H2H Quilt Party!

This is a week when we all need to set aside a little more time to scroll through all the quilty goodness: the week of the Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge Party. Oh goody! It's always so heartwarming to see all of the quilts that everyone has made to give others comfort, and to see how the number of quilters and number of quilts grows every year. A big thank you to Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for arranging this. I  can't even imagine all the time that goes into that, but our quilt community sure appreciates it. 

I have shared a couple of quilts previously, and I'll include them and their links at the end of this post if you want to take a look, but today I have two more quilts that I made this month. I didn't know if I could make it happen, but it all came together. In fact, as I'm writing this the last one is getting it's bath so it will be all set to send. At the end of this post I'll share where these are all going.

This first quilt is special because it's made from a bundle of fat eighths I received from the generous sponsors of last year's H2H challenge. 

There were 33 cuts in the bundle: Authentic Etc by Sweetwater for Moda. 

Twelve were text prints. I really liked them, but I'm a bit uncomfortable making a quilt with words on it when I don't know who the recipient will be. One print was the alphabet written in tiny script in three colorations. I was okay with that, so I kept those fabrics. So there were 24 cuts in all that I chose for the quilt. I didn't really want to spend a lot of time designing a quilt, so my next step was looking around online for a fat-eighth-friendly pattern. You know what? There aren't many. In fact, I kept finding the same two over and over, and for various reasons, they wouldn't work for this bundle. Then I saw a post from Wendy at Pieceful Thoughts with a quilt block that intrigued me (the purple and white one at the bottom of her post). I wondered if I could size it in a way to make good use of my eighths. After a bit of scribbling, I decided to just look up the pattern. It's Modern Puzzle by Christa Watson, a free pattern here. The quilt is made with 2 1/2 inch wide strips, but as I looked at it, I realized it could also be cut from fat eighths, as the pieces fit perfectly with only a tiny bit of waste  usable scraps along the selvages. I looked at the fabrics in grayscale, matched them up in 12 sets,

and was able to cut 4 blocks from each set for a total of 48 blocks. I sewed them up in a hurry. You can tell I was in a hurry because there are no photos of the process. After I got them laid out 6 by 8, I decided that one more column (8 blocks) would make it a bit more comfortable size--7 by 8 blocks. I dug into my scraps, and (would you believe it?!) found three fabrics that were just big enough to cut out enough pieces. I needed one more fabric, but--no problem--I needed to go to the fabric store to buy the backing I had had my eye on in the sale bin, so why not look for one more black print there. Well, yes, I did find a print that would work not only for a block but (yippee, a stripe!) for the binding. So here are the extra fabrics I added in to make my extra blocks:

I really wanted that binding to pop, and I didn't want it to touch the same fabric in the quilt, so I laid out the quilt so that the darkest fabrics were away from the edge. Other than that I didn't pay too much attention to where fabrics came together, except for the dark/light arrangement of the pattern. If I had, I think I would still be on the floor switching blocks around and around and around--you know how it goes.

There was one little hiccup when it was time to prepare the back. I had figured out yardage for the back before I decided to make an extra row of blocks. I almost had to go back to the store to buy a little extra, but with some creative seaming I was able to make use of what I had. Whew. The mismatch in pattern shows just a tiny bit in the photo of the whole back if you look really closely, but the seaming doesn't show outside of photos. 

I did a loose wavy walking foot line for quilting, based on the sample in the pattern, but with more widely spaced lines and no overlap. A quick wash, and the quilt was as cozy and cuddly as I hoped it would be. 

I really like this combination of colors and patterns. I think it will appeal to most anyone because of the colors and patterns in the fabric. There is a floral on the back, but it's pretty subtle--and it's nature, so what's not to like about that, right? 

Barely visible initials and date going up the side (also a stray thread, sigh)

So quick stats and a couple of glamour photos, and then we'll move on because there is more to see.

