Some Community Outreach

Where has the year gone!  Again it's been twelve months since my last post.  So to catch up.  It was a VERY productive quilting year.  Since I started keeping track, 2023 was my personal record - 50 quilts!  And approximately half of those were donation quilt, made primarily with donated fabric.  I definitely need to break up the year into multiple posts.  So this one is all about non-novelty, donated quilts.

One of the guilds I belong to makes small quilts for a local hospital NICU.  They are a great size to practice quilting.  And they go together so fast.  Early in the year we had a work day where a group of us went through boxes of donated fabric and put together bundles of coordinating fabric.  I grabbed several that I liked.  In order to help give people ideas, I also put together a collection of quick patterns in EQ.  And of course I had to test them out. Not technically I spy quilts, but they are fun and bright. I enjoyed the challenge of using up donated fabric, only adding a few bits from my stash (typically something that had been there a while).  There were a dozen of these made early in the year, many of them at the VOS quilt retreat.  I had made several kits before hand so they went together fast.

One of the speakers at TVQG was Ledine Watson with Sugar Stitches Quilt Co.  I made these two using her pattern Cinnamon Spice.  I learned a lot about accuracy in making flying geese.  They are more "modern" in feel than my usual and it was fun to try something new.

Later in the year a friend gave me a series of embroidered squares and fabrics the maker had intended to make into a quilt.  There wasn't enough fabric for a full quilt, so I added some contrasting fabric to finish them off as kid sized.  The embroidery was wonderfully done by my friend's sister, how has since died. Both these quilts were auctioned at the guild fall fund raiser, purchased by people who seemed to appreciate the old fashioned embroidery.  

During the year, the community outreach coordinator in Parker County mentioned they needed some "big boy" quilts.  She also was giving away a large amount of fabric that had been donated.  I took several multi-yard cuts of boy themed novelty fabric (mostly airplanes).  Here is what is what I did with this donated fabric (again supplementing with some scraps from my stash plus other donations).  This first one I was trying to do some interesting sashing.  Unfortunately I didn't step back to look at my fabric choices for the sashing. The result is that the green stars are completely invisible unless you get very close.  Oh well, lesson learned.

These two used patterns I had previously done and a good ay to use large prints.

This next pattern uses a "faux log cabin block" that I constructed using strip sets, alternated with large solid blocks.  It was a very fun and easy pattern, but looks difficult.  Definitely want to do this one again someday. It turned out so well, I decided to donate it to the guild auction fund raiser.  The lady who won the bidding told me her husband was a retired pilot and she was so excited.  I did save a bit of the airplane fabric, it is very cool, with pictures of national monuments in the background (the Alamo, Mount Rushmore, Golden Gate Bridge, St. Louis Arch, etc).

I wanted to try a pattern a friend had shown me.  This was also made using strip sets to make the framed 9 patch block alternating with snowball blocks.  I put the triangles in the border, using up the waste triangles from the snowballs.  Another fun pattern that I want to try again.  This also was auctioned at the guild fund raiser.

These next several were made using the pattern Entwined by Fabric Cafe.  I enjoyed making it so much, I made three, all donated to the local children's advocacy group. The fabrics were either donated, or pulled from my stash (fabrics that had been there a LONG time).  The last one on the right finally used the last of the airplane fabric.

Some Roll Call quilts - a local veteran's program similar to Quilts of Valor.  The first two shown were made using the pattern Mirror Mirror by Donna Jordan.  Constructed using strip sets, it made so many blocks  I did two quilts.  These used either donated or "old" fabrics and turned out Very dramatic.

This one was a free pattern from McCalls called Homeland, though I don't believe it is available any longer.  Again, very easy but very dramatic, made using all half square triangles.

Later in the year I joined a charity quilting group through Christ Chapel Bible Church.  The quilts are donated to a local crisis pregnancy center. I have given some of my I Spy quilts, but the two pictured below included fabrics donated to the church.  It was fun figuring out how to use the fabrics and pulling old fabrics from my stash to coordinate.  I joked that I was enjoying finishing other peoples' projects.

Phew.  Lots of donations this year!  I really enjoyed figuring out how to utilize donated fabric in different ways, a personal challenge.  And lots and lots of practice quilting.

What else I've been doing with my time - General quilts

After a flurry of novelties, I found myself doing a number of "not novelty" quilts this fall.  Here is a summary

Wedding gift - I discovered I really missed working with color so to compensate I used a wonderful minky-like backing.  The pattern is farmhouse stores by Needle in a Hayes Stack from Connecting Threads.  I liked the secondary pattern but it was pretty fiddly.  I don't think I'll do it again.

Some patriotic quilts for Roll Call - fun patterns but discovered I really did not like being limited to red white & blue.  This first pattern is called Nova by GE Designs.  I did like this one and I think it would work for novelties.  I might give it a try down the road.

Most of the stars in this quilt were made by another member of the guild.  I added a few more to fill in and made the sashing.  The block is nice and easy, no risk of cutting off points since the star floats inside.  I think this is my new favorite way to make easy stars.

