Quick Quilt

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a lady who invited me to participate in a craft fair in the area. She'd seem my stuff online and thought I might like to try and sell them at the fair. I'd never done a craft fair before (as a seller) and was pretty excited. I asked around and everybody said to bring smallish items as many people will admire large, complex quilts, but few if any will buy them. What they'll buy is items that are inexpensive. So I set about creating some items that were not difficult, complex, or too time consuming, to sell at the fair. I made several sets of place mats, which I love, and also wanted to have some baby/lap quilts available.
In keeping with my 2011 sewing resolution, I wanted to use up my fabric, and avoid buying new fabric, so I stood in front of my wall o' fabrics for a while and let my eyes wonder over the fabrics, looking for possible combinations. This is kind of like looking at an optical illusion image; if I look too closely I miss it, but if I "skim" over the surface, patterns and connections jump out at me.
I ended up making two quilts from fabrics gifted to me by my cousin-in-law, Debbie, in combination with fabrics I already had. One is this:

Close up, you say? Sure!

Debbie had gifted me about 10 yards of the "Cars" fabric, and this is the second item I've made from it. The pattern here is a disappearing nine patch, which I use repeatedly. In this quilt, I used only three fabrics so the pattern is much more consistent than in the "random" ones I have made.
The second quilt uses a very (very) colorful fish fabric and I wanted it to be super colorful, but also have a consistent design to tie it all together.

And a close up:

The design is pretty simple, but the color combination makes the whole thing "pop". Truth be told, it might "pop" a bit too much, for my taste, but I do like the color combination.
Both of these were fairly quick to make and I had them done in time for the fair. Sadly, neither one sold and so now they go on Etsy. I hope they'll find a home soon...

Bat Mitzva Quilt

My younger daughter’s Bat Mitzva was this summer. For me, this is a reason for a quilt; it’s also a reason for many other things, but over the years I’ve made kids quilts when they’re born, sometimes when they move into “big kid” beds, and now Bat Mitzvas. This is the fourth Bat Mitzva quilt I’ve made and, as before, this one presented a unique challenge. The challenge with a quilt for a 13 year old is mostly in the design. How do create something that she will like now, and with which she’ll keep growing and that will keep being true to who she'll become. If baby quilts are about the adults as much as the babies, quilts for teens are about the kid, and the adult that teen will become.  I pondered and pondered and could not find a pattern I liked for this one. She’s got such contradictions in her personalities! It’s wonderful in a person and can create difficulties in quilt design.

So, in the end, I asked her what she’d like. She didn’t know but asked to look through my quilt books. This struck me as wonderful! My child, looking into her future, looking at images of the past for ideas. I also used this as a chance to hang out with her, and talk for a bit, over several days, which is a joy.

In the end she picked, to some surprise on my part, an Amish design. She did ask to change the colors a bit though, asking for blues, greens and greys, on a white background. Further, she wanted no fabric with pattern or design on it. Hmm…Challenging. My first step was to buy fabrics of different hues of the colors she wanted and cut them into squares:

I also cut squares of the same size in white fabric. Next I sewed the colors and white into these squares. I did it by putting two squares together and sewing two lines, each one ¼ of an inch from the center, on either side, then cutting them and pressing them open. Like so:

This process actually took me quite a while. I’ve lost count by the end, but at some point I counted 500 squares (that’s  a LOT of squares!)

And then I put them all together, working the pieces for maximum random effect:

Now that it’s cold enough my daughter finally has it on her bed, and that is where we took the picture. She even made her bed so I could take a decent picture:

The lighting in the room is messing with the colors a bit, but you get the idea...

Baby Quilt

My friend Karen is about to have a baby. Like any new mother-to-be, she is both excited, and nervous, and researching, and accumulating. It was not hard to figure I'd make her a baby quilt. What was more difficult is figuring out the colors and designs. Karen likes to wear black, and her baby shower was Nightmare Before Christmas themed. Right, so black and spooky it is, right? Maybe not. The big mystery with these things is in how the parents will bring up the kid. Dark and Spooky? More mainstream? Is this quilt for the Mama, or the baby? Also, I wanted to take the Dad's interests into account, and he's a professional car racer. Clearly, I needed to think about this. So I did. And then I decided to make the quilt reversible. And then I started sewing.
But first, the design. I saw a photo of an interesting design and set about deconstructing it (ah, the joy of graph paper drawings!). The design was harder than it first looked so this took me a while. But finally, I had it, and it was time to start cutting fabric.
One side of the quilt looks like this:

