Three for the Navajo Nation

Today's finishes were all made for the charity Quilts Beyond Borders. As one of their many initiatives, each year around Christmas they distribute quilts to people living on Navajo lands.

While many of the folks receiving QBB quilts are children, the Navajo ones are also distributed to adults. So these pieces are a little bit larger than usual. I made this one after seeing a photo of a similar quilt. It's two sizes of HSTs, set so the lights and darks make a criss-cross pattern.

The fabrics are modern, yet fun, and include stars, cats, lemons, fish and other random whimsies.

The back is this nice leaf fabric in primary colors on white, plus some scraps from the front. The leaves are fancy organic cotton, but I bought yardage for a song on eBay. It should get softer and cuddlier with each washing!

The second quilt is the pattern Magic Stars. I first saw this fun design on Joy's blog when she featured a tutorial by Tiffany. It's a great way to use a layer cake, and I had this fun batik set in purple, orange and turquoise. I also had a swirly purple and orange fabric that made a pretty border to get the size right for an adult lap.

The Magic Stars look like a child's drawing of the sun to me, so I emphasized that with quilting. Swirls in the center and dot-to-dot triangles around the sun rays.

The pattern made 10 big star blocks, which is an awkward number. So I set nine of them in a square layout and put the tenth on the back with some coordinating purple fabrics.

I was quite happy with that backing, right up until I was basting the quilt sandwich and realized it was just a smidge too small. How big is a smidge? About as wide as these tiny strips of purple on one edge. That's how much more I needed to add, sigh. You can see the fun purple and orange plaid binding in this photo, too.

And finally, this quilt is an eBay bonus buy. While looking for larger chunks of yardage to use as backings, I found a listing for about 20 yards of chambray, red bandana print, and red/black check. Perfect! Also included were some 12" blocks made of the same fabrics. Well, heck, I can use those, too! All I had to do was add sashing, cornerstones and borders and this little quilt just sewed itself.

Many of the blocks also included this running horse print. This block included most of the horse, but several stand alone horse butts are also featured. I hope that will amuse the recipient as much as it did Sean!

I used some of the chambray and bandana for the backing, and the binding is the check. I have tons of all three left over for more backings. Even though these fabrics were probably originally from the late '90s/early 2000s, the designs are timeless.

So there you go, three quite different quilts heading west to provide warmth, comfort and perhaps some entertainment. Which one is most your style?

Green and Purple Orphan Blocks

Hello, hello! How's that for an eye-catching sunset? It's actually from months ago, when we were in Massachusetts, and now we're back in MA after cruising Maine for two months. So I'm a bit behind posting finishes and it is time to catch up. 

This purple and green quilt was made completely from orphan blocks donated to Covered in Love. I grouped them by design, color and/or size and sashed between the rows with a nice leafy green.

I did a bit of dot-to-dot quilting to bring out the character of each block. 

This simple two color star ended up being my favorite because of how the quilting looked. I'm finding that when I'm feeling a little "meh" about a piece, taking the time to do special quilting really helps. It forces me to take a step back and really SEE the individual blocks and appreciate the many hands and hearts that go into the mission of Covered in Love.

These wonky hexie log cabins are so fun!

The back is this pretty purple and olive green batik donated by Jan. I pieced several lengths together using the same solid green as the binding. This is an easy way to not have to match patterns and helps tie the binding into the design.

I'll end with a quick "glamour shot" with the water in the background. It never gets old! However, the relentless wind does get a bit tiring in terms of trying to get flat quilt photos. I gave up this week and finally took a bunch of indoor shots that you'll see in the next few posts. Stay safe and well, everyone!

Red for RSC

It's RSC Saturday! I haven't posted any of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks for a long time, but I make them each month. This year I've been trying to tame the string bins, so both blocks use strings.

These classic string blocks are made on paper foundations cut to 8.5" squares. That makes good use of standard size 8.5"x11.5" paper from junk mail. I like using paper rather than fabric foundations because the blocks end up lighter. And tearing off the papers later is rather satisfying!

I'm starting my blocks with a dark strip down the center diagonal, then doing all darks on one side and all lights down the other. For most colors, the lights are a paler version of that color. But for red, I had already used most of my pink strings during the pink RSC month. So I chose to use white or cream scraps with bits of red in them. I'm making each color in groups of four so that I can do this diamond layout later.

My second string block is made after the squares are finished. The remaining strings are cut into 7" lengths and sewn into wonky herringbones. Because the string widths vary, the point of the herringbone wobbles from side to side. When they get long enough, I trim the length to 17" and square up the width to 7.5". Why 17"? Because that's how long the first one ended up back in January! (What color was that? Early 2020 is a complete blur...)

Linking up with Angela at So Scrappy.

