Quilts to Give

Maybe you got excited when you saw my post title, but sorry---this is not a contest, not a give-away!  Just wanted to show you a couple of quilts I made for Great Lakes Heritage Quilters charity efforts.....Instead of spending my time getting ready a couple of weeks ago for the Grand Hotel, I was hurrying up and finishing these so I could turn them in at the guild meeting immediately after we got back from our trip.  It was worth it---our committe has done a great job this year and collected lots of quilts for many different groups.  I'm sure these folks will love getting them!

Here are the two, the bigger one on the right is about 54 X 65 (estimate) and the other is a baby quilt.  The back of the red & white chevrons is a block within a block, which was very fun.  The back of the baby quilt was a cute childrens print my friend Kathy gave up when de-stashing and makes a great cheerful backing for a child to enjoy.

 

Charity quilts are a great time to play & experiment with the quilting, there's no pressure, it all will be just fine & make someone happy.  So they were all quilted & binding done, turned in!

After I got back from the Grand Hotel, our Detroit Area Modern Quilt Guild (DAMQG), together with the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild (AAMQG) had a small applique class with Sarah Fielke at the Pink Castle Quilt Shop in Ann Arbor.  It's always fun to spend time with your friends, maybe even learning something new!  Or not.....

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I got all my parts traced, cut out, glued down, ready to sew, and tried to pick up some tips in class.  I don't think there's hardly anything left in quilting that I haven't already tried ( at least once--maybe twice or 3 times!!) but never have felt the love for handwork.  LOVE my machine, and getting things done a little faster!  I have to say though, that I am actually enjoying some handwork.  I'm also doing some of the 'big stitch' quilting using either #8 perle cotton or Aurafil Mako 12 weight, but that is a little tougher on wrists and hands.

Hand applique is kind of nice.  I also have a baby quilt in the works (not showing it here just yet) that has some hand appliqued circles going on it, and it is definitely fun to have that kind of hand work.  I've used two different methods on those circles for applique.  First: trace your circle on fabric, cut it out with added seam allowance,  sew a basting stitch around,  put your cardboard template on it  and gently pull up til it gathers in & press.  Second, also using a cardboard template but with a piece of aluminum foil.  Put your circle drawn on fabric with seam allowance on to the foil, then your card board template.   Fold the foil up snugly, press, then take out when it has cooled.  I like both methods, and hand applique is then the best.  So much easier to get a nice soft circle.  If you press it again after removing the template, there are no nice soft folds to stich.  Everything is hard & flat, and any points (bad!!) are then firm, so I don't press it again after either of these methods til it is appliqued down.

During the class at Pink Castle, I picked up my May Stash Stack (red), as well as doing some other shopping for the 'enhancement of my stash'.  The new Anna Maria Horner line had just arrived, and was beautiful!!!  Stashes need refreshing or they are old and stale.  Don't let your stash get stale!!!  That's my advice of the day.  Stash enhancement is a good thing!  Nothing to feel guilty about there!!