Beanie Baby Binkies

Working mostly from my scrap bins, I created quickie custom quilts for a dozen teddy bears based on theme and colors.  No specific patterns were used ~ I made them up as I went.  All were machine quilted and the edges were machine embroidered which drastically reduced fabric and time needed for traditional bindings.  

Star Spangled Beanies

Lucky Bears

Millenium and Princess Diana Beanies

Ladybug (non Beanie) and Peace Bear

Snowflake and Unicorn

Curly and Valentino

Spiritual Care Quilts

Using up the last scraps of my blue Teddy Bear fabric, flannel plaid and solid red fabric, I was able to complete two more Providence Hospital ~ Spiritual Care quilts.  These two were both made with children in mind, particularly boys because of the guy like colors.   I make the quilts, God sees to the deliveries.

I use a chalk pencil for marking my precut stencil pattern, then free motion quilted. It's been a while since I've done this and it shows!  Oh well, the kids won't mind.

Construction on this top required a bit of fuss and play to keep it balanced looking. I couldn't have squeaked out any more from my scraps than I did.

Both of these quilts are approximately 24" squares, which is the desired size Providence Spiritual Care prefers for their patients.  Sadly, the need is an ongoing situation, but as long as I have the ability and resources, I will continue to produce more quilts for this heartfelt cause.

Donation Quilts

Our quilt guild will be sponsoring the annual Teddy Bear Tea on February 16th. Today was the last Thursday to turn them in.  I made three over the weekend and finished a fourth this morning before heading to guild. 

 A Teeny Beanie baby fish and crab have a storage pocket so they won't get lost.  My fat quarter of turtle fabric was just enough to create the undersea theme on the reverse side.

For those unaware, the Teddy Bear (and Wannabee's) Tea is a charitable outreach by Anchorage Log Cabin Quilt Guild members, to various child related social service organizations in Anchorage who are in crises of some sort or another.  The stuffed animal and quilt are given to a child in need as a means of tangible and intangible comfort as they weather the storms of life.

This year I focused on stash busting this blue teddy bear theme fabric I had hidden in my copious piles of fabric. I'm not even sure where it came from but it sure worked great with a pile of crazy pieced beige tone blocks on hand just waiting for a project.

A strip pieced top using up smaller scraps.

Simple but effective.

With a bit more abstract setting.  I recycled my Dad's torn flannel pajama shirt for the reverse side. Lightweight fusible stabilizer strengthened the flannel before piecing it into a backing.

The dimensions are elusive in these photos.  The animal quilts were approximately 20" give or take but the flannel backed quilt above was 26" square and made for Providence Hospital's Spiritual Care Center.  Throughout the year I will produce more quilts for PHSCC as time allows.  I enjoy using up fabric and batting scraps for these smaller projects and they enable me to play around with free motion stitching ideas where it's not a big thing if they aren't perfect. :)

In the past, I usually attached a separate binding but that is labor intensive.  Now I keep it simple, fast and fun with pillow style construction, sometimes rounded corners and quilting enough to stabilize the particular batting inside.  Practice for me, comfort for kids.  Win ~ Win.

Updated Vintage Applique

A friend passed portions of an old applique project onto me some time ago.  Hand me down projects often share mysterious aspects ~ who started what when? How many hands did the project pass through before getting to its final destination.  Is the completed project remotely akin to the original concept?  In this case I can't positively answer any of those questions but I do know the majority of the applique pieces were cut and ready to applique when I received it but I did have to add flower centers, choose the background fabric and plan the layouts.  A quilt magazine with both patterns was included in the bag.  I attempted to update both 1930's era patterns (Pansy and Flower Basket) by pairing newer fabrics with the appliques.

The 15" blue-green botanic fabric squares helped define the pastel shapes.  By choosing to machine applique with a clear mono-filament thread, I minimized my time investment yet stayed true to the original design.  I could have combined the set of 4 basket blocks into one wall hanging (see photo) but I chose to finish them individually as donations to the Providence Spiritual Care Center for the dying. The pansy wreath is the first of my Guild Auction donations for 2011.

Working on UFO's (Unfinished objects) ahead of my monthly schedule will grant me a buffer when garden season kicks in and studio time diminishes.  All repetitive steps on these five small quilts were done in an assembly line progression.  It saves time, motion and effort to do all the measuring, cutting, ironing, fusing, applique, piecing, layering, quilting and binding in stages for multiple projects.  The payoff is when the last step is completed for all quilts simultaneously!  The photo below shows the quilt work ~ machine stitched in clear monofilament thread.

