I'm Working in Series Now

Does that make me an "artiste"?  I've always felt that quilting is an art form with fabric as the palette.

Kay Mackenzie wrote a darling book called Dolls and Dresses to Applique, and I made all 12 doll blocks for an (unfinished) auction quilt for a hospital fundraiser.  Lately, however, I decided to try to use a doll pattern in a large size for Project Linus quilts.  I enlarged a couple of the book's patterns to a 28-inch size and have made three little quilts so far.  I haven't donated them yet but hope they can be given to girls who resemble them a bit--like the American Girl dolls that can be purchased as look-alikes for little girls.  (Or they can be given to girls who just like them!)

Meet Doris (named after a red-headed friend), Avery (named after my older granddaughter), and Kono (named after that cute actress on "Hawaii Five-O".  "Addison" is in progress.

Back on Track for Project Linus

Well, I guess the quilting burnout is officially over, because I've finally made a Project Linus delivery to Mercy Children's Hospital-St. Louis on behalf of Project Linus.  (I've been delivering there for years and know the Child Life staff now.)

The first quilt was given to a teenage boy right away, and his mom sent me an email.  One thing I have noticed in the few times I have gotten feedback from a family is that they are amazed that PL volunteers would make something for "someone you don't even know".  That is the beauty of Project Linus and all comfort quilting, isn't it?

This batch of quilts is different from my usual quilting because all of the quilts are pieced and half are machine quilted.  I need to use my stash, and piecing with scraps is a good way to do this.  (I have to say, though, that I don't see any extra space in the closet yet, though!)



Colorful Finishes

The pile of quilts is growing as I prepare to give a speech to a local women's group about quilting for charity.  I need lots of show and tell to make the speech more interesting and to make me more comfortable!

This first one is a rarity for me--made on the sewing machine! I got a charm pack and roll of strips from Connecting Threads in their Quilter's Candy prints. I removed a few because I didn't like brown and black with this collection and then made this quilt with the remainders. It took almost every square inch of the fabric.

 

This is one of my favorites of all time!  The fish patterns are from Sindy Rodenmayer at Fat Cat Patterns.  The other animal shapes are taken from the border fabric, which is exceptionally cute and of course, completely unavailable now!

I call this one "Mitten Match".  It has 20 matching pairs.  One pair is actually two left mittens.  I plan to put a label on the back to tell the recipient that it is a matching game.

My Most-Traveled Quilt

While browsing through the file of quilts I've made, I paused on this one and thought about how far it had traveled to find its recipient.  My quilts have gone all over the USA, but this one, amazingly, went to an orphanage in Bangladesh! (There was an opportunity to donate through a member of my quilting forum.)

That little cutie on the right in the front row is now the owner of a jungle animal quilt I made.  His smile has kept me going for a long time.