Pattern: Modern Puzzle by Christa Watson (and with thanks to Wendy for her post about it!) And now you know, this pattern is perfect for that fat eighth bundle you weren't sure what to do with.
Fabrics:  Authentic Etc by Sweetwater for Moda plus three random scraps from the stash for the front; Chelsea Market Essex Rose in Green by Brenda Walton for Blend for the back; Farm Fresh Strings in Kettle by Gingiber for Moda for top and binding

Batting: Warm and Natural 

Thread: Superior-- Masterpiece in Granite for piecing; King Tut in White Linen for quilting; Coats cotton hand quilting thread in black for hand stitching binding.

Binding: 2 1/2 inches cut, double layer, machine sewn to front and hand stitched on back
Size: 64 1/2 by 56 1/2 inches, pieced; 64 1/4 by 55 3/4 inches after quilting; 60 1/2 by 51 3/4 inches after machine washing and drying.

Machines: Singer Featherweight for piecing; Singer Treadle 115 for walking foot quilting.

With our latest yard art from the local art festival

I just had to make one more quilt. Time was short, so it would have to be simple.

A notification for a huge sale at a local store showed up in my inbox, and I had a thought to make a little whole cloth quilt. So I headed on out with the intention of buying a large floral print that I could follow for the quilting. After mulling everything over (did I mention that my husband just happened to be with me doing errands--couldn't dither too long), I suddenly changed my plan. A beautiful little navy/aqua/celery arrow print was calling my name. And just a few bolts away, there was a tiny circle print with the same colors. And a tiny navy dot print. Within two seconds of the first choice, I had a whole quilt's worth of fabric in hand. (It is not a bad thing to have my husband with me--it has a positive effect on the dither factor.) 

Once home, I spent some quality time carefully basting the top and bottom fabrics with white flannel for batting. It was important to me to get the fabric straight since it was quite a directional pattern--in more ways than one! Then I quilted along every other white line to hold it all together. Binding was a cinch, with a relaxing evening to hand stitch it to the back. When I first finished it, I wondered if the quilt was too plain. 

I'm used to piecing blocks. But I know that some people are not really into pieced quilts (really!) and this would be a comfy little blankie for a newborn that might also fit well into a lot of modern nurseries. It's lightweight, so perfect for summertime use, too. 

I think this type of quilt will now be on my list of quick quilt projects to make now and then.

And here are the stats:

Pattern: None! It's an easy peasy wholecloth quilt.

Fabrics:  Front: Dog Gone It Collection Arrows Multi by Jackie Studios for Camelot Fabrics; Back: Mirage Dots by Alex Anderson for RJR Fabrics; Binding: Unknown Navy with tiny "square" white dots.

Batting: White quality flannel 

Thread: Superior-- Masterpiece in Granite for piecing; King Tut in White Linen for quilting; Treasure in Old Lace for hand stitching binding.

Binding: 2 1/2 inches cut, double layer, machine sewn to front and hand stitched on back
Size: 37 3/4 inches square, cut to size after quilting (I washed and dried all fabrics before quilting to minimize shrinkage of the flannel); 36 1/2 inches square after washing/drying finished quilt.

Machines: Singer Featherweight for piecing; Singer Treadle 115 for walking foot quilting.

So...here are the other two quilts. Click on the name of the quilt for the link if you'd like to read more.

Butterfly Quilt This quilt will be donated to Emily at Em's Scrap Bag for Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo. I think its cheerful vibe will brighten someone's day during treatment.

Strip Quilt I guess I never named this one, so Strip Quilt it is. This one is going to Bernie at Needle and Foot for Mercyful Quilts, an end-of-life quilt collection at Mercy Hospital in Sacramento, California. 

The Modern Puzzle Quilt (above) will also go to Bernie for Mercyful Quilts. I like to think these quilts represent the one I didn't have an opportunity to make for my mother-in-law when she moved into a new care facility before she passed away. The Little Wholecloth Quilt (as good a name as any) will go to Jack's Basket, an organization started by Carissa Carroll to celebrate newborns who have Down Syndrome. I'm giving it in honor of my brother-in-law who has his own extra chromosome.

If you don't know about these organizations, be sure to go to Confessions of a Fabric Addict and click on this link to learn more about these organizations. And here is the link to the ultimate linky party to celebrate everyone's finishes this year. 

See you all next year for more H2H fun!!

(I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores I'm just documenting what I used or liked.)