy diapers and all kinds of neat stuff for the layettes. 
A couple of years ago I went with 3 others ladies (all 3 were Mennonites) to Mexico to the hospital and we took about 50 layettes with us.  We got to actually give some of them to the new Moms.  We got to talk with some of them and see their beautiful new babies!  And we got a tour of the hospital, very very interesting.  I got to chat nurse talk with some of their nurses, VERY interesting.  Their nurses still wear their caps, but their caps are laminated in plastic and thus easy to clean!  I thought that was pretty clever!!  :)
That was a great experience.  We also drove around Agua Prieta for a while, and it's interesting that the poverty is intermingled with the rich.  Meaning that shanty homes are right next to homes that look like palaces, very interesting.  And stopped at la farmacia for some medicine.  Very interesting!  :)


Anyhow, I've rambled enough!  Have a great Memorial Day.  And bless all our troops and may each of them be safe and may those who are far from home come home to their loved ones safe and sound and of course, remembering those who died in service to their country.