And there goes October!

I can't believe that another month has flown past - although I have enough projects worked on to prove it!  I'll be sharing some of them as the weeks go by, but today's post is reserved to show my October's "A Lovely Year of Finishes" finished project.
I got one of my "fire" quilts done - it will be going to one of the boys that lost a brother in a tragic house fire earlier this month.  The quilt for the 2nd brother is quilted and just needs to have the binding attached and sewn down.  I'm hoping to share that later today, but this one quilt was my challenge.
The finished quilt looks like this:

I used just a quick and simple wavy line stitched from side to side, and I machine-stitched the binding down.  I'm hoping that this quilt gets lots of use, and that means a lot of washing - I find that machine stitching the binding makes it strong and durable.

I'm off to post my finish on Melissa's ALYoF post, and then I'll work on finishing the second quilt.

Edited to add: my completed second quilt!  I quilted this with diagonal cross-hatching, and I machine stitched the binding.  Hubby very kindly assisted in holding up the finished quilt - here it is!

October's Challenge Project

This year is slipping away so quickly!  There are only 3 months left, and SO many projects needing to be completed.  The worst part is choosing just one (who am I kidding?  I sometimes don't even have time to finish one fairly simple project..!).
Unfortunately, this month's project is coming as a result of a few recent tragedies - namely fires that have devastated a number of families.  A family member lost almost everything in his apartment when the townhouse complex he lived in went up in flames a week ago; one day later, a family just outside of town lost their century home, and even worse, their 10 year-old son.  The call has gone out for replacement items - everything from clothes, to bedding, to kitchen supplies and anything else you can think of.
I know that a lot of store-bought blankets are just as warm as quilts, but a quilt says "I care about you" in a way that a blanket doesn't.  I know that a quilt isn't going to bring back that young boy, but hopefully, knowing that our town and surrounding area is there to support that family will bring a bit of comfort.
So, my goal for October is to finish at least one of the two "Plus" quilts that I've recently pieced.  I know that we're supposed to choose ONE project, but when there's so much need, I'm going to aim high.  If I manage to get this quilt completely finished, I'll start on the second one - hopefully, I'll get both done (that way, both surviving brothers can get their own quilt).
Here's top #1:

and quilt #2: 

We Canadians will be celebrating Thanksgiving next Monday - and my family and I have SO much to be thankful for!  Being able to help someone that's gone through incredible challenges is just a small way to express my thanks to God for everything that He's blessed me with.

And now I'm off to link up to Melissa's A Lovely Year of Finishes post.