This patterns was much more difficult than anticipated, and with the busy fabric the details got completely lost.  I got the idea from facebook and don't know the name of the pattern.  I liked the secondary design between the blocks.  However the fabric that was donated really didn't work with the pattern.  So after making six, I changed and made some easy stars like the quilt above for every other block and you cannot even tell.  This was a lesson in fabric choices.  I should not have used such a busy red or blue for a detailed pattern.  It kind of makes my eyes hurt a bit, soo much going on. 

After the gray, and then the patriotic quilts, I definitely felt the need for some serious color.  A couple of years ago I had seen a scrappy quilt made from little stars & string blocks arranged by color.  So I had started making the little stars (4.25 finished) to use up a bunch of  little tiny triangles, trimmed from all those folded corner novelty quilts.  However my stars were much smaller than the original idea, so my string blocks were much simpler than the original idea.  I added the black diagonal and sashing which changed the look of the quilt significantly.  Very dramatic.  Using strings and crumbs from the scrap bin made a serious dent in my scraps.  This one is much bigger than my usual wall quilts at 72" x 82" so I guess it will go on the twin bed.  It sure is BRIGHT - whee!  But as my son who has taken up painting pointed it, it is not technically a rainbow quilt.  Oh well.  I think I arranged the colors based on how many stars I had made in that color.  And yes, I did fix the one block that is turned.  But It was so big on the design wall I didn't put it back up to re-photograph.

This was the result of a guild workshop with J. Michelle Watts.  It was fun to meet her and show her my Talevera Medallion made from her pattern.  And the workshop was fun and very well done.  I  even got to use a specialty ruler that had been in my stash for 15 plus years.  I took the opportunity to work on my custom quilting skills.  I definitely got more comfortable with ribbon candy in all the pastel sections.  And I was able to use only fabric from my stash.  The color inspiration was the Aurora Borealis paintings that my son has been making.

 

A few new patterns and some old favorites

I recently ran across this fun pattern called Open Options by Material Girlfriends.  The pattern includes so many fun layouts I had to try a few.

Colored circling triangles - this one the circles aren't as obvious in person as they are in the photo but it was fun to make.  It only uses a 4.5" square, a 2.5" x 4.5" & a 2.5" x 6.5" rectangle and lots of triangles.  Oh, and that Simple Folded corners ruler I mentioned in my last post - so Easy - love it.  I did pay attention to my pressing so that I could nest the triangles where they meet between the blocks - I didn't want that seam to be obvious.

This black and white version only uses novelties that read as black or white to try and keep the integrity of the pattern.  It does make your eyes jump around a bit, but it was nice using up some of those black and white novelties that never seem to make it into a quilt. I used that fireworks fabric for the border to add some more color but I didn't get a photo before it was donated to a local charity.  I don't think this one is as successful as the colorful version but still a good trial.

Beth's scraps - this pattern was taught as a workshop by a friend who also collects novelty fabrics.  The pattern works very well with novelties.  Each block uses two 4.5" squares and two four patches.  A design wall was helpful as you need to get the fabric placement laid out before sewing those four patches.  There are lots of layouts possible with this block.

An old favorite - I call it X's & O's or Hugs and Kisses.  Previously I've added sashing to make the X & O patterns more obvious, but this time I just set them together.  It is made with a 4.5" square with the opposite corners cut off in a semi-snowball.  I've made it multiple times through the years but that new ruler sure was helpful - though I did have to experiment a bit to determine how much to trim but still leave a large portion of the novelty.

This next block pattern is called Radiant.  Similar to a log cabin block, it can be used to make many fun layouts.  I have made it once before using a square layout which I really like.  But the zigzag is fun also.  The block is constructed by sewing two full blocks (one with a yellow center, the other with white outside) and cut them in half on the diagonal.  Then pair it with the the alternate block and sew back together.  Last time I just lived with there being a repeat of the fabrics in another block.  This time I just made a second quilt in a different layout - two quilts for the price of one (well sort of).

Radiant Squares

Radiant Zigzag

Large Pinwheels is a simple pattern but very effective with the novelty fabrics.  This is an instance where the piano key border is perfect.  I forgot to get a photo before I gifted to my college roomate for her first grandbaby.  Fortunately she still had it and sent me the photo below.  

Initially this quilt was going to be smaller (see below) but I just was too uncomfortable with the partial pinwheels so I added the additional columns at top & bottom to even things out.  I like it much better though it did make it a very large quilt.  I also experimented with using batting with fleece.  The fleece seemed kind of thing but with the batting it is VERY puffy and snuggly.  I think the quilt will be loved and used for a long time - and it is going to Oklahoma where it gets colder than here in North Texas.

The border makes the quilt - and a few new patterns

 

I decided recently that I really needed to add borders to the tops before I hang them in the closet.  Doing the borders is definitely one of my least favorite parts of making a quilt.  I get excited with the pattern idea, selecting and cutting the fabrics.  And I love watching the blocks come together.  But then.... what to do with the border.  Ugh.  And even once you decide, sewing borders is soooooo boooooring - like driving I10 between Las Cruces & Deming (my home town).  Sigh.  The result is I end up with a closet full of tops that I can't quilt because they need a border and I'm stymied with how to finish.  I've got to stick with the tops until the borders are done so I don't have a bunch to deal with. New years resolution - ha!