Bold Elvira

 

Way back in March, designer Gudrun Erla sponsored a quilt along with her pattern "Elvira." She offered the pattern for free for a few weeks to help lift spirits in the early part of the Covid lockdowns. Several members of my online quilt guild, Sunshine, joined in. I pieced my own Elvira in just a few days, and finished it last month.

Someone donated this bold, bright fat quarter bundle to Covered in Love, and it was perfect for Elvira. I know Gail donated the extra yardage of poppies, but I'm not sure if the entire bundle came from her. The large rectangular blocks really highlight those big poppies, especially. Between the top and the pieced backing, I used up pretty much every scrap. Don't you love the black and white animal motif? Such an unusual and effective foil to the reds, greens and oranges.

I used a red thread to quilt a simple stipple meander over the entire quilt except in this one solid black block. There I did a floral motif that mimicked the poppies, just for a little added interest.

It's not often that I learn anything about the recipients of my charity quilts. But Kat helped deliver this one herself to a mother whose daughter is really struggling with COVID. My heart goes out to this family and I hope the quilt offers some comfort.

On the few occasions where I do have some information about recipients, I try to share that here on the blog (while protecting their privacy, of course.) I love when other quilt bloggers do this, too, so we can all feel a piece of the satisfaction that comes from seeing our work in action. Usually we get to revel in seeing a new baby napping on a happy quilt, or a favorite nephew delighting in a graduation gift. Rarely, a charity quilt's forever home is revealed. Especially now, we sometimes sew in isolation. It's so good to be reminded of the connections that thread across time and space, with friends and family and strangers, too.

Two for Wrap A Smile

As many of you know, one of the charities that I love to support is Wrap A Smile. They provide comfort quilts to several Rotary International sponsored surgery missions, where medical teams travel around the world repairing cleft palates and other disfiguring conditions. Wrap a Smile was the brainchild of Terry (Hodskins) Fullam, who passed away this summer.

To honor Terry's memory, quilters have been making scores of quilts with the letter "T" in the designs. My red, yellow and black quilt was the 100th T quilt! And to make it extra special, I was able to present it in person to Terry's successor, Ann. 

Ann and her husband Steve live in Maine, and the timing was perfect for Sean and me to meet them face to face for the first time last month. Well, it was mostly "mask to mask," but we did take the masks off to share a socially-distanced outdoor picnic dinner in a local park and snap a few commemorative photos. It was a delightful evening with new friends, with lots of great stories and laughter.

I also had this little quilt in a simple patchwork squares design ready for Wrap a Smile, so I hand delivered this one, too.

The yellow border fabric is sparkly, and the precut 6.5" squares feature flowers and butterflies.

I try to make the backings fun on the quilts I make for children, using bigger chunks of large scale prints in colors that coordinate with the front. The center lavender piece has tiny hummingbirds on it; so cute! The red, yellow and black backing on the T quilt features cafe tables and chairs, the Eiffel tower, and little dogs wearing berets. Novelty fabrics just make me happy!

 We're hoping to visit Ann and Steve again as we work our way back south along the Maine coast. Sadly, all the Rotaplast surgery missions are on hold because the pandemic, so the need for more quilts is "on pause." I won't have more quilts to hand off to Ann, but I know our shared love of travel and quilting will give us many hours of great conversation. 

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.

Quilts of Compassion

I finally shipped out the last of my Hands2Help Comfort Quilts for this year. The charity event ended back in June but I know the groups that receive the quilts can always use them. So I don't worry too much about when I get my donations shipped out. Hey, it's still 2020, right? (As if any of us could ever forget that it is 2020.)

This scrappy tumbler quilt has been given to Quilts of Compassion, who provide help to those who are recovering from disasters. I won a tumbler template in a blog giveaway last year, and have been using it to trim random scraps. I then sorted them into dark, light and medium values and stitched them into columns. The resulting top was pretty blah, so I framed it with two white and one skinny red border. That felt more fresh and clean.

You can see the mishmash variety of fabrics I used in this closeup. Everything but the kitchen sink! I quilted it in simple wavy lines running through each row.

The backing was pieced together with chunks of fabric that were given to me by my friend Steph. The red is the same as the skinny inner border, and I used that for the binding, too. I think that helped make the whole thing more cohesive. 

The colors of the backing are more true in this photo. I love all the sweet hearts in these fabrics. Thanks, Steph!

 

These two previously-blogged toddler quilts were sent to Quilts of Compassion in the same box. I'll definitely be donating to them again; their mission really speaks to me.

We are currently cruising New England and have made it as far northeast in Maine as we can get the big boat. This photo is from Plymouth, Massachusetts where we had several spectacular sunsets. This one took my breath away!