A Comfort Quilt

 I finally got to blogging again!  I finished a comfort quilt from a work day at my small quilt guild, Hearts and Hands of Elgin County, challenged us to use one of the three yard patterns from the popular books.  We usually use 1 1/4 yards to make them a bit larger.  These quilts are donated to the local hospital where the chemo patients get to choose one from a variety of quilts.  They bring a lot of comfort at a stressful time. 

I chose these three prints (they are more pink than the photo shows!).  I couldn't find a three yard quilt pattern to use as I didn't want to cut that beautiful floral fabric too small so used it as a focus print and just added borders.

                               

I used my new Juki machine to quilt it with funky flowers.

The back is actually a light blue!

 

This picture at our guild meeting shows the back colour a lot better.

The front with the binding added.

Postage Stamp challenge quilt

The Hearts and Hands quilt guild that I belong to makes comfort quilts for the chemo unit at our local hospital.  Someone donated a quilt to the cause which had 2332 little 1" finished squares in it.  On a whim, our chair challenged our members to make a quilt with at least that number of 1" squares in it and the challenge was due in January of 2020.  An amazing number of members jumped in and got busy ☺.  I decided to use Bonnie Hunter's trip around the world pattern and used 1 1/2" strips that I have been collecting for a long time.  It was a lot of fun making units that made up 1/4 of a block.  I added sashings and used more 1" blocks to make 4 patch corner blocks, since I didn't have quite enough.  After I had the top finished, there was one 1/4 block that really was too light so I made one more and replaced it.  I used the light block to make the label on the back which totaled 2440 squares. 

Since this quilt is going in the stack of lap quilts for my grand kids to choose from for their grade 12 graduation, I used a Science print for the backing.  And, I used my Westalee circle rulers to quilt circles in each square.  That worked very nicely.  I found the perfect striped binding fabric in my stash and had just enough to finish it.

(Click on the photo for a larger view.) 

Finished quilt

Circle quilting

Found a striped binding fabric

Science themed backing

label

 

A very old UFO Finished - Hearts and Hands block exchange

I just put the last stitches on the label of a very old UFO!  In 2003 (yes, you read that correctly!!), we did a block exchange with our Hearts and Hands small quilting group.  We all got a piece of the sewing themed blue fabric featured in the quilt.  We made 12 blocks and then exchanged one with each participant.  We all signed a 4" signature block with the name of the block and our name.  We were one block short so someone drew out a heart and hands block with a needle in it.  I had half the block embroidered and of course couldn't find the exact colour of yellow to finish it!  Hence the quilting right through the center block LOL...covers it up :-). 

Recently the discussion about those blocks came up at one of our meetings and I confessed that I hadn't put them together yet. When I got home, I got them out, put them up on the wall and made myself finish it before it could go back in the drawer! Interesting how my tastes have totally changed since then!!   I just did a small lap quilt with a simple sashing and cornerstones of the blue fabric.  I had enough fabric to use that for the back as well.  My friend, Chris, just got a long arm this summer and has been diligently practising.  She quilted it for me with a heart motif which is perfect.  

I can't believe it's actually finished!  Sorry for the colours on the photos...lots of sun today which is a good thing when it's -19C outside!  The very bottom photo shows the colours accurately.

Edit (March 2021):  A year ago one of the seniors in our Church lost her husband and I asked her if she'd like this quilt.  She loved it and is enjoying it very much :-).

the finished quilt

We were one block short to make a 3 by 4 block layout so someone drew up a hearts and hand block and I embroidered it

lovely heart quilting by my friend Chris who got a long arm machine this summer

I put the signature labels around the center block

this is what the colours really look like :-)

Fall Batik exchange quilt

In my last blog post, all the quilts in the Hearts and Hands exchange are shown.  Here are a few more pictures of my quilt the right way up as well as closeup photos of the spectacular quilting job by Cathy Shepherd of Eagles Wings Quilts. The pattern is Four Patch Charm Quilt by Tamarack Shack.  She used a technique to make the blocks from a Missouri Star you tube video.  I have enough fabrics left to make another one of these quilts..perhaps I will do a different layout with the blocks.  The binding is done with 12" strips of all the fabrics. (Click on the photos for a larger picture.)

My quilt right side up :-)

I thought the photo above looked a little pale so I took it outside to take a few more photos of it :-)

Corner showing the scrappy binding and quilting

close up of the quilting in the white areas

Close up of the quilting

Some of the original fabrics - 2nd from left in the 2nd row is the focus fabric and the one beside it on the left was my contribution to the mix

more of the fabrics

I found this lovely wide backing fabric which is also a batik

Fall Batik exchange with Hearts and Hands Quilt Guild

In the fall of 2014, we chose a focus fabric and everyone purchased a 1/4 yard strip of fabric for each person participating.  We had a total of 18 pieces in the exchange.  Today we got together for a very fun morning of show and tell to see what everyone did with their fabrics.  Some of the tops were not finished and some binding was still warm when it got to the meeting LOL, but 13 of us were able to show what we were doing.  We also had the quilt from one member who was not able to make it.  Here are some photos of the grand reveal (click on the photo to enlarge it for a better view):

The second fabric from the left in the second row was the focus fabric...the one beside it to the left is the one I chose to go with it.

Tina (left) bought some extra of the beige background, which was her contribution, and made these lovely houses

The long arm quilter did a great job of quilting this one

All the doors were quilted with a different design

Laurie is working on the blocks for her quilt.  She added some other batiks to it to give more variety

Ina did a split hourglass pattern from the Block magazine.

Chris added a cream background which really set off the blocks nicely

Deb's cool quilt top is almost finished..one more row to add to it to fit a queen sized bed

Audrey really got out of her comfort zone and used a lovely vibrant striped fabric to set her disappearing 9 patch.  She figured sunglasses were needed to view the quilt LOL

Elizabeth decided to do the disappearing hourglass as well, but found it too fiddly so she......

....just did the hourglass blocks and put them together to make this wonderful quilt top

Corrie's beautiful star quilt

Maria also used the Block magazine from Missouri Star to make her 'ring' quilt.  She used an embroidery stitch on her machine to quilt around the rings...very pretty

Cathy made this beautiful top for her over 90 year old father whose favourite colour is red.  He will love this quilt!

Mary Lynn was not able to make it as she was out of town, but she left her quilt with me to take along to show.  It's all finished, quilted by Bonnie Wilson and bound :-).

This is my quilt...I used a pattern from a tutorial from the blog "Tamarack Shack" using charm squares.  Cathy Shepherd did the long arm quilting and did beautiful swirls in the white areas.

Joyce is making long legged star blocks and added a few more colours into her quilt.  We had fun brainstorming ideas for sashing and/or cornerstones or leave it the way it is.  Lovely colours!

It is always amazing how different all the projects are when each person started with the same set of fabrics.  We are already brainstorming ideas for our next challenge :-)