Christmas Quilt for Charity

  

It is late November, the snow has arrived and Christmas is right around the corner. I used a FQ from Riley Blake to make this winter themed patchwork quilt.The finished size is 43" x 56". Quilting is done with the walking foot.

 

The backing is filled with tiny, colorful Christmas trees. I haven't made many Christmas quilts before, but this time I felt like using a festive bundle from my stash for a charity quilt. It will hopefully brighten up the days for a sick child in the hospital during the dark days of Advent.

This is my fifth charity quilt for the year 2024, and number 110 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!

 

 

Colorwash Quilt for charity

 

It is always fun to make a colorwash quilt from scraps and leftovers. I'm using the technique presented by Terry Rowland from @trowstudios . The different colored blocks glides into each other almost seamlessy.
 

 The small quilt on display on a park table.

 

The backing is a print of super cute puppies. This one will be popular with a small child.

This is my fourth charity quilt for the year 2024, and number 109 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!

 

 

 

 

Orphan blocks

 

 Last fall I made the four blocks in the Soulalong hosted by @mija.handmade. In addition to Mija's block, the three other designers were @lovesewmodern, @prairiequiltco and @corinne.sovey .

The blocks were put aside since I didn't have a project to use them in. But this year I was in need to make a baby quilt since my niece was expecting a baby girl in Septemer. I framed the blocks with a multicolored fabric from my stash. The bolden twigs in the fabric celebrate the newborn girl.

 

The backing is filled with cute bear cubs. Crosshatch quilting two inches apart and a double layer of cotton batting gives the quilt extra volume. Quilt size before wash and dry cycle was 40".

 The last picture shows the quilt after a wash&dry cycle. It really gave the quilt an extra poof and a cuddly feel. The crosshatch quilting with Aurifil thread Dove fits the design well, and the icing on the cake is the binding Duck Dance from RJR Fabrics with lots of tiny ducks.

Keep on quilting!

Spooky Sampler

 

Last year I participated in the Spooky Sampler quilt along where nine amazing quilters provided free blocks for the sampler. It was scheduled to be finished by Halloween 2023, but I was too busy at that time so I saved the patterns to make it for this year, instead.

The quilt was finished long time before the spooky season starts. It is a colorful and not so scary quilt. Each block is 15" square. I free motion quilted the blocks with a spiderweb design, using Aurifil thread 2600, Dove. The silvery thread thread mimics the spiderweb very well.

 

The backing is a fun print from Ikea from 2016. Binding is a multi colored stripey fabric bought at Hancock Fabrics more than 10 years ago. Finished size of the quilt is approx. 56" square.

The super cute (and spooky) quilt will be sent off to a little boy.

 

Keep on quilting!

Jelly Roll Race Quilt for Charity

 

This quilt started as a demo for my quilt guild of how to make a Jelly Roll Race quilt. I didn't use a jelly roll, but cut 2.5" strips from my stash in an attempt to reduce my stash. Random yellom fabric squares/rectangles were added in between the strips.

The backing is a duvet cover I had in my stash. As you can see in the next photo this inspired the quilting design I used.

It may be a little difficult to see, but I upscaled the design from the backing print for the FMQ on the quilt.

Finished size of the quilt is 53" x 64", quilted by myself. Binding is a dark brown solid.

This is my third charity quilt for the year 2024, and number 108 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!

 

 

 

Jelly Roll Color Wash Quilt

 

This is the Jelly Roll Color Wash Quilt I made this spring, but didn't make a blog post until now. I had this great jelly roll from Island Batik that was perfect for this quilt. It reminds me of a beach sceneary.

Tutorial by Bethanne Nemesh, @bethanne.whitearbor on Instagram.

It is a small throw size of 48" x 57". Silk batting from Hobbs Batting inside, which makes it light weight, yet warm.

I used an old Ikea piece I had in my stash for backing. 

Here's a detailed shot of the organic quilting using the walking foot and Aurifil 50wt Dove thread. The striped binding is the icing on the cake.

Keep on quilting!

 

Wild Animal Charity Quilt

 My latest charity quilt is filled with wild animals.

It is made from donated fabrics, plus a paw print fabric and a bird border for the back. Free motion quilted by me. Finished size is 30" x 40".

The backside makes this a truly double sided quilt.