This top was finished several months ago but I like it much better now with this border.  The narrow inner border adds the right amount of contrast.  And the fireworks fabric is a great match to the fun novelties.  I have found that part of the difficulty with borders for novelty quilts is finding that balance between contrast to the center and overwhelming or underwhelming the novelties.  So I'm always looking for good candidates for novelty borders.  This one works pretty well.  (Pattern is Rick rack by MSQC)

I always have LOTS narrow scraps left from fussy cutting.  So for several years I've been making them into piano key strips.  Frequently they get used in the body of a quilt but they also make great borders. After my recent push to add borders to all the unfinished tops, I now am officially out of piano keys.

Sometimes piano keys are too busy if the center is especially busy, but on this one with all the white space, I think it works exceptionally well.  

One other thing I want to note on this pattern is how easy it is with a ruler I purchased last summer.  I have made a large number of patterns that use what is called a folded corner triangle.  The typical method to construct this uses a background square, draw diagonal across the corner of the square, sew & trim.  But I've never liked the wasted background fabric, plus I never seem able to get it lined up properly.  For years I've been using oversized triangles & trimming, but still drawing the line on the base fabric.  This new ruler, called Simple Folded Corners, takes out that drawing a line step.  Instead it is marked with the seam allowance so you can just cut off that corner & sew a regular seam.  I still like sewing an oversize triangle then trim - but that's my perfectionist side coming out.  That new ruler made sewing the above quilt so quick and easy.  Some specialty rulers get used once then put away.  But this one I've already used multiple times. It is also great for snowball blocks or any block where you are sewing a triangle across a corner.

Back to borders. This nested friendship star is a repeat pattern, but still a favorite.  It works pretty well with the piano keys, but looking at this picture, I wish I had made the inner border larger or white or something.  Or maybe the chopped off stars just bother me.

This quilt is such a fun pattern.  And it is just a standard attic window block, but with half the blocks turned to form a secondary pinwheel.  I really love secondary patterns, they are like little surprises.

As a contrast, this quilt really didn't need a border at all.  It looks great with just a simple matching border, anything else would detract from the pattern.  This layout called Floating Squares is one I've made several time and one of my favorites.

Not novelty, But I have to BRAG

 About a year ago I joined my first quilting guild, a relatively small country guild near my home.  Prior to Covid changing my work schedule so dramatically, I was never able to make any meetings regularly so I only connected with other quilters online.  Joining this local guild has been lots of fun, meeting new people.  They have a quilt show once every two years so I decided to enter five of my quilts (many discussed in previous posts here).  Well I was so thrilled to win ribbons on every applique quilt and one of them even won Judges choice. It was so amazing to walk in and see my quilt at the front of the room with that big ribbon.  And even more fun to talk with people about the quilts.

My Christmas Frame quilt won a 2nd place ribbon and Judges Choice.  The judge was extremely complementary, even going to far as to say she admired my work.  Wow.  And my quilting was Outstanding.  Really? Didn't she see all the places were the beads weren't round or crossed over the line, or where the stitch in the ditch wobbled?  Lesson learned - at least at this local show - perfection isn't required - even though sometimes I expect it of myself.  Every stitch doesn't have to be exacting, the overall effect is what is important.  Not saying I'm changing to the "back of a galloping horse" camp - I still like precision.  And I always want to do my best.  But sometimes things are good enough.  I'm the only one putting my nose up to the quilting and expecting machine perfection.  Ok, enough introspection.

My reverse applique won 3rd place.  The looped binding was a big hit with the other quilters.  Lots of discussion around the quilt, almost as much as the Christmas Frames. I got to explain how the loops were made and also how reverse applique works.  This wonderful pattern is from Eye of the Beholder Quilts - they have so many wonderful patterns.

This next was a prepared edge applique quilt I started 10 years ago on a trip with my daughter.  The pattern by J. Michelle Watts was very intricate & I only ended up making 4 of the 12 blocks.  I had been too afraid to quilt it, that I would "ruin" it, so I had my sweet friend Ami quilt it for me.  Her quilting is amazing.  The quilt won honorable mention - my other quilts had already won 2nd & 3rd, so I almost swept the category.  

My hand pieced forever project won 3rd place in the medium size category.  The judge especially appreciated how I did the border.  Which I have to admit, I am pretty proud of my solution there.  That border is the reason why it took me so long to finish it as I was stumped how to solve the problem of that uneven edge.  I kept thinking I should applique it but couldn't figure out how to do it so it would be flat & even.  Finally the light bulb moment was when I decided to just piece it the same way I had pieced the flowers, drawing special shaped templates from the originals.  Easy as could be, kind of embarrassed it took me so long. 

I'm thinking about entering the Christmas Frames in the Dallas show in the Spring.   I'm a little nervous about trying a big show, but who knows.  In the meantime, I can't wait to decorate for Christmas this year - looking forward to enjoying it through the holidays.