Leaders/Enders Progress—and Scrap Happy

Another project I worked on during the virtual retreat was attaching 4-patch blocks to their alternate blocks for their last round as leaders/enders. These 2-inch squares have been leaders and enders for forever—at least 2 years, maybe 3. Of course their use had been interrupted by two other leader/ender projects: Star Kissed https://knitnkwilt.wordpress.com/2020/05/14/star-kissed-1-is-finished/ and Irish Star https://knitnkwilt.wordpress.com/2020/04/15/irish-star-2-top-finished/

After this step was finished at the retreat, it was time for them to graduate and become a project. So after a while, I laid them out and did a bit of rearranging so that fabrics that drew attention to themselves were somewhat spaced. Then sewed.

36 x 36

It won’t make it to this year’s Toy and Joy, but the fire fighters need the quilts (and quilts get delivered) all year. Usually a fire fighter representative picks a dramatically large batch up at the December meeting, but with Covid and virtual meetings quilts had to be dropped off early November. It will just not get to the guild’s total, and that’s not the end of the world. It will augment next year’s.

This top is made 100% from scraps. There were only threads remaining after I cut the 72 squares for the alternate blocks. If you like Scrappy projects, check out Kate’s blog and follow links that are there. https://talltalesfromchiconia.wordpress.com/

Two Baby Quilts and a Doll Quilt Finshed

All finished and ready to take to guild tonight. The last two, as the others, got meander quilting.

I thought the animal print was really cute and that the dark blue would set it off well; it does but it makes for a rather dark baby quilt. To lighten it a bit, I quilted it in bright green.

It helped only a little.

After a lot of dithering, I bordered the butterfly doll quilt. A dark showed up the butterfly much better than the light I had started out with. It took several tries to find the right dark.

16 x 16

And a cuddle fabric backing.

Sometimes the cuddle fabric doesn’t shed, but most times it does. Not sure what the trick is when cutting it. I’ll be glad when the stash of it is used up. I’m getting there–most have to be pieced now.

History: Beginning (here); process (here and here). It’s pretty rare that posts in a row contain start, process, and finish.

If I remember I’ll edit later to join Let’s Make Baby Quilts and TGIFF.

 

Baby Quilt Tops

It’s that time of year when my local guild gives quilts to the fire fighters Toy and Joy program: doll/teddy bear quilts for the toy program and baby quilts for the emergency vehicles’ use when evacuation of the little ones is necessary. Previously the guild gave 100 of the baby quilts; the fire fighters told us they could use double that many. I have five tops–each is 36 x 36, the size requested. The first three are from my collection of lotto block winnings. This last batch must have been from a blue and yellow month.

This first one was made the easy way, all lotto blocks. The Sunshine Online Quilt Guild (now on MeWe.com) is a friendly group that makes quilts for two charities: Wrap a Smile and Quilts Beyond Borders. The lotto is a monthly project. Those who want to participate make blocks in pairs; each pair is an entry.  One stays with the coordinator who makes heaps of quilts from them for each of the charities, and one goes into the “pot.”  The winner of the “pot” is free to do whatever they want with their bounty.Sometimes we give them to the two named groups; sometimes, as this time, locally.

The next two needed filler.

Now, adding four squares isn’t a big deal in itself; it is schlepping the bins of fabric to get to the one that has the relevant fabric that slows me down. For this sailboat one I have some anchor print flannel for part of the backing. I’ll add a piece to make it the right size.  Luckily three of the five will have backing made from single pieces, but then my stash pieces got smaller.

I haven’t played lotto for a while. The novelty of finding ways to use a collection of random blocks has worn off, and I now prefer designing the whole quilt.

Back when Sunshine had a retreat we were all making blocks for the retreaters to assemble.  I kept 9 for a baby quilt.

It is good to have a dark quilt top because some of the flannel I was gifted is dark. It will go fine here. It looks like I have used two shades of blue, but it is all from the same piece: just cut in different directions. If I had it to do over, I’d have split the border top and bottom better. I was aiming to keep the off-centered look, and overdid it I think.

This last one is from scraps.

I even remember the project that left two of the fabrics: the argyle print came from a group project (here) , and the domino dot fabric purchased for use (here)–but  used here. The blocks are 6 inches finished; the scraps were large.

There is one lone lotto block left.  It is a butterfly pattern and will stand alone nicely in a doll quilt, should there be time.

Linking with Oh Scrap! and I’ll link up with Let’s Make Baby Quilts second Friday–this post, or maybe even the finish. (Link when available)

The Next Four

I finished the last four baby quilts just in time to get them to guild for the fire fighters’ pick up for Toy and Joy. The guild has given 2044 this year. (Membership is around 300.) Earlier quilts are two posts back.

The first two are made from larger scrap left overs, but they both needed additions.

(I’ll trim the empty space when I have my photo program again–and have time. Done!) The blue print is a batik of little baby feet. I try for at least a few kid friendly fabrics.

 

This quilt gets its kid friendliness on the back with this cute bear-print flannel.

I used all I had mixed with left over green and blue checked pieces. The yellow in the photo is green IRL.

The last two were made from a mix of 6-inch squares. My first consideration was alternating lights and darks.

 

 

Some of the darks aren’t very dark–just darker than the squares beside them.

Since I was running out of darks i repeated more than I would have liked. I spread them around as much as possible. I also made sure “stand out” colors–yellow and that bright green–were spread evenly.

I quilted with a light tan 50-weight Aurofil thread; it blended with the lights and will sink into the darks after the quilts are washed.

I used a meander for each; it worked well except on prints with a high proportion of dark background.

