Hi all…
I had a little mix up on the date of my post with Quiltmaker’s 100 blocks. I wrote that up yesterday instead of today…Oh no! If you’re here to see that and enter the giveaway, you can find that here. If you’re a regular reader and want to know what’s new here today, read on. Cheryl one of our volunteer long arm quilters worked her magic on a great quilt!
Here’s a quilt top that Heather Lentz pieced almost a year ago. Heather sent this quilt top directly to Cheryl in Dallas for quilting and binding. When Kelli and I get the new “Charity Quilts” tab finished on our blog, readers will be able to send quilt tops directly to longarm quilters who have volunteered to move these quilts along to the next stage in completion.
For this twin size quilt, Cheryl had just the right size backing in her stash—the result of shopping in local thrift stores. The backing gets loaded and fastened down to two rollers.
After the batting is laid out, the top is spread on the longarm. Cheryl “floats” her quilts and fastens the top only to the take up roller at the top of the longarm frame.
I call this quilt block “Simply Woven” — not sure if there are other names for it. It is a beautiful block and I loved studying how it is put together. Don’t you want to get out a pile of colorful strips and start a new quilt? What wonderful colors; it reminds me of spring.
After some basting to hold the three layers in place, the first row of quilting gets started.
The digital quilting pattern is “Bauhaus,” designed by Patricia Ritter. I like the way this simple pattern lets the bright colors and bold design of the quilt be the focus of this quilt.
The last row is in sight. It shows progress when the quilt finally pulls up off the floor. Heather might get voted Favorite Piecer by longarm quilters because this quilt is perfectly flat (she pressed the finished top!) and perfectly square. That makes it much easier to run through the machine.
The quilt is being cut off the frame. That didn’t take long. Next step: trimming up.
Heather provided matching fabric for the binding, alternate strips of orange prints and turquoise prints. Cheryl pins the binding only on the corners. This helps keep the 90 degree angles in place while sewing down the last row of binding.
Cheryl sews the last row of binding from the back. Below, the finished binding looks pretty good from the front, too.
Come on out to the backyard in Dallas and see the finished quilt. Wow, breathtaking! This version is 71” x 83,” just right for a twin-size bed.
s close-up shows that the variegated lavender thread bends into the gray background.
The backing is almost the same gray color that Heather used on the quilt top. I love to see how these charity quilts made by several quilters just seem to be planned out ahead — who could have thought that the perfect backing for Heather’s quilt would be waiting in Texas?
And of course, I love the polka dots . . .
. . . more polka dots . . .
. . . still more. . . Lots of intersections to be matched, and Heather did such a nice job of butting those corners so snugly.
. . . and dots even in the binding.
This quilt will get a hand sewn label and a turn in the washing machine. Then, off to the House of Hope in Gainesville, Florida. The House of Hope is a very small operation, just 7-10 women at a time. Each lady gets a quilt when she arrives, and it is a treasure for her to keep when she graduates from the program.
Thanks, Heather and Cheryl, for your work on this beautiful quilt and for sharing the photos for all of us to enjoy.
This quilt is on my someday list…isn’t it an awesome scrap quilt!!
Cheryl, your quilting is beautiful, love the design and interesting how you float the top! Jo that will be an awesome resource for others when the tab on your site is set up for the charity quilts!
Awesome job ladies! It is beautiful. Where I am in my life charity work is not possible YET. But it’s something I really want to do SOON. This is THE BEST place for inspiration. Thank you.
This is a design that has been on my list for a while, and now I’m really eager to get to it. This quilt is just beautiful, probably more so for having so many talented people work on it.
It is a gorgeous choice of fabrics and the top quilting pulls it all together, wonderful job ladies. Who ever receives this quilt will be a happy, happy, person. Lovely job
This quilt sparkles with all it’s beautiful folks who had a part in the organization and construction and donation. So many hands make it happen. Love the beautiful quilt too. It’s a very interesting design.
Bright fabrics and background when “woven” equal a soft color springtime quilt. Jo, does Cheryl LA quilt for customers? I recently moved to the Dallas area and need to find a LA quilter or start mailing quilts back and forth to my former LA quilter where I lived before.
Heather—I just love the pattern and your fabrics….a beautiful quilt and the quilting Cheryl is perfect……..
That’s a beautiful quilt. Thanks to both ladies for donating your time and talent.
I took this quilt to Federal Express yesterday, so it should arrive in Gainesville on Saturday. Who-hoo! I love to get these beautiful quilts into the hands of folks who will use them.
Great job, Heather! Wonderful quilt.
Great job of organizing us, Jo!
For those who don’t know, this quilt can be found on Mode Bake Shop — for free. It is called “Simply Woven”. I made one myself. It is fun to make and turns out great.
Beautiful job by all:)
Thank you everyone for such kind words on this quilt. Cheryl is a magician with her long arm and finishing techniques. The pattern is “Simply Woven” from Moda Bakeshop. I used this pattern to tame an overflowing 2-1/2″ scrap strip bin. All bright and cheery prints were pulled. This was such an easy pattern to follow. Wishing much love and future success for the recipient.
Really beautiful work. I adore the polka dots <3. This is a really fun way to use up those scrap strips that are just laying around. I agree though, what a great spring-feeling quilt :-) Thanks for sharing and the lovely photos!