Christmas Charities

Bloggers are such great people. And Christmastime brings out the best in the best, I think!

Two great blogging Christmas Charities this year! First, Kate at Swim, Bike, Quilt and Aunt Spicy, with the help of Amylouwho, are hosting 100 Quilts for Christmas.

Here is the low-down on how to participate:
1. Make a blanket
2. Take a picture
3. Donate the blanket to someone or an organization of your choice
4. Post a picture of the quilt on any of three link-up days, and of course there will be prizes, including a grand prize drawing on Wednesday, December 15!
5. Here are the link-up days and locations:
Monday November 29 -- Amy Lou Who's blog
Monday, December 6 -- Swim, Bike, Quilt's blog
Monday, December 13 -- Aunt Spicy's blog
6. Also posting pictures on Flickr

I have my Twin Quilt #3 still sitting in my sewing room....had intended to take it to the local Children's Hospital in conjunction with the Quilts for Babes charity by my friend Kathy at Magnolia Designs. This is just the motivation I needed to get it on over! So, here is a picture of my contribution to the 100 quilts:

If you haven't the time to whip together a quilt to donate this season, don't worry, there is another opportunity to do some quilting good this Christmas. Heather at {House} of a la Mode is hosting {Modern} Relief.

Some of our favorite quilting bloggers have donated some fabulous quilts which are being raffled off for US$10 per ticket, with all proceeds to benefit World Vision. If you would like to read more and buy a ticket, click here. I did! Raffle draw is December 1, so hurry over!

The twins are here....and so are their quilts!

After 39 weeks, followed by 2 days of labour, one natural birth and one c-section (S., you are my hero!), two cute little bundles of love have finally made their way into the world!

And, at long last, so have their quilts! So, without further ado, here they are:

Evan's quilt...... ......and Sam's quilt! I loved working with the Riley Blake Wheels line. The fabric had a great retro feel to it and strong colors, which made them feel so rich. Evan's quilt was made as a strip quilt, with a vertical strip intersecting the horizontal, like crossroads! I used a chocolate brown color as sashing and binding to add to the "man factor." For Sam's quilt, I modified this quilt design to allow for rectangular blocks, to best suit the fabric for fussy cutting these cars.I opted to use the Wheels blue dot fabric as a base, and paired it with the same chocolate brown sashing for continuity with his big bro's quilt. I was striving for 2 complimentary quilts, but with individuality, just like these boys. The backs- I will abandon all modesty here and just say....I rocked it!! :-) I couldn't take a picture that did these justice. These turned out even better than expected. At some point in the process I came up with the idea of the stop light, using each of the lights as a way to record the birth information- name in the red light, date and time of birth in the yellow, and weight and height in the green. I love how these are now embedded in the quilts as a keepsake. I hand stitched these in brown embroidery thread (though I wish I had used a slightly darker brown), using the same method as I did for the Mckinley quilt. I used a circle cutter, then attached the embroidered circles using Heat and Bond, with some stitching around the sides with Perle 8 thread. The edges are raw, and I love how they frayed up a bit after washing. Quilting- my FIRST go at free motion. I was so scared! But I knew the design of the quilt called for it, so I sucked it up and went for it. This is where I was glad I had a "third" twin quilt.....remember how I didn't like one of the originals, so I made another? Anyways, the third quilt became my guinea pig. During the course of it there were many s-sharps uttered, tons of spikes and loops in the stippling, and let's not forget that basting/puckering fiasco.....Up close it kind of looks like crap (to a quilter's eye), but when you look on it as a whole, the imperfections kind of fade....that is what I love about quilting. So, not bad for a reject. For the second/third go round at free motion on the "keeper" quilts, I tried out 505 spray adhesive for basting, and it was a dream. I know it adds cost, but in the end I will pay a premium for my sanity! Not a pucker on any quilt since (I have used it on 4). My free motion vastly improved as I went, and I can honestly say I enjoyed it by the end. I love how the stippling adds that puckered feel, and the brown thread looks great highlighted against the blue solids on the back. Some people have asked me what I intend to do with the third quilt. Well, when I started quilting back in the springtime, it was in response the the amazing Quilting for Babes program started by my friend Kathy at Magnolia Designs. Baby quilts were made and donated to the NICU at the Children's Hospital from all around the world. I had planned to make 3 to donate, in gratitude for the health of my 3 gorgeous kids. I donated 2 "girl" quilts (my first quilt, plus another), but had yet to contribute a "boy" quilt.....so, here it is. Hopefully it will give some joy to a family who is in need of comforting.

In other twin news....2 more twins have just arrived to another good friend of mine. Yes, it is true. Something in the water up here?? And boys again. So that means...."Twin Quilts 2" will be coming to a blog near you (er, right here, actually). New designs, but (hopefully) equal Awesome Factor. I'll give you a hint: I will be using the stack of blues and greens.....

Linking up at Sew and Tell and the Crafty Soiree and Quilt Story Fabric Tuesday :-)

Two more quilts

I thought I would add a couple more quilts I have completed recently, both in baby size. The first is the "Cruzing" quilt, made with the wonderful boyish Wheels fabric by Riley Blake. My girlfriend and coworker, Trish, recently had a baby boy named Cruz, and I figured with a name like that, he needed a car quilt! Cruz's nursery is quite modern so a traditional style wouldn't do, so I went with a very random strip quilt, lots of color, and I love how it turned out! On the back, I made a little "road" of cars zooming by, and framed it on wither side with some lovely blue solids from our local fabric store, dark enough so that it can be rolled out on the grass for Cruz to snooze on this summer in the sunshine. I quilted it with straight horizontal lines following 1/4 inch from the ditch on either side of each strip- very simple, but manly :-)

The second quilt is again for Quilting for Babes, the charity run by Kathy at Magnolia Designs to donate quilts for babies and their families in the NICU at the Children's Hospital here in Winnipeg (see her blog at http://magnoliadesigns.blogspot.com/search/label/Quilting%20for%20Babes to learn more). As it is my goal to try out a variety of techniques, for this quilt I did a disappearing 9 patch pattern using a charm pack of Moda Frolic fabric, and then framed in a border of solid green. I quilted it with a diagonal grid pattern, and backed it with a bright turquoise floral local fabric. The binding for both of the above quilts were finished by hand in a chocolate colored solid. While this was not my favorite fabric in all honesty but I like in the end how it came together, and it is cheerful and bright- I hope it will bring some cheer to its recipients.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Kristie

My First Quilt

I have been so inspired by a variety of friends of late, and their beautiful quilts, that I thought I should give it a try. My girlfriend, Kathy, recently started a charity, Quilting for Babes, where quilts are made and donated to sick babies in the NICU at our local Children's Hospital, and I thought I would like to contribute a few in thanks for the health of my three beautiful kids. This quilt is the first of those- and the first quilt I have actually ever made! While I have a few more under my belt now, this quilt will always be special to me. I learned so much making it, and I feel so good knowing where it is going- I hope its bright colors, which remind me of summer and sherbet, will brighten the day of a sick child and their family, and give them some hope. Love and prayers went into each stitch. It was made with fabrics from my local fabric store, and quilted with a meandering horizontal pattern and I just love the informal look, it suits this modern-style quilt well!

I am sharing this quilt with the community at the Blogger's Quilt Festival- please go check out all the amazing entries! http://www.amyscreativeside.com/2010/05/bloggers-quilt-festival-spring-2010.html.

Kristie