Quilts for Charities

The fabric store in town focuses on making quilts for charities in town.  She takes fabric people are giving away or manufacturer reps bring her stuff.  She cuts the fabric up into  kits for others to sew.  She says some families come to Moab as tourists, part of the family likes to hike and bike, another part, usually the Mom, comes into the store to sew for the day.  These quilts were part of that.  I quilted the top one and put the binding on.  I also put the binding on the other two after they were quilted.  I call me "The Closer."

Weighted blanket, 2018

I made this "weighted blanket" for a friend with PTSD.  I had never heard of this, so I googled it and found a lot of information and tutorials.  It is a real bear to make.  I struggled with the weight, and making sure the little pellets didn't migrate under the needle as I attempted to sew the seams.  The little pellets in the pockets are  made from plastic, and the quilt can go into the washing machine.  I sewed two lines of thread at the seams to make it stronger.  I was heading for a 16 pound weight, but the whole thing weighs 18 pounds but feels so much heavier when you carry it around.  It actually feels good having it draped over  you as you sit.  At quilt guild they told me these work well for children with autism. 

November 2017, Crib size in blue

 This pattern is called a "string" quilt.  You cut a pattern from paper or cloth to the size block you want.  Then sew strips of fabric to the pattern, cutting it near to the size of the pattern.  If  you use fabric, it can stay and makes a heavier quilt.  I used thin paper, the pages from a telephone book, so after it was sewn, I tore the paper away.  It's really a relaxing process, just sit and sew the strips, no planning or measuring,  Tearing the paper away was messy, I did it mostly sitting out on the deck and let the wind blow the paper scraps away. 

2017, two more baby sized quilts

 So I cleared out my catchall box of 2 1/2 inch squares and made two more quilts,  done with this for now.  The top one is green/yellow.  Notice the block in the middle, amazingly, that fabric is from a skirt I had in high school.  It's ancient!  How did I hang on to it all this time?

This second one is mostly pink, and I love the fabric.  Notice, the block in the middle left, is made from fabric I used to make Tina a dress when she was in high school.  Not so ancient.  This material has found it's way into lots of my quilts,.

October, 2017 Four baby sized quilts

 I've done this before, I cut 2 1/2 inch squares from scraps left from quilts as I make them.  I put the squares in a; box til it overflows, then spend a few days sewing them together into the 9-patch blocks, then divide them into pinkish, or the bluish blocks and make baby quilts for newborns at church.  I have two more to do, a green/yellow one and another pink.  These quilts are so fun to do, fairly quick and easy and the quilting itself is fun.  this first pink one doesn't show up as well, the very light blocks have a very nice, subtle pink/green/white stripe in the fabric.   

September 2017, Tumbling Triangles.

This quilt is about twin sized,  I got the pattern from a magazine.  It looks complicated but isn't that much.  It's kinda like a log cabin idea, with the triangle squares put in the 4 patch then rectangles sewn from there.  the material is very pretty, lots of colors you wouldn't think to put together.  But I really love the colors.  I quilted it myself because I didn't feel like waiting for the longarmer to get around to it.  I'm not crazy about how the quilting turned out, but the quilt is still pretty.

September 2017 Twin size for KIC

This is a twin size quilt for Kids in Crisis.  I made it to use up a lot of small remnants of fabric I have.  It's a split 9-patch.  Usually split 9-patch are made using a variety of fabric in each block, but with this one, I put matching colored squares in the corners and center, with the 4 white in other spots.  Then when it was cut and rotated, the block came out looking like this.  It's a little different.