Community Quilts from Karin

Karin our wonderful quilt finisher from Florida has five newly finished quilts to share with us today.

Karen writes:
“Good morning!  I had to take some time away to make a memory quilt, and we took an extended camping trip to go to Virginia for our granddaughter’s graduation, but I am back in business and have quite the quilt parade for you today.  First up, we have an adorable floral number, courtesy of the amazing Cresco ladies.  Lots of pink, yellow, and green came together to make this top.  The black stop border really sets off each square, don’t you think? 

I quilted a free-form flower in the center of each square, with lots of loops connecting them all, in a deep fuchsia thread and swirls in the outer border.  The backing was generously donated by Polly B, of Pensacola, FL, who, like you, loves to go thrifting, and is always on the lookout for a bargain. 

This yardage couldn’t be any better matched, right?  This lap quilt finished up at 40×48 inches.”

Next up, again from the Cresco ladies, we have Beep, Beep, Coming Through.  This Tonka Truck fabric is perfect for our little county.  We have a massive project underway, not far from our house.  Sometime in the next 2 years, we will be getting Target, Aldi, Starbucks, PetSmart, Ross, and a couple of restaurants sprinkled in the out parcels.  Rumor has it, there will also be a Hobby Lobby.  Several gopher tortoises had to be relocated, and a few coyotes and many deer, rabbits, birds, and snakes have also lost their homes, all in the name of “progress.” As you can imagine, this project has been quite controversial for many years, and, I’m sad to say, it is finally coming to fruition. Gone is our sleepy little village; I already miss it. At least we still have our manatees!! 

Using yellow thread, I quilted a simple meander in the large blue inner square, and riffing on another blog reader’s idea (looking at YOU, Barbara S, of ThreeCatsRanch, and thank you very much), I did my version of tire tread around the outside yellow border.  Needs work before it can be considered pretty, but it got the job done in the meantime.  To coordinate better with the back that was provided, I used white thread in the bobbin.

This one finished up at 36×42 inches.

Moving forward with a more pleasant topic, we have cats! More Cats and Cats Galore!!  

I believe this is another Cresco Lady’s project, and truthfully, I have no idea how these blocks were made.  They are a patchwork of all different sizes and shapes, not to mention fabrics.  Somehow, they all work and play well together!  I just let my mind wander and my hands went every which way, looping and turning as they saw fit.  I used a variegated thread in the needle and gold thread in the bobbin, knowing that my stitches were not going to show up on that colorful background. I bound it with a length of binding that was originally provided by Patty K, of West Palm Beach, FL, to go along with a flimsy she had pieced, but there was enough backing for a flip-to-front finish, so I saved it to use differently. Came in handy and worked out just right on this top!

This one was really fun to do and I know it will really brighten the days of someone going through a rough patch.  

Speaking of Patty K, of West Palm Beach, FL, the next two tops came from her as well.  The first one, she called What’s Your Favorite Color, and she tells me the charm squares all came from you, Jo.  I wanted to try out a new motif and I needed to see where I had been and where I was going, so the solid colors, all in neat rows, were just perfect.  As it turns out, though, my execution of the motif left a lot to be desired, so, before I took the quilt off the frame, I went back over it, rolling the opposite direction, and added swirls between each “onion.” What an improvement!! 

The voice of my longarm dealer kept resonating in my head, the entire time I was stitching, “If you’re not happy with it, just keep throwing thread at it until it looks good.  The more thread you lay down, the better it will be.”. She’s not wrong!! I love the way it turned out! And, I used my favorite line green thread in the needle — I thought Patty would get a kick out of that!  I backed it with some yardage provided some time ago, by Susan McC, from Austin, TX.  I think of her often, as I know it is sweltering hot down there right now.  I know she’s not quilting today!! 

This pretty quilt finished up at 36×44.

And, bringing our parade to its close, we have another Patty K finish she titled, “Where There is a Will, There is a Way.” Not sure why she called it that, maybe it gave her trouble piecing?  It is a foundation-pieced string quilt, and she did a great job mixing colors and prints.  With all those seams though, I wanted to make sure it was going to stay intact through many washings, so I used a Paisley sort of motif for quilting.  It was my first time doing this motif, so, it may have more than a few size changes, and lots of directional changes.  I’m not sure it’s supposed to, but, it came out ok in the end, so, no complaints here.  I used the same lime green thread in my needle, but I changed to gold in the bobbin, to coordinate with the navy and gold backing provided by a neighborhood donor.  Surprisingly, you can’t even see my stitches on the back.  This top finished up at 40×40 and will make a perfect I Spy or Tummy Time mat for a little one.  

These 5 quilts will go straight to the Firehouse this afternoon, where I know they will be appreciated and distributed soon.  

On behalf of Citrus County, FL, thank you to all the ladies and men who have so generously donated time, materials, and money to make all this happen.  And special thanks to you, Jo, for coordinating everything so well and providing the batting and motivation!! 

Wow…what a wonderful parade of quilts. Citrus County is lucky to have Karin. We’re lucky to have Karin. We’re also lucky to have the Cresco Ladies and Patty who make such nice quilt tops. THANKS, everyone for having a part in making these great quilts!!