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.