Auditioning Sashing for a Scrappy Quilt

Yesterday I showed you the lovely scrappy eight patches that I was making for a comfort quilt for our guild's Stone Soup Day.

Today, I want to show you how I audition different fabrics to finish a scrappy quilt. Sometimes I will know what I want to use as a main fabric before I start, but with the variety of scraps I was working with this time, I knew I wanted to save this step until after I had the centre eight-patches completed.

Here's some of the fabrics I pulled that I thought might work, in no particular order:

Option 1: Olive green with stars

Option 2: teal blue

Option 3: tan

Option 4: bright blue

Option 5: Print on light tan

Option 6: Print on light brown

Option 7: light tan

Let me know in the comments below which option you like best! 

--Ann



PS So, after laying these out & taking photos, I actually did the math to figure out how much fabric I need for the sashing. Turns out that I don't have enough of any of these fabrics, so a trip to the fabric store is in the works. Stay tuned to see what I actually decide!

Scrappy Goodness

At least once a year, one of the quilt guilds I belong to (Dalemead Quilters Guild), gets together to make comfort quilts that go to one of three local organizations. We call our sewing day "Stone Soup Day" after the story of the soup that starts with a single stone and as everyone contributes what they are able, they have enough to feed everyone. 

When that same principle is applied to quilting, some people bring fabric, some sewing skills, some batting, some quilt, some put on binding and finally some sew on labels. And the end result is a pile of quilts!

 

 

 


This year I saw a quilt pattern at another group I sew with called "Crazy Eights" that I thought would make a great comfort quilt for our Stone Soup Day. I did a quick search when I got home and found the pattern over here at Fons and Porter. I didn't order the pattern as it looked simple enough to figure out and I didn't want to use strips, but the overflowing pile of 2.5" squares I've been cutting and saving for a very long time!

This is what is left after sewing what I needed - this bucket was full!

So on what is called "National Quilting Day" down in the states (not sure if it's called anything here in Canada, but we'll celebrate with our southern neighbours!) I packed up my sewing machine, 2.5" scraps and headed off to sew with a lovely group of women for our Stone Soup Day.

Sewing four-patches into eight-patches

After a full day (well, it's not a sweat shop, so I didn't put in a full 8 hours!), I had enough of my scraps sewn together into four-patches to make the 80 eight patch units that are needed for this quilt!

A lovely pile of scrappy eight-patches!

Tomorrow I'll show you how they look with a variety of fabrics for sashing and what I chose in the end! Till then, happy quilting!

--Ann

Guild Friendship Quilts

Our local quilt guild (Dalemead Quilt Guild) makes quilts throughout the year for a few local organizations. Members of the quilt guild are encouraged to make quilts at home, often with fabric donated to the guild, and bring them completed to add to our collection that is usually distributed in May and June.

Double Four-Patch in Blues

 This year we have also been collecting scrap quilt blocks for making a couple group quilts. One of the patterns is the double four-patch. The pattern is from MaryQuilts.com and is found here. This is such an easy quilt block to make and the light and dark chains really stand out when the blocks are put up on the design wall.

Scrappy String Blocks

The second quilt block we've been working on is a scrappy string block. The block is made starting with a white strip of fabric, 1.5" wide and about 11" long. Bright colored strips of fabric of varying widths are added to each side until a 6.5" square can be cut from it with the white strip in the center on the diagonal.

Our annual "Stone Soup" Day will be April 13, 2013 and anywhere from 20-30 quilters will gather, throw together the resources they have and cut and sew and quilt all day. We hope to have more than 40 quilts ready for donation by the end of our Stone Soup Day.

Wheatland Women's Shelter is the major recipient of donated quilts. Domestic abuse is a serious issue and there are more people needing shelter than space available. Women show up at the shelter with just the clothes on their backs and the donated quilts will go with them when they leave to set up a new home. You can read more about the shelter here: http://wheatland.albertashelters.com/

The Strathmore Storefront school is an alternative schooling option for young people who don't thrive in a regular school setting. For many of these kids, graduating is a huge accomplishment. Quilts are donated and gifted to every graduating student and for the young moms in the program, baby quilts for their babies are also donated. The storefront school is part of the Golden Hills School Division.

And the last place that receives some of our donated quilts is Strathmore Victim Services, which services a larger area that includes Chestermere, Langdon, Indus and Dalemead, where many of our quilt guild members live. To find out more about the important work these caring people do, check here: http://www.strathmoreregionalvictimservices.com/

Do you have a favorite organization to donate to?

--Ann

WIP Wednesday - April 18, 2012

The snow is finally gone and the grass is starting to turn green and that makes it hard for me to stay focused on quilting projects. Saturday was the local Dalemead Quilt Guild's annual Stone Soup Day, where we all get together and work on quilts that will be given to local charity groups.

Scrappy strips - donated

Above is a baby quilt/toddler quilt that I donated from blocks received in the Scrap Busters Swap. The green border is a reproduction print that I already had and the backing is a flannel, also from my stash! We had a great time, so much fun that I forgot about taking pictures until we were packing up! By then all the quilts were put away!

3x6 Bee Flickr Swap

With a fresh week and a clean design wall, the rest of the 3x6 bee blocks were put back up. These are the quilt blocks that were primarily blue and white and I framed them with a blue print fabric that I was hoarding had in my closet. It is a good size for a baby quilt, but on the wall, I thought it wasn't the right mix for a baby. I've pulled out an assortment of blue fabrics and will be adding to all sides of this quilt to make something at least lap size. Stay tuned to see what happens next!

Dr. Seuss baby quilt

And yesterday I was working on the Dr. Seuss baby quilt - it's all quilted and the binding just about finished. Last week, I missed my WIP Wednesday, but I did finish another baby boy quilt, took a couple photos and put it up for sale.

Baby Boy Quilt with Minky back - FOR SALE

Thanks for all your comments! I really appreciate hearing from all of you!
--Ann

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