This is my second charity quilt for the year 2024, and number 107 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!

 

Spring Table Tunner

 Where I live there's still frost, ice and patches of snow, but during the day we get some warmth from the sun. I long for green grass and flowers in my garden!

I made this table runner which will be great for spring and easter. The tulips grow up from the sand and soil and bring colors to the surroundings.

The table runner is designed by the Norwegian designer Runa Kristiansen. I used fabrics from may stash, and used Aurifil threads for piecing and quilting. Finished size for the runner is 12" x 36".

Keep on quilting!

Traditional Patchwork Quilt for Charity

 

 

 This year's first charity quilt is a traditional patchwork quilt. It consists mostly of donated fabrics. It's quilted with a wavy crosshatch design.

The backing is pieced from a cute Debbie Mumm paper doll panel. Finished size is 42" x 54".

This is my first charity quilt for the year 2024, and number 106 all time for the children's ward at the hospital. 

 

Keep on quilting!

AGF Sewcialite Sampler

 Six weeks in early 2024 was used to make this gorgeous sampler. Ten designers were responsible for two blocks each, in inverse colors. I used fabrics from my stash for both front and back of the quilt.

 

Finished size is 54" x 67". Quilted with wavy horizontal lines. A pieced colorful backing from my stash adds extra color to the quilt.

Keep on quilting!

 

Vintage Treasures

 Last year I was approached by a friend of ours whether I could help restore/repair three quilts his grandmother had made. I don't know exactly how old these quilts are, but the lady was born in 1905 so I guess they are approaching 100 years old.

I have never restored or repaired quilts before, so I was a little hesitant in accepting this task, but finally said yes.

The quilts showed different stages of wear and tear.

The first quilt was in the best condition, though the fabrics were faded a lot. The size of the quilt was 46.5" x 75". The edges were very flimsy and needed to be repaired. 

My local quilt store had a French General solid from Moda in a beige color that was almost the same color as the original binding, so I bought that for all three quilts.

The blue background fabric in quilt number two showed minimal fading, but some of the stars were very pale. The size of this one was 59" x 76.5". As you clearly can see from this picture the edges are flimsy and worn and the blue fabric had holes around the edges.

The third quilt was the biggest one, original size 63" x 81", and very colorful. All hand pieced and hand quilted. This one was most worn of the three, some of the fabrics in the star were completely worn off. In addition, the yellow fabric "extension" on top and bottom were worn to pieces and had to go.

 

A closeup of some of the most worn blocks. A lot of the fabrics couldn't take the daily wear and tear.

I searched my stash for replacement fabrics, and also bought some vintage looking fabrics from my LQS. This became a big hand sewing project; ripping out single diamond and square pieces, adding batting pieces where I had to, hand sewing new shapes into the blocks, and finally hand quilting the repaired blocks.

The largest quilt took me almost a month to hand stitch, while repairing one block I often found another next to it that had to be fixed.

Finally all the quilts are restored, and are again heirlooms that can be handled with care. Lucky great-grandchildren who will inherit these beautiful quilts!

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 Below are the restored quilts in all their glory:

The first one got a new binding and some holes were mended.

For the second quilt I cut off some of the most worn blue fabric on the edges, and added a new binding. The resulting length was reduced to 70".

The third quilt got a completely refreshed look with the star blocks repaired and a new binding. My opinion is that it also looks a lot better without the yellow fabric extension on top and bottom. Finished dimension is 63" x 72.5".

This quilt restoration project was a great experience, and I am proud of the result.

Postage Stamp Quilt

My latest quilt was made in December 2023, but wasn't blogged until January 2024.

As for most of quilters my scrap bins are overflowing. That's why I took a deep dive into them and cut lots of 1.5" squares for a postage stamp quilt. i organized squares into 64-patches, some by color and others more ore less random. White sashing made the blocks stand out, and neutral cornerstones completed the design. A blue border completed the quilt.

Walking foot quilting was the right finishing for this quilt with 768 one inch finished squares. Scrappy binding was perfect for this baby quilt that measures 38" x 48".

 The backing is filled with cuddly puppies.

 

Close-up of the quilt.

This is my thirteenth charity quilt for the year 2023, and number 105 all time for the children's ward at the hospital. 

Keep on quilting!