The design here of black patterned fabrics and purple sashing looked too dark when I was laying it out on my floor. I needed something to make it "pop". I looked and looked at my shelves of fabric and finally decided on blue taffeta. Not only is the taffeta lighter in shade, but it also has a sheen to it. Here's a close up:

Stepping back from this pieced top, it did look awfully dark and spooky, and so the other side needed to be brighter. Now it may be just me, but car racing goes with flames, and I just happened to have flame fabric so...here is the reverse:

The finished product is 42 x 59 inches and will be something that the baby can use as he grows. So for now it's for Mama and Dad, but later, I hope the kid will use it for himself.
I gave it to the parents-to-be this past weekend, so now I can post about it!
And onward we go.

Donation Quilts

I make quilts for fun, really, and for trying out new things.  I like to give them to people, sure, but I often make them without a specific recipient in mind.  A few years ago there was a dearth of new babies in my family and immediate circle of friends. There were no big milestone-type occasions for me to plan a quilt around. So I started looking around for places to which I could donate quilts.  The first place I found was Quilts For Kids, which was mentioned to me on an online community to which I belong on LiveJournal. Quilts for Kids is a nation-wide organization which distributes quilts to children’s wards and NICUs in hospitals across the nation.  Their quilt donation method is great: they give you cut fabric for a top and more fabric for the backing, with instructions on how to layout and sew the fabric, and then you piece it, provide batting, and quilt the whole thing together. You mail it back to the organization. Ordering a kit is easy and the patterns are too. The main thing is to add color and comfort to kids in hospitals. This is a worthy cause to which I have been contributing pretty regularly. I’ve made several quilts for them, and have posted about one of them here: http://quiltjourneysofmidnightglory.blogspot.com/2011/04/donation-quilts.html

A few months ago I was perusing the Quilts for Kids website and noticed that there is a local chapter of the organization, in San Francisco. The organization encourages people to work with local chapters as that enables them to contribute to local hospitals, etc. I contacted Patti, who runs the local chapter and learned that she does things a bit differently. She asks people to make a top and then she provides batting, backing and quilting. She’s got a long arm machine (over which I admit I am jealous). I like this idea. It lets me play with color and design, and experiment on new techniques, etc. and STILL be able to donate the quilt.
Right now Patti is working with the Ronald McDonald house in SF, which provides housing for kids who come here for treatment and their parents. Unfortunately, Patti told me, the House has some returning kids, teenage boys who have had a recurrence of cancer. I immediately set about to make a quilt for one of the boys. Now teenage boys often have specifics likes, dislikes and ideas about what befits a boy/young man. I looked in my stash and pondered and pondered (and bought a couple of brown fat quarters), and finally came up with this:

The design is called “Warm Wishes” and is one which I’ve used, and about which I’ve blogged here, before. It is an extremely versatile design. Every quilt I’ve made using this design has a totally different feel. Consider these:

In any case, I made this one in blues, green, and browns, and shipped it off to Patti. She finished it, and gave it to the House. I am glad it found a good home, and glad to cheer somebody in need, and so thankful that my hobby can be useful and meaningful to others. I’ve already started planning the next one, though it’ll have to wait a bit.

Here is the picture of the finished quilt for the Ronald McDonald House in SF:

If anybody reading this is interested in contacting Quilts for Kids, the link is at the bottom of my blog page.

My First Reversible Quilt

My first reversible quilt, and one I’d forgotten was reversible, was a joint project for my niece.
When she was born the two eldest girls in the family were old enough to participate in sewing, and young enough to need my help. And so we made a quilt together; I would make one side and they would make the other. We went to the fabric store together and talked about color and design. I showed them a simple pattern that I thought would work well for them, the Fence Rail pattern. The girls liked that pattern; it’s colorful and easy, which was just right for them at the age of 9. The girls picked out the colors they wanted, and together we set to cutting, and sewing this:

The reverse side was mine. I wanted something simple so as not to overwhelm the baby’s eyes, and to be lighter in color, to offset the richness of the side the girls had made. I chose this:

It is an alternating 4 patch, which is super-easy to make-and the colors are sort of primary, but a bit lighter than usual.
A close up:

We gave the quilt to my niece (well, to her mother) and I neglected to take a picture. A few weeks ago my sister-in-law found it and gave it back so I could photograph it and post about it here.
My first reversible quilt.

