Quilts for Kids

For a number of years now, I have been working with Quilts for Kids, the national organization that makes and distributes quilts for children in hospitals. More recently I’ve started working with the local chapter of this organization and the lady who coordinates it. She asks for pieced tops which she then quilts, using batting and backing fabric of her own, using her long-arm and spare time. This system works well for me as my favorite part is designing and piecing the top. 

I love making tops. 

I get to put colors and prints together in different designs and many of my tops are experiments of one sort or another as I manipulate traditional designs into new ones, or try different color combinations. The tops are a lot of fun for me to make, and I am glad to have found a way to have them do some good. Patty of Quilts for Kids gives the quilts to the Ronald McDonald house to help ease and cheer kids, and teens, who are struggling with illnesses, often away from home.
 

Over the break I started two tops for Ronald McDonald, and when I asked Patty what kinds are in need right now, she told me some teens are there, back again for another round of treatment.
So I set about making some twin size tops. In my ongoing attempts to use the fabric in my stash, I needed to do some thinking, planning, rethinking. I laid out fabric on the floor in different bunches to see which ones might go together, and how to make them colorful but teenager-ish.
I finally finished them last week, and here they are:

This is my trusty disappearing Nine-Patch, in rich warm colors:

And a close up:

And this is a Churn Dash pattern in a different color scheme:

 And another close up:

They go out in the mail tomorrow and my hope is that they make somebody feel a bit better.