Hugs of a different kind.

The purpose of this blog is twofold - to journal my charity quilts made under the label Josh's Hugs and also to journal other quilts I may have made along the way. Not to mention, sometimes we need to give ourselves and our family members hugs too.

First in line is my Sunflower Bargello quilt. This is based on a pattern by Jen (Jennifer  Houlden) www.quiltsbyjen.ca

I had several reasons to attempt this quilt. I love sunflowers, I've always wanted to make a bargello, and I had a nice big wall in my living room to show it off. As I may  have mentioned before, I'm terrible at following patterns. Right away I made a mistake in the cutting directions and had to alter my borders. But I was very satisfied with the results and most importantly my husband thinks it's beautiful.

My second quilt is a wall hanging I made for my daughter. Although Halloween was never a big deal in our home she likes to decorate for it in her own home.

I started out using the quilt Fall Shenanigans by Jenny Doan as inspiration but have made major changes to the layout, pattern, everything.

Jenny's quilt was great for Halloween but I wanted to extend the usability into Thanksgiving.

I redesigned this quilt to have a removable panel. I also had a large piece of bargello left over from the sunflower quilt and decided to incorporate that into an applique pumpkin rather than piecing a pumpkin like Jenny's. Alongside the pumpkin are two fall leaves. The bottom panel is made up of two pieced black cats in different poses and a witch's hat. By creating tabs with velcro the lower panel can be removed following Halloween and the rest of the quilt displayed through Thanksgiving. I did some simple Free Motion Quilting and finished with a facing rather than a traditional binding. A wooden dowel across the top keeps it hanging flat. An additional tip? Next time you make a quilt that turns out slightly wonky, don't cut it square. Block it! When I crocheted afghans, they would often lay kind of wonky so I would block them. I did the same on this wall hanging and it really worked to get it square. I gently soaked it in the bath tub, used the washing machine to wring out the excess water, then I laid it over some spongy baby block tiles (don't know what they are called) and pinned it square. I set a fan to blow over it to help it dry.

Entire quilt.

Thanksgiving Section

Halloween Section

Here it is on her living room wall. 

Both of us are very happy with our Hugs!

New Beginnings - Care Pregnancy Resource Center of Tulare

Yesterday I had the pleasure of donating two Josh's Hugs Quilts to the newly opened Care Pregnancy Resource Center here in the town of Tulare. There has been a CPRC in Visalia, but Tulare County has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the state if not the country and we really needed one in Tulare.

The Center has a Baby Boutique where participating parents can shop with credits earned by attending parenting classes, counseling, etc. I asked that my quilts be part the Boutique so that parents had to "earn" them. (They also give each Mommy a care bag that includes blankets, diapers, clothing and hygiene items.) 

They were set to open August 25th and I had promised to have two quilts ready by then. Unfortunately, I was sick for about 3 weeks in July/August and it really put me behind schedule. I'm glad I was only a few days late. The quilts were completed by the 23rd, but I was waiting on an order for labels that I should have purchased a few months ago. 

Anyway, on to the quilts.

 In the picture below, my 85-year-old mother is holding the Teddy Bear Quilt. This is a pattern that I designed based on two separate free patterns I found on the internet.

The labels I ordered came from Border City Quilts.
(www.bordercityquilts.etsy.com)
Christina Adams, the owner, did a great job of printing my
labels as I had designed them.
She also gave my a free upgrade and quick turnaround.

 Here's a closeup of the Teddy Bear Applique. I used a golden yellow thread to blanket stitch around the edge. It looks like metallic thread, but it's not. The backing is made from a crib sheet.

The second quilt is made from a free pattern I found at Samelias Mum (www.sameliasmum.com/2013/10/whirligigs-and-pinwheels-quilt-tutorial.html?m=1) The pattern is named Whirligigs and Pinwheels. I think what attracted my eye was the dinosaur print she used. I also had a dinosaur print in my stash. Her tutorial only gives measurements for the individual blocks, so I had to figure out fabric requirements. But otherwise the tutorial was very clear and concise.

Here my Mom is modeling for me again. Below is a picture of the back. I dyed a white bed sheet and really like the effect.

Here are a couple of closeups of the quilting. Using my walking foot, I first quilted in the ditch. Then I echoed inside the white sections. I felt it needed more quilting as the 100% cotton batting I had purchased through Joann's didn't seem very sturdy. So I bit the bullet and tried my hand at Free Motion Quilting. I have to go pretty slowly so it's hard to make straight lines (and I need to practice, practice, practice!). Angela Walters says consistency is most important so I consistently quilted squiggly lines. 

         

Now to what delayed me on making these quilts. I seldom buy a pattern since  there are so many free patterns available and I really enjoy the designing aspect. In fact that's my favorite part of quilting... and finishing of course. Anyway, I spotted this pattern on the internet last year and fell in love! It's designed by Jennifer Houlden of Quilts By Jen. I really like sunflowers and this quilt involved making a bargello panel to get your flower petals. You can find the pattern here: https://quiltsbyjen.ca/product/bargello-sunflower-quilt-pattern/ If you look at the pattern, you'll notice my background is different. I made an error in cutting and had to salvage what I had done. 

One thing I find it hard to do is make something for myself, but I had just handed over 12 quilts to Golden State Family Services and felt I deserved a reward. My husband really liked the quilt too and we had the prefect wall in our living room that needed some art. That's what I've done this summer!

