Friday, November 13, 2020

Lutheran World Relief

 

Today marks the beginning of a big batch of quilt finishes I'll be sharing on the blog. I actually completed many of these quilts weeks ago, but had to wait until now to get them washed and photographed. To maintain as much social distancing as possible, we've been anchoring more than usual which means conserving our water.  But this week we needed a marina for other reasons, so I have unlimited water and have been washing quilts like a crazy woman!

I thought this dock would be a great place to hang the quilts from the boat railing for photos, but it turns out that the dock is on the north size of the boat so the lighting is lousy for that. Rats! In the top pic you can see Sean stepping off the boat into deep shade, carrying each quilt to me one at a time. So helpful!


To get the quilts into the sunshine, I strapped our expandable boat pole between two pilings and hung the quilts from that. It worked fine, although the quilts hung precariously over this murky water! 



The pole wasn't quite high enough to hang things vertically, so most of the pics will show sideways quilts. Sorry about that! With so many to photograph, I couldn't ask Sean to hold his arms over his head for an hour. So for this performance, the role of Helpful Husband will be played by his understudy, Beaux T. Pole.

Without further ado, let's see the first finished quilt!


This Rainbow Irish Chain is made from nine patches I've been sewing for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. They've been accumulating for several years and their day has finally arrived.


Back in August, you may remember that there was a huge explosion in Beirut. Along with a devastating loss of life, many buildings and shipping containers were destroyed in the port. Among them was a one that held thousands of quilts to be distributed by the Lutheran World Relief (LWR.)


Joy of The Joyful Quilter put out a call to sew quilts to replace those lost, and she would coordinate collecting them and getting them into the right hands with LWR. At first I said I would donate a top and backing, but decided to go ahead and finish the quilt myself. The required size, 60"x80" pretty large to wrangle in my small space, so I don't usually make them that big. 


Since I already had all the rainbow-hued nine patches, it was a simple matter to cut 6.5" scrappy neutral/low volume background squares and piece it all together. For some of the backgrounds, I used the reverse side to keep the colors light so the chains would pop.


I also had a big chunk of this lime green floral for the backing. It only needed a little extra blue tie-dye to make it big enough. A green and cream plaid binding kept the edges looking light and airy.


For a quilt this big, I wanted to get the quilting done quickly with minimal pushing and shoving through the machine. Simple stippling to the rescue. 

This quilt has been shipped to Joy so she can add it to her growing pile for LWR. Many, many thanks to Joy for honcho-ing this important effort!

19 comments:

  1. the quilt is lovely, gotta love a nine patch and its so effective how you have put it together..... I didn't know that lots of quilts had been lost in that explosion...
    Hugz

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  2. I love the rainbow effect, Louise! Fun to see your current digs and quilt photo shooting set up. Thank you, Louise, for making this quilt for LWR and a family in need.

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  3. I'm glad you had Helpful Husband on hand, just in case Beaux got the bends - haha. That is a big quilt for you to wrangle in your space! I'm sure LWR will appreciate the donation and the quilt will bring much comfort to someone. Nice work!

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  4. What a pretty Irish chain - and that backing is perfect for it. That is a tragic thing that happened with all those quilts and how appreciated yours will be!

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  5. Oh no I hadn't heard that quilts were in one of the containers, think of all that hard work going up in smoke literally. I am loving this chain quilt a bunch. Makes me itch for scrap quilting! You are such a blessing to make as many donation quilts as you do Louise. I'll bet you got the looks of a few curious onlookers while photographing all those quilts!

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  6. Thank you for sharing the spoils of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge with the LWR effort here at The Joyful Quilter, Louise! Special thanks to Sean the Deliverer and to Beaux T. Pole for doing the heavy lifting! I'll be looking forward to adding this colorful quilt to the top of the heap.

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  7. Stunning! Always a fan of 9 patch blocks anyway. Laundry and photos of quilts make it an adventure and challenge.

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  8. I so admire all you get done and working in challenging conditions to boot. Then, I resolve to get more organized and produce some donation quilts with all the stash I've accumulated. Now that garden season has ceased (except for digging and storing the dahlia tubers), I need to map out a plan. Thanks for giving me (another) kick in the butt.

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  9. So pretty! It's amazing how simple nine patches can make such a lovely quilt, and I really like your scrappy low volume background. I'm sure your quilt will bring comfort to someone.

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  10. Beautiful quilt! My mom and her friends make quilts for LWR. Thanks for supporting them!

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  11. That's beautiful, Louise! Amazing how the chain design pulls all the pretty scraps together!

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  12. This is a beautiful quilt, Louise! They all are. I am always thrilled to see your work. Thank you!

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  13. Sad to hear of the loss of so many quilts (amongst the whole devastation). Your quilt is wonderful, bright, cheery, great pattern and completed quickly, well done.

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  14. Your sense of humor is shining through. I’m glad Mr. Pole was so helpful. I really like this quilt. Such a wonderful example of RSC blocks. Great job. The explosion was awful. Thanks for helping with more quilts.

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  15. I love the ingenious way you displayed this quilt. Beaux T Pole did a great job, but I’m glad you found a way for Mr. QuiltHolder to stay involved, too. The use of the RSC nine patches with the neutrals makes such a comforting quilt, and I love the use of the backsides of fabric to change the value. That always gives me a thrill. I don’t know why; maybe because it’s a unique art technique for quilters? I had not heard about the loss of the LWR container. How sad, but it’s encouraging that quilters with giving hearts are working to replace them. I will look up Joy’s post.

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  16. What a smart way to photograph your finish and how special your quilt is! Thanks for contributing to the relief effort!

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  17. Oh I hadn't heard about the container of quilts...how sad, well the whole thing was horrific, such a travesty. Anyhow, lovely batch here and in the subsequent post too! You're so creative with these donation quilts from blocks and yardage.

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  18. Oh my goodness! The quilt is gorgeous. Bummer about the shade. Holding my breath as the quilt hangs above the murky water. LOVELY post. How awesome to be able to travel on the water like that. Great finish.

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