Community Quilts from Karin

Karin send it a bunch of finished quilt tops and I’m here today to share them all with you.  You can tell from Karin’s work that she really loves longarming.

Karin writes:
“Hi, Jo! You got me back in business with that big roll of batting, so I’ll show you what’s been under needle the last couple of weeks.

I call them Sister Quilts, and I’m sure you will see why by the end of these photos!  They will all be going to my local Fire Station for countywide distribution.

First up, we have an adorable baby quilt, that looks to be made by Cresco ladies, from a panel or book pages. I wanted to do feathers in the block borders, but I wasn’t sure how (I’ve never attempted feathers before). When I did the first block, it looked more like a hook and echo, so I just stuck with that. To keep it simple and soft, I did arcs in the center boxes. The wide pastel pink and polka dot border got a big loopy ribbon, allowing the quilt to drape nicely and be cuddly.

This quilt was backed with part of a pink sheet, and it just so happened, I had exactly the same pink thread for the bobbin and needle.  It finished up at a generous 42×48

This quilt…

also appears to be a gift from the Cresco ladies.  It’s a simple patchwork, alternating squares of floral prints and solid colors. Just stunning, and so very easy to make, yet the colors just pop and bring it to life.

Keeping my pink thread in the needle and bobbin, I let the flower prints guide my hands through big loopy flowers, vines, and every now and then, a leaf.
Totally random, whatever happened happened. The black border was treated to e’s and l’s, another first for me, and each corner got a nested heart. So very relaxing to quilt, I hope it brings calm and joy to its recipient.

This one finished up at 40×48, and as you will see in the next photo, was backed with the other half of that pink sheet you sent.

So, those feathers were still on my mind. I finally put on my big girl panties, found my seam ripper, just in case, and vowed to figure out feathers, once and for all.  After all, what’s the worst could happen, right?  I pulled up a stool, too, just in case Jack and I was gonna have to have a sit-down session. I doodled a bit on plastic, overlaid on a block, didn’t like it, erased it, and doodled again.  Whoa, I think I had something there. So, I erased it and did it again, still on plastic, to see if I could repeat it.  Yep, yep, that’s what I wanted!!  So, off to the races I went!

I didn’t want to cover up the little precious moments-type figures in the letter blocks, so I treated them gently and sparingly, with 4 graduated and nested loops. By the time I got to the end of the rows, I was literally dancing with my machine, and so very proud of the way the feathers flowed around each block.

I used white thread on top and a medium silver-gray in the bobbin.

This one was a bit bigger than the 2 previous, finishing up at 42×52.  

The back was pieced together using up all the rest of that purple sheet you had sent and almost all of a narrow strip of white with various city names formed out of gray dashes.  By the time I got all the quilting on it, you couldn’t even read the names!

Look at all that texture provided by the feathers! Ok, ok, don’t look too close…there ARE some mistakes, and, yes, I might have (definitely did) get lost a couple of times, but, it got done, and overall, I’m pleased with the finished product. See what I meant about not being able to make out the city names? Well, ok, maybe from afar, you can, as shadows, but up close, nope, they’re just random dashes.

Last but not least, the smallest of the bunch.  I chose this flimsy because by this time, I only had small pieces for the back, and I had one long, narrow piece of batting from Annie M, in Washington state, that has been hanging around, just waiting for the right to.

Some of the fabrics making the center 9 patch were actually used in the previous quilts, proving that not a scrap is wasted.

My stitching disappeared, as desired, leaving only the texture.  I used two stencils to mark swirls in the butterfly borders and quilted them with white thread, again so that my stitches wouldn’t show. This one finished up at 36×40, just right for providing comfort and distraction during a ride in an ambulance.

Wait till you see the back!

And now you see the connection for all these quilts.  They each have elements of the others, be it backing, thread, or scraps.  They were all bright and joyful and should provide a lot of comfort as they go to the people in time of need. 

Thank you, Jo, for your coordination and organizational efforts, Annie, for that piece of batting, Cresco ladies, for your time and talents, and all the generous readers who have donated to the postage and batting funds.  It truly takes a village to bless our community, and you have all risen to meet (and exceed!) the challenge! From the bottom of my heart and soul, thank you all.

If anyone has backing fabric for Karin, it would be so appreciated.  She is okay with using good 100% cotton sheets.  I can connect you with Karin if you have a donation.  Check out the donation page HERE.  Karin is #21 on the list.