Shattered Glass Improv Quilt

I was just reading someone's blog this morning in which they showcased a beautiful improv quilt. It reminded me of one I made and hadn't mentioned here. As we all know, quilt making produces scraps! Lot's of scraps. Having come from a Mennonite background on my Mom's side, I was taught to never waste anything so I decided to try my hand at improv. It was actually quite fun and relaxing. I didn't make blocks exactly, I just put pieces together. This is the result of scraps from several of the previously posted quilts. In fact this was the final quilt top I made before I started quilting all 12 quilts I had made last year. I was very, very nervous about the quilting and so this quilt was my test subject so to speak.

 Here's a close up of the quilting. I just used my walking foot starting at one side I would sew straight across at an angle, move over a ways and go again. I used a teal (turquoise?) embroidery thread so it really shows up close.

 This picture of the back really shows the crazy quilting lines. To me, it looks like shattered glass.

Recently, I made up about 10 quilt "kits". I cut the fabric, including backing and binding, for some patterns I want to make and packaged them up in zippered bags so they're all ready to sew together. Once I have several quilt tops made, I will baste them all up and then quilt them. I like to work assembly line style as it seems more efficient. Plus, I change the furniture around in my sewing room based on the job I'm doing, ie. cutting, piecing, basting, etc. I have two folding tables that serve my well. 

Since I have even more scraps, I think it's time to make another improv quilt.

A Favorite!

I liked this FREE quilt pattern so well, I made two. Then I quadrupled it and made a big one. First of all, I have a thing for stars in quilts - all kinds of stars. When I saw this simple star design, I had to try it. Where did I find this wonderful pattern? At Bonjour Quilts when I signed up to receive Kirsty's newsletter via e-mail. You can fine it here: https://www.bonjourquilts.com/when-you-wish-baby-quilt-pattern/

So here are pictures of my versions. I used solid broadcloth as it is cheaper. I know it contains some polyester, but I donate these quilts so I have to watch expenses. This star was done in pastels. I used a walking foot and did some straight lines about half an inch apart.

 

The next one I made in primary colors and this was my husbands favorite. He especially liked the quilting which was also done with a walking foot and gold thread.

The sunlight shining through.

Close up of the quilting from the back.

Now for the big one! It finished at 72 inches square. I quilted it the same as the one above with shiny gold thread.

I combined the colors in the smaller
quilts.

Close up of one quadrant.

Closeup of other quadrant.

The backing was nothing special,
 just something I had on hand.

The finished quilt!

Impulse Buy While Recovering From Surgery

Close up of fabrics.

About 10 years ago, more or less, I was still very new to quilting and kind of naive when it came to fabric requirements. I didn't use patterns, only my own designs. To this day, I often design quilts based on the fabric I have on hand. I guess I put the cart before the horse in that I start out with fabric and build my quilts based on what I have. The whole idea of reading a pattern and buying fabric accordingly was very foreign to my way of thinking.
Between Christmas and New Year's, I had emergency gall bladder removal surgery. (I'm sure there's a medically correct term for it.) During recovery I spent lot's of time on Ebay looking at fabric - mostly pre-cuts. One day I succumbed to a GREAT deal - 400! yes 400 4" blue on white squares. I think this was before 5" charm squares became an industry standard. Anyway, into a drawer they went never to be seen again... not for a long time anyway.

Final layout before borders.

Backing.

Last year, when I decided I really wanted to concentrate on making Josh's Hugs Quilts, I pulled them out. I was learning all about HSTs (half-square triangles). There was a yellow with blue roses fabric in my stash and that dark/medium blue fabric. So of course, I made MORE 4" squares. Then I made a ton of HSTs. I chose to lay them out in a chevron pattern. I added a border of denim looking cotton also from my stash. I had found the backing fabric in a thrift shop and it seemed perfect. I quilted it with my walking foot - yes, even the curves. This quilt is what I came up with. It measures 42.5"x57.5". And now I think I only have 300! little blue/white squares left. Yeah, I barely made a dent.

Close up of quilting.

Finished quilt hanging in my garden.

Modern Fat Quarter Quilt

One thing about sewing charity quilts is that you always look for ways to save money - after all, I'm giving the quilts away without financial backing from anyone except my wonderful husband. I'm not selling patterns or fabric lines which seems to be the case for most quilting blog sites. I found this free pattern at Pieces By Polly website. She called it a Modern Christmas Quilt, but since it's not made for Christmas and I used fat quarters, I just changed the name. (Here's a direct link: http://www.piecesbypolly.com/2014/11/simple-christmas-fat-quarter-quilt-free.html?m=1 )

I purchased these fat quarter bundles at JoAnn's and felt they were perfect for this pattern. It's a very simple HST quilt. I think I spent more time arranging the squares than it took to sew them up. I backed it with a turquoise solid and made the binding of turquoise/white gingham. Quilting was done with the walking foot on a diamond grid. It came out about right for a throw-sized quilt. I didn't get any final pictures and I've already delivered it to Golden State Family Services (foster care). 

Here the squares are on my design wall.
I love saying design wall when it really
just a flannel-backed table cloth.

All sewn together in the final layout.
Note it's not the same as above.

Joyful Quilt - Aptly Named

This quilt was made using a free pattern entitled "Joyful Quilt" by Tamara Kate Designs. She used a completely different colorway and I think my quilt actually is more aptly named "Joyful" than the original due to the bright pinks, oranges, and metallic accents.

 It looks really complicated, but it's basically made of of HSTs (half-square triangles). Some are cut from jelly roll strip sets cut on the diagonal as you can see in these closeups. I did try to follow the layout according to the pattern.

The backing was made up of a checkerboard print with a strip of orange fabric down the center. I also used the orange fabric to bind it. I was quilted with a walking foot on a diagonal grid. It took about 12 hours to quilt and finished at approximately 46"x56".