Community Quilts from Karen B

The Community Quilters have been on a roll. Back in April I wondered if the program would continue as I was almost out of quilts coming to my inbox. I can say now that it is flourishing. The lastest quilts are from Karen.

Karen writes:

Hello everyone!  It’s mid summer here.  Even though the temperatures are hot, I know it won’t be long before it’ll be cold again.  As an original Floridian, I don’t think I’ll even get used to having only a couple of months of summer and many months of winter.  Soon quilts will be in use again as a covering and not just decoration.

I have two quilts to share this time.  Both were made and quilted by me.  Every now and then I get an itch to stitch.  These are some of the results.       

This first one is called Cool Cars.  The pattern can be found at https://sewkindofwonderful.com/products/cool-cars-1 .  If you are looking for a challenge, this could be it.  If you decide to try it, be aware that you will also need a specialty ruler to complete it.  This quilt measures 62×67.  I decided to do custom quilting, using their example as inspiration.  I completed this using just scraps I already had.  (Although I did purchase the white yardage.)  I also used white for the backing.  I am not convinced that was wise.  I’m sure this will be loved by a child someday; white probably isn’t the best idea I ever had.  I primarily did ruler work on it, with just a bit of free motion.

The second quilt is from https://suzys-sitcom-store.myshopify.com/collections/bedtime-critters/products/sleepy-sloth-baby-quilt-pattern .  She offers a free monthly quilt along.  This sloth applique was part of that.  I have tried hand applique before.  I don’t think it’s for me.  I can’t seem to regulate my stitching well enough to suit me.  For this quilt I decided to machine applique the center block.  I like the way it turned out.  I made her baby quilt pattern in colors that I already had.  I also made it larger with 3 inch blocks, so mine finishes at 48×48.  Her pattern uses 2 inch blocks and so finishes at 36×36.  I did custom quilting on this one as well, mostly ruler work with a little bit of free motion.

Things I have figured out:  I love the look of custom quilting, but I hate the amount of time it takes to do it.  I love ruler work, but I’m not much of a fan of my free motion work.  Usually for community quilts, I prefer to do pantos.  They accomplish the job well and pretty quickly.  I’ve often thought about possibly upgrading to automated quilting.  I love the way that looks!  But, I think for now I’ll stick with my manual quilting.

I have many more tops to complete and share with you.  As the summer winds down and my grands get back to school, I will (hopefully) have more time to quilt.  Sometimes I feel like I’m getting caught up, and then I look at what I still have to do.  Oh well, it does keep me busy.  Thank you for all of you that contribute to Jo’s worthy cause of Community Quilts.

WONDERFUL work, Karen. I just love both quilts. Your longarming is AMAZING!! Thanks for all you do for the Community Quilt Project… and thanks for sharing the links to your patterns.