I had this square finished before I realized the problem. So I tried for the look of water on the rest.

The 4 squares in these quilts are the very last of my bridge fabric. I hate to see it gone.

ETA: 1603 were picked up at the December meeting; the rest had trickled in over the year. And joining Confessions of a Fabric Addict for a Whoop Whoop

Toy and Joy Time

Toy and Joy month snuck up on me, and I hadn’t prepared ahead even though I always think I will start early. The only start I had was the tops for two doll quilts that were my leaders and enders at a summer retreat. These are now finished.

They are made from mini charm packs that we got in swag.  Bordered they are ~16 x 16. The quilting doesn’t show well in the photos. The brownish one is diagonal lines and the blue one concentric circles.  However, I don’t recommend the circle quilting for a quilt that has been stitched to the back and turned.  Even with a walking foot, the fabric bunched up.  I don’t think the doll or child will mind this time, but I’d not do it again. The backs are minky fabric, and I still haven’t used up the leftovers. So I guess I’ll be making doll quilts next year till it is gone.

However, I’ve shifted my focus to the baby quilts because of the fire fighters running out last year. Seems the need is greater for them.  The baby quilts are used beyond Toy and Joy time when fire fighters have to remove babies from burning homes.

So I have one finished and four more tops ready to sandwich and quilt.

Over the year I’d cut scraps into various sized squares.  These are the 6 1/2 inch squares that easily make a 36 x 36 quilt. I use the term “scrap” somewhat loosely to include fairly large left over pieces that could be called yardage. But if I have no further planned use for them, they are scraps to me. That is how I get many matching squares–however almost never the requisite 18. Quilting is a simple meander.

Linking with the Friday finish blogs and Oh Scrap (buttons in sidebar) and Let’s Make Baby Quilts. Now excuse me while I get back to finishing the last 4.

 

Toy and Joy

Some deadlines work for me–real ones. I’ve tried making fake deadlines to convince myself to work ahead. It is no use because myself knows better. Somewhere in October I had three of those self-made deadlines. Then I convinced myself that the coupon for a small discount on long arm quilting wasn’t enough to make me say, No, to events I wanted to attend. I convinced myself that the project with a real due date of January 31 had plenty of time. And I didn’t finish the Toy and Joy quilts in time to get them to last month’s meeting just in case the weather was bad this month. Luckily the weather is fine.

The meeting is tonight and the last baby quilt is now quilted. Five hours ahead of time.

Back in August, you saw most of the tops here. And earlier, the story of most of the blocks here.  There was a joke in one of my Indiana quilt guilds that a quilt could be shown at show-n-tell seven times. The history of the “rule” was that one member had actually shown seven stages of one quilt–that was before my time, so I didn’t get to see it. Thus, ~3 posts is showing restraint.

The first three are from the guild’s block of the month last year–I won three times. Only two (red-blue-gold, totally scrappy) made it to Toy and Joy quilts. The third (pink) is awaiting quilting.

The pastel block wasn’t bright enough to go with the other ‘totally scrappy’ blocks, so it became a doll quilt all by itself. (The doll quilt is about 20 x 20, the infant quilts 36 x 36.)

The doll quilt back was made from minkie scraps.

Yep, that stuff stretches.

And I had to extend one of the three other backs.

Silly me, I’d bought 3 yards of flannel for 3 36-inch tops. Then prewashed the flannel. Lesson learned. At least I had that cream strip to finish the third one off.

I did a big meander on all the quilts–the batting required quilting only every 8 inches.

Although plan A is to practice FMQ on charity quilts, sometimes quilts just need to be finished. So I don’t really call meandering practice. However, I am getting better at starting and stopping without a zig zag in the line, and my stitch is getting more even, so it isn’t wasted on the practice front.

The other quilt comes from Lotto blocks that I’ve won in the past. I love that heart block; however, it created an interesting design issue.

When I planned it, I had it laid out horizontally. However the heart looks better on point.

Had I been thinking ahead, I’d have made the tans parallel and the blues parallel for this orientation. Lesson learned. Think of the final orientation when designing.

11 pm, ETA: At guild tonight it was announced that our year’s contribution to Toy and Joy is 1889 doll and infant quilts.

I will be linking with Oh Scrap! and Let’s Make Baby Quilts (buttons in sidebar) and Scrap Happy; welcome visitors.

Shall I read a book or get to one of those other two projects?

Weather and Baby Quilts

After a complex project, a simple one is in order. I had enough going on last month that I didn’t get the March block made. By the time I was thinking about it, April was almost over, so I waited to do both at once.

Here’s March

12 1/2 x 12 1/2

I don’t think the weather has a good sense of design; just look at all that dark green for fifty-degree days!

And here’s April

12 1/2 x 12 1/2

April was a little more interesting. There was a 90-degree day forecast, but it made it only to 89 F, spoiling my design fun.

There will be side frame pieces as well; I just haven’t decided how wide yet.

Here are Jan and Feb blocks. And here is the Facebook group where you can see what others are doing with their temperatures.

Then the firefighters called my local guild to let us know they were out of baby quilts, so I am making two or three quickie quilts and letting the cute fabric do most of the work. I have two tops made.

36 x 36

I thought every house needs a space kitty. I have enough of the space-kitty fabric for backing.

36 x 36

Love that fish fabric. Here’s hoping this quilt goes to a baby whose parents do some diving. Or at least have an aquarium. The backing is a companion fabric, the small fish school, with a strip of each soli.

I’ll make an envelope closure and quilt a rather large meander. Speed is more important than intricate quilting.

Linking with Em’s Move it Forward Monday. And later on with Let’s Make Baby Quilts (link in sidebar).