Today is the continuation of quilts from Karin, but first, Karin got goodies in the mail.
Karin writes:
“Oh my gosh, I got a box full today!!! Ellie L, in Indianapolis, had reached out asking if I still needed backings. Did I ever! I have a bag full of tops from you, just waiting for me, and this 13 pounds (POUNDS!!) of fabric will surely be put to good use on them! She enclosed a sweet note of encouragement, too, and that meant so much to me. Because of Covid, and my anxiety, made much worse by Covid, I do not attend classes or guild meetings, and we have no close neighbors to speak of, so I don’t get feedback on my work, outside what your kind readers and my dear husband have to say. So it was really nice to read the note she wrote. And thread! Can you see the box turned on its side? The whole bottom is covered in threads of all colors!! And check out the Hawaiian shirt fabric, or boy, did that make me smile. And floral prints and neutrals galore. I am truly blessed to be on the receiving end of Ellie’s generosity, and I had better go get busy. Oh, wait, gotta fix dinner first. THEN get busy! (See the yummy berries in the background? It’s peak strawberry season here now, gotta get ’em while I can!!)
Thank you, Ellie, and all your friends, too!!! Thank YOU, Jo, for making the connections!!
So, on this spring beauty that Terri sent, I wanted the prints to shine. They are adorable!!! And each cornerstone has, wait for it, STARFISH! can’t get any more perfect for Florida than that! Wonder where she found them in Johnson City? Maybe Creations, over in Kerrville??
So, the center of each 9 patch was a white block. I quilted orange peels, to continue the cornerstone starfish theme, and did very large, half feathers to fill in each side triangle. Yep, that was a successful experiment! The butterfly borders got simple salad bowl arcs, but that wasn’t enough quilting, so I added another row, closer to the blocks.
I swear I used only white thread, top and bottom, but, on the colored patches and border, it appears silver. Not a bad effect, at all, just surprising. I sure wish my piecing was as accurate as Terri’s, I’ll leave it to you to wonder why, lol.
This photo nicely shows the texture created by the quilting. The multi-colored dots accent the front colors beautifully. This one finished up at 56 x 56, just perfect for cuddling a teenager or young woman in crisis.
Sooo, I am making a quilt for a neighbor, that has lots of negative space and a few sawtooth stars, like, four, to be exact. On a king size! Alissa suggested I do swirls, to make it look like the night sky. Well…..ok…..umm…show me? So, she drew out a few on paper for me, and I practiced tracing them on this quilt. Terri’s last donation to me was a twin size, so I knew I needed a nice edge to edge to bring all those pieces and parts together. Perfect match of pattern, prints and motif, if you ask me. And of course, Terri’s perfect piecing made all the corners line up just right. How does she DO that???
Do you see the TURTLES?? And FLIP FLOPS?? oh my gosh, my favorites! Well, maybe next to manatees and flamingoes! And the purple has a bit of shimmer to it to boot. So, because this was my first go on this motif, I didn’t want my stitches to stand out. I used my lime green on top (yes, I do need a new cone by now!!) and purple in the bobbin. I love, love, love that she cut the striped fabric for the binding!!
Well, I’m not so sure my stitches are all that well hidden after all. Oops. Good thing it turned out ok!!! This beauty finished up at 66 x 84 and is sure to be a hit in the shelter. Oh, poor choice of words. I am sure those women and kids have taken enough hits to last a lifetime. :( Hopefully, these quilts will take some of the sting out of their situation and will serve to give them confidence and comfort.
Thank you, Jo, Terri, Linda, and all those who have donated fabric, time, and money to help so many others. Couldn’t have done it without you all.
MANY thanks to Karin and the people who donated tops and goodies. It’s so generous of you all. It still amazes me that each week that quilts come in and go out and so much good gets done through the community quilt project. THANK YOU. I never dreamed it would be that way.