Warm Wishes for Charlotte

Different patterns offer different pleasures. With some, it's about dinky little pieces coming together; others are about "you made THIs out of THAT!"; still others are about color combinations, or the recipient, or trying a new technique, or gratification.
And some offer joys of versatility. In a previous post I mentioned the attic windows pattern which works well with many different fabrics and which comes out quite different each time (http://quiltjourneysofmidnightglory.blogspot.com/2011/02/windows.html). I've also posted about the three different pieces I made out of the monster fabric I fell in love with (http://quiltjourneysofmidnightglory.blogspot.com/2011/02/monsters-take-3.html). And now I am on a "Warm Wishes" kick.
This pattern is simple, with squares and strips and all straight lines. The beauty of it lies in the color combination and the layout. The first one I did with this pattern was this, to warm a friend's new house: 

Then I decided to use this pattern again, to make a baby quilt for two friends who live far away. I decided to use a totally different color combination, and to avoid traditional "baby" prints (mostly because I don't have much of those in my fabric stash and I'm still attempting to not buy new fabric). I chose blue, green, purple, and monsters.
And here's the result:

And a close up? Sure!

And the reverse? Here it is:

I was gifted this awesome fabric by my sister in law a few years ago and it's been waiting for just the right project. Charlotte's parents like animals and so this was the perfect backing fabric.

The quilt is going in the post tomorrow (I hope) and Charlotte should have it by the end of the week, with the rest of our warm wishes.

Violet the Spy

Wow, has it really been that long since I posted here? Yes, I guess it has. Life's been kind of crazy...
But I have been sewing (helps keep down the crazy, for me), and last week I finished another project. Actually, I decided NOT to post about it, as the recipient's mom reads this, and I didn't want her to find out until I presented the quilt to her daughter.

Our friend Violet turned one this week.  At one kids don't lie on the quilt so much as carry it around, wrap themselves in it, use it on dolls/stuffed animals/mamma, etc. So I make toddler quilts a bit bigger than I do baby quilts. This way the kid can do more with them, and, hopefully, keep using the quilt as they get older (for forts and such). Another thing that is different is that toddler can discern pattern and color more easily and so the quilt can be with more complex fabric designs, in my opinion.

With all that in mind, and more, I made this-Violet the Spy:

  

And a close up:

This is an "I spy" quilt, which means that each square is a different fabric, and this one has no repeats. In this way the quilt can also be used to teach the kid, by having her/him identify different elements, colors, etc. So the quilt is colorful and useful for fun, AND educational. A fun bit about this particular one is that it was made with fabric from a fabric swap as well as from my stash, and when I got the swap fabric I was planning a different quilt, but the fabric worked so well here, I was glad to use it. One of the ladies I swapped with is also a friend of Violet's mom, which is also fun.

The backing fabric, I thought, should be more calm than the front, for quieter times. I also wanted it to be purple. Here's the fabric I chose:

As it turns out, this was quite fitting, I thought, as Violet's party included butterflies in its theme.
I haven't talked to Violet about it since I gave it to her, but I know her mom likes it, and that makes me happy.

Donation Quilts

For the past couple of years, I've been working with an organization called Quilts for Kids which deals with, can you guess? Quilts for children. This is a, now, international organization that distributes quilts for kids, mostly in hospitals.
This organization makes it really easy to contribute: They send you pre-cut fabric, and a pattern sheet. You sew the pieces, provide batting and make a quilt from the fabrics they give you. Then you ship it back. The work you do, plus paying for shipping, is your contribution. Also, if you want to include another quilt, from your own fabric, that meets the size specifications, they'll be glad to accept it.

I've done 5 or so quilts for them so far, and have included 3 "stash" quilts.

Here is the latest quilt I've made for them:

and a close up:

I love being able to do good, and help out, especially when I get to do it while doing something I love. Another part of the fun is getting to work with colors I would not necessarily choose myself. Some of their fabrics are REALLY bright! I really like the blue fabric in this one though...

