Soft and snuggly for Covered in Love

Welcome to Finish it up Friday! Oh, wait. It's Tuesday. Anybody else having trouble keeping track of the days?? Oh well, I have two finishes to share no matter what day it might be. Both of these were shipped off today to Covered in Love, and were made with blocks, panels, yardage, and a kit that were donated to the charity.

This first one was made from an unusual kit. I'm guessing it is from the early part of the millenium. All the fabric was pre-cut into one of the following sizes: 3"x3", 3"x6", 3"x9" or 3"x12". The top layer of fabric in the package was blue and yellow, so I started this in April, the month when the RSC color was yellow. But as I dug into the piles, every pastel color emerged, with a smattering of darker shades, all in pretty florals.

It was early in the pandemic lockdown and I was finding it really hard to concentrate. So I decided that all I could handle was the simplest of patchwork, just squares, and cut all the pieces down to 3"x3". I stitched them so the few darker blocks formed larger dark squares and that was the extent of my "design." A few of the darker squares are pretty subtle, but that's OK. 

The top sat for another few months before I got around to making a backing and quilting it. By then I had the mental bandwidth to do some quilting that was a bit more interesting than my usual stipple. This loopy design that goes from corner to corner of the dark-centered blocks is still quite easy, but gives some nice secondary patterns.

The back uses up some of the last of this dusty green that was given to me by my DH's aunt in 2017. I think the original piece was 12 yards; that's a boat load of fabric!

The second finish for today's post features these gentle geishas, cut from a donated panel. I really like the striking black against cream contrast of the three ladies.

The coin strips were also donated, and arrived in my mail all sewn together in 3.5" widths. They were so fun and easy to add into this quilt that I've started sewing my own little scraps into long strips like this. They make super leader/enders. The background fabric, a sage green and purple batik, was donated by Jan. I think it looks a little like long skinny bamboo leaves, or tall sea grass.

And finally, the backing was also donated. This pretty piece of red and brown minky was sent to me by my friend Steph. It is soooo soft and fuzzy! You can easily see the way I quilted the piece with simple, wiggly lines in this photo. Minky is a bit tricky, stretchy in one direction but not the other. The batik background on the front of the quilt is just the opposite: hardly stretchy at all in any direction. This quilting motif has a lot of springiness and give, so it's pretty forgiving for combining the two into a finished quilt.

I often try to piece the charity label into the backing, but piecing minky is a PITA (pain in the ankle.) Trimming the label with pinking shears and using raw-edge applique works fine, too, with a nice raggedy effect after washing. These two quilts are now ready to do the good work of comforting end-of-life patients at hospitals in Texas.