Tag: Doing Good

Finished: Pop Parade Donation Quilt

Pop Parade Dontion Quilt #2
Pop Parade Dontion Quilt #2

Joelle quilted and bound this second of the Pop Parade donation quilts. I finished it in July, so the finish was relatively quick. Thanks, Joelle!!!

As you may remember, I added the large dark red batik fabric (left) with the yellow dots to round the variety of fabrics I had for the X Quilt. I am pleased the quilt is done, but I am also pleased that I finally used this bundle of fabrics. This is a great example of why a person should use the fabrics when they buy them. I loved these fabrics when I bought them and loved them a lot less when I finally used them. I don’t dislike them and I am very pleased with the quilts I finished.

Update on Ends Quilts

These quilts are all made from the edges that are cut off of other quilts as they are being squared up. Sometimes I make the backs larger than needed so I get some large-ish pieces back. Those pieces are hard to store, so making some donation quilts out of them is a good idea.

July 2021

Pop Parade Ends (n.10)
Pop Parade Ends (n.10)

Ends n.10 (Pop Parade)

February 2021

Ends n.9 quilted
Ends n.9 quilted

Ends n.9 – see more information

June 2021

Ends n.8 Finished
Ends n.8 Finished

Ends n.8 (Bonnie & Camille) – see more information. Since I only make the tops, they don’t always get done in order.

January 2019

Ends n.7 Donation Quilt
Ends n.7 Donation Quilt

Ends n.7 – see more information

October 2018

Ends donation top n.6
Ends donation top n.6

Ends n.6 – see more information

June 2018

Ends Donation Top n.5
Ends Donation Top n.5

Ends n.5 – see more information

March 2018

Ends n.4 Final
Ends n.4 Final

Ends n.4 – see more information. You can see that Ends n.3 and Ends n.4 are related.

 

Ends Donation Quilt n.3
Ends Donation Quilt n.3

Ends n.3 – see more information

July 2018

Ends n.2 donation quilt
Ends n.2 donation quilt

Ends n.2 – see more information

March 2017

Ends Donation Top - March 2017
Ends Donation Top – March 2017

Ends (n.1) – see more information – this is the top that started it all!

You could also put scraps together into strips, add some background and make one of these. These are very improv-y and there isn’t a pattern. It is a good way to do something good with fabrics I wouldn’t otherwise use.

Yellow Improv Grows

Yellow Improv Donation Top in Progress
Yellow Improv Donation Top in Progress

Slowly but surely this piece is growing. The top section, which I think of as the main piece, is about 20×20 now. I am working on growing the bottom piece to fit on to the top piece. At the moment the bottom piece is  made up of 3 different pieces.

I find that I need triangles in these pieces to add interest. The additional, non-yellow, colors add interest, but I find that if I have too many squares and rectangles the eye doesn’t move around as much. In this piece, however, there isn’t much contrast and that helps the eye not linger on the squares and rectangles.

I learned this from the Green Thing, the first top in this series. Those bars, which aren’t even really green, provide a focal point, but I find that the focal point takes away from the rest of the quilt. Good thing I’ll have enough green scraps to make another!

Ends n.10

Pop Parade Ends (n.10)
Pop Parade Ends (n.10)

In a way the sewing I am doing at the moment is all about getting stuff off the floor so I can move it out of my workroom before the painting starts.

The other day I organized bits of batting and the edges that came back from my quilter after she quilted a quilt. I have at least one more quilt to make from ends.

This one is the fourth quilt I have made from the Pop Parade fabric. Most of it is not Pop Parade, but you can see the Pop Parade clearly.

I also used some Dit Dot Evolution fabric for the background. I bought the fabric online and it is the wrong color. I was going to give it away, then I thought I could just use it for donation quilts, so I did. I prefer clear white, but I prefer to use fabric rather than just give it away. Someone will like this quilt. It isn’t at all ugly even if I didn’t use my preferred fabric.

I have to make a back, which I would like to do before I go to the next Sew Day.

Tim’s Improv Donation Top

Tim's Donation Top
Tim’s Donation Top

I finally got to work on Tim’s donation top. I can’t believe it was May when I worked on it last. Fortunately, it was only a week before that I started working on the piece.  Time is flying by.

I don’t think this is my best work. there are a lot of disparate elements. Somehow it works. It kind of looks like buildings surrounding a park to me.

I struggled with this piece, because of the green and orange. I don’t sincerely dislike green, but I don’t make it a main color in any of my quilts except the Improv Color quilts.  I also like orange, but somehow this was a struggle on which to work.