I have a link to the organization's website on the bottom of the page you're reading. Check it out if you're interested.
Time for me to request another kit!

Flannel creations

Flannel is perfect for winter, or coziness, and these days there are such fantastic flannel fabrics out there, it's hard not to buy some. Usually, I succumb to the flannel-buying urge in winter, and while I didn't buy any this winter, I've been known to buy flannel. A lot. I use it to make comfy pants for people, and have made jackets for kids out of flannel too. This all means, apart from kids wearing flannel clothes, that I have tons of scraps of flannel.
Here is one thing I made from Flannel:

And a close up:

The pattern is ridiculously easy: you take three strips of 2.5 inches each and sew them together into long pieces. Then you cut them at 2.5 inch intervals. This gives you the three little squares sewn together. You then combine those with a rectangle that is 4.5 by 6.5 inches and sew the rectangles onto the three little squares. Then you get to play with the layout.  The little squares are from left over fabric, but the bright purple I bought especially for this project.
I chose a continuous pattern for layout, but I've seen this done with a non-consistent layout and the effect is a lot of fun.
One funny detail about this quilt: when I finished sewing it, I discovered an inconsistency: One of the squares was laid out differently:

See it? Right there in the middle of the top row?
I actually left it that way for a while, but then I decided to rip some stitches and realign the quilt.
This is a baby quilt that I've donated to the local children's hospital.
I have a few more flannely quilts to show, but they'll wait for another post.
Ah. Flannel.

Noa's a Bat Mitzvah!

I’ve only made three Bat Mitzvah quilts, so far, and each one is for a fairly different kid. Not only different kids, in different households, but kids different in personality and interests. The first two I made were for girls I knew well: my daughter and my niece. I’ve known these girls since infancy (before even?) and have had the joy of seeing them grow up on a daily basis (well, nearly). So when it was time to make their quilts, I had a pretty good idea about their likes, dislikes, and personalities.

The third Bat Mitzvah quilt I made was different. This was for my cousin’s daughter, which makes her my first cousin, once removed, I think. I’ve met this girl twice in her life as she lives in Israel while I live in the US.  I have seen countless photos of her, and have heard stories of her growing up experiences, but had not had a chance to get to know her, as a person, and interact with her, other than those two occasions. This is not enough. Not enough to know a person, and not enough to go on when making a teen quilt.

So I decided to get some help. I contacted her father, my cousin, and asked about her favorite colors and if she’s got a favorite shape, or pattern. He came back with the following: she likes squares, blue, green, and orange.

I settled down to do some serious pondering. The blues and greens-no problem.  Fitting in the orange? That took some thinking. Also, how to make a square-ish pattern that had some interesting twist to it? And on top of all that, I had to consider the usual in making a quilt for a teen (will she like it today? How about tomorrow? And in 4 years?) How to make it not too childish but not too grown up? On the designing level, this might be the most challenging quilt I’ve designed to date.

And after much (much) pondering, I decided to do a wonky squares design. I picked a bunch of greens and blues, mostly from my stash, and cut them into strips of various widths. I also cut a few center squares and rectangles to start on. At the fabric store I found a fantastic orange fabric, with golden webs on it. I found it in the batik section and knew it was perfect. I wanted to use it as an accent color, so I got a smallish piece and cut several small squares and rectangles from it. The small squares would serve as centers for the squares and the wonkiness comes from the varying widths as well as the cutting larger squares off center. I was also able to use the orange for the border, to add some more power to it.

Here it is:

And some detail pictures:

The back, I felt needed to be something else. I didn’t want to use the same colors as I wanted the two sides to be different, but I also didn’t want to stray too far from her favorites; I wanted her to like it. So I decided to keep the square motif and include the blue and green. Instead of orange, though, I used purple.

Like so:

The design is a disappearing nine-patch, done with only 3 colors and with all the blocks laid out so they form a uniform design.This one is made entirely of Batiks.

The quilt is full size and will hopefully serve her well for a long while. I mailed it off to her in Israel. A few months later she called me to tell me she loves it. Success! And I’m glad.

The next Bat Mitzvah quilt is in the works, for my younger daughter, who’ll be celebrating her Bat Mitzvah this summer.