Just when I say a lot of quilts haven’t been coming in, I get flooded.
These are all from Ray. He writes:
“Pat K. in FL sent me this jelly roll quilt to long arm and to donate. It has such an interesting color pattern and fabric selection.
It is very warm and inviting. I decided to quilt it with a balloon pattern and a bone colored thread.
The quilting does not show all that much but at the same time, it does add a bit of interest to the quilt. The tan backing is from my stash and is a leftover from another quilt.
I like how the quilt looks. Because the size is close to a twin bed size, it will be going to Guardian Ad Litem to comfort another child being placed in foster care. My thanks to Jo and Pat for your contributions and providing comfort to a child.”
Next up:
“I just finished putting the finishing touches on this wonderful quilt top from Stoney M. in WI.
I love the colors she chose to accentuate the ladybug fabric. The ladybugs are way too cute. The quilt is absolutely adorable. I selected the circle meander pattern to go along with the shape of the ladybugs and a green thread.
There were so many colors in the quilt and I wanted something that stood out. The back is from Shirley S, in NV.
Many thanks to you, Stoney, and Shirley for your contributions to a beautiful community quilt that will be donated to Valerie’s House in their mission to support grieving children.”
The next quilt:
“This quilt from Holly M. in IN is a study in green. If you do not like green, you are not going to like this quilt. I have looked and looked at this quilt.
It is most interesting in the colors and patterns of green fabric. It is further intriguing with the various types of blocks that make up the quilt. And then there is the border. I can not imagine the number of scraps that were consumed in the making of this quilt top. I love it and admire Holly for being able to create it.
I have to admit I was at a loss on the quilting. I finally decided on the circle meander as there were so many lines in the quilt and I wanted to soften it some.
I could not decide on a green and went with a yellow thread as that was the second most prominent color.
The backing came from Deb and Pat in Fl and added to the green theme.
I used an orange thread on the back to pick up on the orange flower in the pattern. A big thank you to you, Holly, Deb, and Pat for this wonderful green quilt. This one is also going to Valerie’s House.
“This quilt from the Cresco ladies is absolutely, totally FUN!! There is no other way to describe it.
The big green frogs are set off with pink churn dash corners and green pin-dot fabric. I went with the butterfly quilt pattern as those BIG frog eyes were on the lookout for something flying around. I selected a bright green thread to keep with the fun and excitement.
The camo fabric to use for the backing and was included when the top was sent.
What an awesome combination!! This one is also going to Guardian Ad Litem. I can already picture it on a little girl’s bed. Thanks to you and the Cresco ladies. What a team!”
Jo Here talking now…
I have to tell you a little bit about the last quilt. There is a back story to it all that Ray doesn’t know. It goes like this.
About three or four years ago a blog reader sent me a bunch of frog fabric. It was scraps and bits and pieces. I thought it was so cute. I hate girly girl quilts and loved that there were frogs mixed with the pinks. I saved the fabric thinking someday, I would figure out something to do with it.
Fast forward to 2018. I found the fabric again and decided to fussy cut it. Then I thought to make shoo-fly blocks with it putting the frogs in the middle and a variety of pink prints for the triangle corners. I ended up having enough fabric for 47 blocks. Then I had no inspiration and blocks just sat.
A year later I was cleaning out the closet in my sewing room, I found the blocks. I pulled them out and asked myself, are you really going to finish this? The answer was no. So I put the blocks into a box and sent them with other stuff for the Cresco ladies.
Sandra, from the Cresco lady quilter group, took the blocks and sewed them together as shown below. She brought it back to me to find a longarmer. We talked about the quilt because I had told Sandra that I had made the blocks. We laughed at how the project all came together.
The quilts from the ladies were here and I needed to get them sorted and sent out to longarmers. At about the same time, another blog reader sent fabric. In that box was the pink and green fabric that was almost a camouflage. I immediately took that donated piece and checked to see if it might be big enough for a backing. I thought it would work so I paired them together and sent it all on to Ray.
It is so funny that in Ray’s comment the last thing he said was, “what a team!”.
He didn’t even know the back story. What a village it took to make this quilt:
-blog reader send the frog fabric
-I fussy cut it and made the blocks
-blocks were made into a top by the Cresco ladies
-backing donated by a blog reader
-Ray longarmed and finished the top
How cool is that? I am so amazed!!
Ray was right, “What a team!” It’s a team I am so honored to be a part of. Thanks to everyone who donated and helped along the way with all of these quilts…and as always, thanks to Ray for carrying the torch to the finish line. He rocks!!
OMG!!! I had no idea! Thanks for sharing the rest of the story. I am totally in awe with the team work and the coincidence of how and when many of the tops and the backs come together. You have all been so great to work with and I look forward to many more quilts to come. Thank you all!!!
Ray, curious. Do you have a computerized LA for your pantos or do you freehand?
I have a Regalia by Baby Lock. All I use are edge to edge computerized motifs. Unfortunately, I have no talent for drawing.
The quilts are so beautiful and nicely quilted. The frog quilt certainly has a history with it. Great job everyone!!
Please tell Stoney from WI that her ladybug quilt fired me up i have a butterfly fabric that has sat in my stash for years because I didn’t want to just chop it into bits. Now I know what to do thank you Stoney, Ray, Jo and everyone else. Team work is the greatest game there is.
Please tell Stoney from WI that her ladybug quilt fired me up i have a butterfly fabric that has sat in my stash for years because I didn’t want to just chop it into bits. Now I know what to do thank you Stoney, Ray, Jo and everyone else. Team work is the greatest game.
Great quilt finishes, Ray! Awesome story of that Frog quilt, Jo. It really does take teamwork to finish off these quilts!
I’m a new follower, and a completely in awe of all the quilts. But I have questions. Once a quilt is completed, what happens to it? Are they for sale? Are they donated somewhere? I have more questions, but those are a start.
In the blog, Ray writes where each of these quilts are being given. They are donations to local groups or organizations or non-profits. Or sometimes to an auction for raising funds for the organization.
All the quilts are given to non-profit organizations. Sometimes they use them as a part of their mission to serve others. Sometimes they use them as fundraisers as the money is needed to support the organization or can be better used than the quilt.
The community quilts inspire me as much as a very planned, professionally looking quilt that I see as I look at web sites and magazine. It’s been years since I was actively quilting, and I have to relearn a lot of what I knew before but I look at these quilts and I say, “ I can do that” and I get to cutting and sewing.
Really enjoy Ray explaining his thoughts and process quilting and finishing the charity quilts. And he keeps precise records and shares details he knows about the quilt finish! Takes a village for sure making these beautiful quilts! Great work everyone!