Tim's Improv Donation Back
Tim’s Improv Donation Back

The back went relatively fast. I took both pieces to Sew Day and gave them to Peggy and the team for quilting.

Pop Parade Donation Top/Back

Pop Parade Improv Donation quilt
Pop Parade Improv Donation quilt

This is the THIRD quilt I have made from the bundle I bought a million years ago!

This top came about because I cleaned off every horizontal surface in my workroom holding fabric or projects. I found some random pieces sewn together as well as some Pop Parade yardage. I wanted it all gone except a blue (not shown). I started sewing pieces together randomly, using already pieced sections where I could. I had only two unused blocks from the X quilt, which was  a shame, design-wise, but ok. I know that someone will like this quilt once it is finished and off to its new owner.

Pop Parade Improv Donation quilt back
Pop Parade Improv Donation quilt back

My bonus is that I don’t have any random pieces of Pop Parade laying around. I did like the motifs, but didn’t like the colors chosen. I’d love it if they would reprint this fabric in clearer colors. I often think that.

We are now handing in donation quilts at Sew Days, so I will give this to Peggy the next time we meet.

St. Patrick’s Donation Quilt

St. Patrick's Day donation quilt finished
St. Patrick’s Day donation quilt finished

As I mentioned, a dozen quilts were handed in at Sew Day which will go to the community organizations that the guild supports. Many were tops I had sewn in the past. I am glad they are making their way to Peggy and the Community Quilt team.

One was the St. Patrick’s Day donation quilt Mary and I made really quickly during the last Sew Day before the pandemic shelter-in-place order.

I am not sure who quilted it, but Mary C bound it.

June 2021 Donation Blocks

I have started to make donation blocks again. When it isn’t convenient to work on the yellow improv donation quilt, then I work on a 16 Patch block. Both will be used eventually in some way.

Finished: Yellow Strip Donation Top

Finished: Yellow Strip Donation Top
Finished: Yellow Strip Donation Top

Over the weekend, I finished the Yellow Strip Donation Top (and back and binding). This is another in my Color Strip Donation series.

I did sort of rush this along, but I was piecing like mad on Scrap Dash, so I couldn’t help it, really.

I had to put Scrap Dash on the back burner briefly to add borders, make a back and a binding.

Since I put on very plain borders so the quilting would show up, I decided the quilt needed a dark binding. I made a gold binding.

Yellow Strip Donation Quilt Back
Yellow Strip Donation Quilt Back

I am pleased with the back. I didn’t have to piece too much and I got to use up some prints that have been around for awhile.

I don’t use tons of yellow, so these prints have been around awhile. I think they are good choices: fresh and upbeat. I suppose this quilt could be for a boy, but perhaps not with the flowery back.

The whole package is ready to go to Peggy.

Pink Block Party Donation Quilt Finished

Pink Block Party Donation Quilt
Pink Block Party Donation Quilt

Another quilt that was handed in at Sew Day was made during the February 2020 Community Sew Day. I made a bunch of blocks and may have even sewn them together.

This is a really nice quilt and I hope the person who receives it enjoys it.

I keep thinking of cutting more pieces these sizes so I can make more of these donation quilts, but I haven’t done it yet. It would be better if the pieces were more standard sizes, like 5 inches and 2.5 inches.

Yellow Strip Progress

Yellow Strip donation top progress
Yellow Strip donation top progress

Since I was zipping along with Scrap Dash, I was also zipping along with the Yellow Strip donation top. Leaders and enders really works.

I decided to use some text prints as the sashing. I had some scraps that were about the right size, so I used as many as I could find in the white drawer and then cut some from fabrics I have bought recently. The quilt is really coming together and I am pleased with how sunshiney it looks.

Ends n.8 Donation Quilt Finished

Ends n.8 Finished
Ends n.8 Finished

Another one of  my creations that was handed in at Sew Day was Ends n.8. I only have a bad photo, so it was hard to figure out that this gorgeous quilt was actually the one I made.

Tim, again, did the quilting and Mary C added the binding. I like using up the edges of quilts and this one turned out great. As mentioned in the previous post, the ends that make up this quilt came from the Stepping Stones n.2 quilt, I think. I also added more Bonnie and Camille fabric.

Ends n.8 Finished - detail
Ends n.8 Finished – detail

As usual, Tim did a great job quilting it. the swirls are a little different, but organic looking and interesting.