 

The quilt on the left was titled by the Guild's Silent Auction Committee.  It is now known as "Dancing Bouquet".

Spiritual Care Quilts

Providence Spiritual Care Center offers unique support for their dying patients in the form of small 24" comfort quilts.  Patients of all ages find the size, thin batting and tactile quality of home-stitched quilts reminiscent of being cared for.  Later, these quilts are given to the family in memory of their loved one. 

Several Anchorage Log Cabin Quilt members have been providing many of these hand made quilts throughout the year.  Last weekend I completed two scrap quilts specifically for female patients.  There is an unspoken connection that occurs between quilt maker and recipient regardless of whether the two ever meet.  In my case, I like to pray for the dying person and their family during quilt construction.  No matter what your beliefs are, there is an undeniable spiritual realm we can choose to acknowledge and function in.  People who are facing death or know someone who is, understand the need to release the physical yet hold onto the spiritual.  A quilt can't replace a loved one but the comfort a small quilt offers can help bridge that transition.

Both scrap quilts pictured above display subtle differences in my quilting and finishing choices. One quilt is straight stitched along the seam lines and diagonally across the solid blocks, the other is wave stitched over the seams and around the border.  I folded the backing fabric to the front to form a pink binding on one and the other I didn't edge at all.  It's a nice comparison of how stitching and binding techniques influence the outcome of nearly identical projects.

Yellow Brick Road #2 Completed

Once again I'm doing the happy dance but this time about 4' off the ground because a major project has just been completed and removed from my studio.  Last week I set my goal to finish putting together the second of two King Sized Yellow Brick Road quilt tops I was sewing for my friend Kathy.  We agreed I would sew these two wedding gift quilt tops she had gathered fabrics for in exchange for a dozen authentic Japanese silk obi's.  I'll have to post photos of those later when the weather is warmer.

So here is the finished top.  I had Kathy and her husband Greg stand on folding chairs outside to keep this monster off the ground.  The lower half was in shadow so I manipulated the photo before posting but the colors are pretty true. 

 I love how this top turned out and I especially enjoyed working with fabrics I would normally not use.  It has a soft overall appearance and will be a beautiful focal point in the lucky recipients bedroom.  Kathy will be machine quilting both of the king sized tops on her Handi-Quilter 16 (mid-arm) once she gets settled in her new Texas residence this summer.

Amanda's Quilt Top

My friend Kathy traded me a dozen Japanese silk Obi's (the waist sash that goes around Kimono's), for two King-size quilt tops she will be machine quilting as wedding gifts in her family. The weddings have already taken place, the quilts are overdue, and Kathy detests machine piecing. My bedroom is Japanese theme decor, so the Obi's are a special acquisition for me. Win win for both of us.

Kathy chose all the fabrics and pieced about 2/3rd of the blocks for this quilt top. I completed the piecing this weekend. The pattern is called Yellow Brick Road, and although the photo doesn't do the colors justice, the warm browns, brick reds, green and creams combine to make a pleasing arrangement. Kathy is on her way to pick up this first top this afternoon. She will quilt it on her commercial long-arm quilting machine. One down, one to go.

In a day or so I will begin cutting the fabrics for top number two. It takes approximately 30-40 hrs. to cut and sew this many pieces of fabric together. Thankfully I'll be working with all new fabric colors to keep the project interesting. Once I've done a project it is hard to go into 'repeat' mode, but I keep thinking of my beautiful Obi's and smile. : )

Baby Quilt - Double Nine-Patch

Kristen's school pal Dani was often at our home and considered a third daughter in our family. Such fun memories. Well the kids are having kids of their own now, so I felt prompted to make a special baby quilt for her firstborn, Shepherd a couple years ago. Dani's chosen theme for the nursery was Classic Winnie the Pooh. I'd purchased enough fabrics to make four baby quilts ~ what was I thinking? Thankfully, the nursery theme remained the same for her second child, Leyanora, born a few weeks ago. I have to admit, girls inspire me more than boys, so this quilt is 'fussier' than the first one I made.

The pattern is called a double nine-patch because their are 9 small squares per each 3.5" square, then those pieced squares are sewn into nine-patch blocks using solid fabric as an alternate block. I wanted the pink 9-patch blocks with green centers to represent flowers. The green helps calm down an excessive amount of pink, and yet the pink binding helps frame it all cohesively. It's a feminine look for a sweet little baby girl. I know they'll be blessed. : )

Linked by Love (Gift for Rhene Merkouris, M.D.)

On display in the Alaska Regional Hospital Chapel. Valet Parking Entrance, in small room left of waiting room.

(click on photo for close up view)