Ray has been so busy. Seriously, I think he’s finished about 10 quilts just this month!! Here are his latest.
Ray writes:
“Attached are pics of another quilt top from the Cresco ladies that I finished. I am really pleased with how it turned out.
When I got it, I was a bit intimidated by it. The center blocks of the stars had a modern art look to the fabric. The stars are much like sawtooth stars but with a twist to them. The backing had a satin sheen to it.
Several firsts in just one quilt. After studying it, I knew it needed a quilt pattern that was curvy, with no straight lines. I finally decided on a stipple pattern but made it as big as the frame would allow to give it a more modern look.
I like the finished quilt. Just hope it meets the expectations of the piecer. The backing is fabric from Kathy S, in IL .
Many thanks to Jo, the Cresco ladies, and Kathy for their contributions for this community quilt.”
I have three “Ray quilts” for you, so keep reading…
Ray writes:
“I just finished another quilt that you sent me that was pieced by the Cresco ladies.
The wide variety of charm squares set in a nine-patch pattern is lovely. I found the blue striped backing from a selection of fabrics sent to me by Shirley S, in NV.
The blues have such a calming and soothing effect which we can all use these days. There were a lot of floral patterns in the blocks so I defaulted to the daisy pattern for quilting with white thread.
Love the quilt. Many thanks to you, the Cresco ladies and Shirley for the contributions for another beautiful community quilt that is being added to the donation pile.”
The next quilt is also from Ray. He writes:
“I finished another community quilt. This top came from the Cresco ladies and was 38 x 38.
I received the bee fabric from Beth L. in FL this summer and decided to use it to put a border on the top to make it a bit bigger at 48 x 48.
The floral backing fabric came from Shirley S, in NV.
I used a daisy pattern with white thread for the quilting. The bees said they needed some flowers to make more honey.
Another great community quilt to go on the donation pile. Many thanks to Jo, the Cresco ladies, Beth, and Shirley for their donations and support.”
Wow…I love each of the quilts. Ray really did a fine job to make these quilt tops come to life. Thanks so much to the many that made these quilts happen.
I have added Ray’s name to the list of people who would welcome donations that would be sent directly to them. You can find that list HERE.
There you will find the name of the person/organization, what they are looking for, and where they donate their finished quilts.  There will also be an email address on how to contact them. Feel free to send any items to the person/organization. If you ask them, they will gladly take pictures of the donation and pass the pictures on to me to put in a blog post.
If you do charity quilting and would like to be added to the list, please write up a similar statement about yourself or your organization and send it to me at rogjok@iowatelecom.net and I will add you to the list. THANKS!!
As usual Ray did an outstanding job on the quilts. I like how careful he is to try to match the quilting to the quilt.
I chuckled when he said the bees said they needed more flowers to make honey. Then I remembered when I painted the picture would tell me which direction a river or road would go and I appreciated his comment more even it was whimsical.
Beautiful quilt! Thanks Ray, Ceresco ladies and Jo!! You all are so generous.
thank-you for the list. it help to make direct donations. I do make local donations but the people on your list could use some support also. I am thinking I can send JoAnn’s gift cards to some.
Ray does such a nice job of using donated quilt tops and materials to finish off quilts for local charities. Smart thinking to have people ship supplies directly to him, Jo!
Awesome quilting and finishing! Really enjoy Ray’s explanation of his thought process deciding how to finish the quilts. He really merges the brain and heart to make completed quilts. Cheers and huge thanks to Ray and other long arm quilters with the mission of charity quilts!!
Thanks for the link to the list to send quilting items. I spent hours yesterday hunting for that post. I now have it bookmarked. Thank you.
Great job, Ray. Cresci ladies and Jo! Ray, I often stipple a charity quilt: it uses less thread and keeps the quilt soft. Beautiful flowers, too!
Love the scrappiness of the first quilt.
Love Ray’s stories and his quilting! The quilts are gorgeous!
Thank you all for your kind words, support and encouragement. Just love this whole community.
Great finishes Ray–so impressive!!