Jigsaw Puzzle Charity Quilt

I made this quilt last year.  The larger pieces make this quilt go together quickly.  I needed to be very mindful of the layout to  ensure the pieces went together correctly.

The color combination is based on material stash from Victoria's Quilts.  Sometimes the colors aren't quite what I'd normally use, but it gets the job done.

Another quilt for a cancer patient in the area.

Starburst Blossom

I enjoyed the PEI MQG mystery quilt so much that I made a second one for the local Victoria's Quilts group.  I changed the layout a bit and had to cut off a few points to have it the proper size for the groups size requirements.

Colors worked well together.  There was a lot of piecing but I had fun assembling each block and putting together the quilt top.  

I tried some different quilting designs this time using echo stitching for the inside and outside of squares and a more curved design for the other blocks.  

It's always a challenge to quilt this on my domestic Bernina.  It's about as big a size (50 x 70) that I can maneuver.   The nice part about using my machine is that the BSR makes the quilt stitches even.

 

 

Radio Ways Charity Quilt

My latest quilt is based on the Radio Ways pattern by Jaybird Quilts. 

This is a great pattern for using up 2 1/2" wide pieces.   Using these scraps makes for a very colorful top.  The white bordered pieces create a nice contrast.

To keep with the guidelines of the Victoria's Quilt group that I make these for - I made the blocks 10" finished size.

I machine quilted it with my Bernina 770 QE with walking foot.

Bordered Nine-Patch

 Recently I put together a quilt from the Missouri Quilt Company.  The Bordered Nine-Patch was created with black, white and red fabrics.  This quilt will be another donation for Victoria's Quilts. 

Jenny's tutorial makes this an easy to make quilt that creates an overall interesting design.  The use of 2 1/2" strips in the construction of the blocks makes it ideal for jelly rolls.

Mystery Quilt-a-long

 
Joined the PEI Modern Quilt Guild's Mystery Quilt-a-long in September 2017.   I've never tried one of these before, so I was very interested to see how it would turn out.  I made a resolve to use the fabric on hand instead of buying more fabric.  That was a challenge in itself!!

September

As I had no idea how the quilt would go together, I chose a manageable size of 48 x 48.   Every month from September to April a new clue was provided and I diligently set about making the required pieces. 

October

November

December

January 2018

February

Each month participants could post their finished pieces for that month to the PEI Mystery QAL site for a chance to win prizes.  It was interesting to see other colors chosen by everyone. 








So with the final clue given and the directions on how to put it all together,  I constructed the "Starburst Blossom" quilt.  It consisted of four 24" blocks.  

I realized that if I added another 2 blocks to the quilt, I would be able to make a lap quilt for Victoria's Quilt donation.  (I am a member of the local friends group for Victoria's Quilts who make quilts to give to cancer patients.)  So I went back over each monthly clue and constructed the necessary blocks for the quilt.    

As sometimes happens, when I make quilts with so many seams, my quilts end up a bit bigger than what they should be.  My accuracy for the 1/4" seam could use some work!!  Unfortunately,  I had to cut a bit off the long ends of the quilt to let if fall within the parameters of the quilt size for donations for this charity. (48"-52" x 68" - 72")    No problem, my points might be a bit off on the ends.  I love the brightness of the starbursts.


I quilted it in a loopy design on my Bernina, added the binding and hand stitched it to complete the quilt.

Photo Credit kevincasey.ca

Thanks PEI Modern Quilt Guild for providing such an excellent Mystery Quilt-a-long.  Look forward to any others you may have in the coming years.

10 Minute Quilt Block

 

My next charity quilt is made with "10 minute" blocks.   I found this technique on YouTube in my quest for simple yet interesting blocks.

 
Each block consists of 5 pieces of square fabric.  Mine were 6 1/2" square.  This made a 12 1/2" unfinished block.   Only 3 seams involved and it was simple to make.  I followed Suzanne McNeill's YouTube video which was very helpful.  Once the seams were sewn I simply top-stitched the focus center square and it was done.  I also made half the blocks with a smaller center focus fabric to give a bit of variation to the pattern.   

By doing a bit of math, you can easily make the blocks the size you'd require for a different size quilt.

When I put all the blocks together, my quilt was a bit too long for the dimensions required by Victoria's Quilts. So I took a row off and made an off set couple of rectangular pieces on both ends.  

I machine quilted with diagonal lines and tied it was well with yellow embroidery thread.

As usual, most of the fabric for the quilt was from the Victoria's Quilts Friends Group here in town.  I added a few from my stash to complete it.  It has a very Autumnal look to it - color wise and also some of the themed fabrics. 

Marianne Quilt

My most recent charity quilt is the Marianne pattern by Sarah Overton which was published in the latest Modern Quilt Guild magazine.  

The pattern uses pre-cut layer cake fabric to create HSTs.  They are then put together on point.  I really liked the look it created.  I was even able to use a charm pack for which I've been trying to find a purpose.  
At last I've used them and I think they added a lovely bit of color to this quilt.

Random Rectangles - Charity Quilt #10

Still on track with my goal of 1 charity quilt a month for this year. This month's pattern is called Random Rectangles.  It can be found in Ellen Luckett Baker's book "1, 2, 3 Quilt". 

The pink and blue fabrics with the odd dash of green, blend nicely in this design.  Helps to use up lots of fabric stash too.

Free motion quilting in meander design.

Disappearing 9 Patch - Charity Quilt #9

This pattern is quick to sew up and creates a nice look.

This pattern  is designed by arranging and sewing together 9 squares to create a traditional 9 patch block.  Keep the center block of the 9 patch the same fabric,  4 blocks the background fabric and 4 corner blocks different fabric.  

Then  cut down the middle vertically and horizontally to give you 4 pieces.  

 

Then sew them together in this design and be sure to square them up.  There are lots of tutorials on line to demonstrate the Disappear 9 Patch.

I quilted diagonal lines fairly wide apart and then quilted again at a 90 degree angle to the first lines of quilting.  Hand sewed the binding and it's ready for Victoria's Quilts.

Charity Quilt #8 - Seeing Wonky Stars

Seems I've developed a liking for creating scrappy quilts lately.   So my latest quilt for charity was destined to be scrappy too.  I added some wonky stars to the quilt. This was my first attempt at the stars and I think it works.

 

The randomness of scrappy quilts really appeals to me and it was sometimes hard to resist the temptation to coordinate colors.

 This was also my first attempt at using my Bernina BSR for quilting this larger size of quilt.  I managed to do a tear drop with echo effect design- something I learned from Leah Day's free motion quilting course.  The quilt was a bit unmanageable at times, but a bit of scrunching and maneuvering and it worked.
 
  Best part -  scrappy quilts use up a lot of the fabric stash which means I get to shop for more fabric  :) 

Craftsman Quilt

I really like the Craftsman quilt designed by Amy Smart from Diary of a Quilter blog.  

Amy has some wonderful patterns.  Check out her site when you get a chance.

As I made this one for the Victoria's Quilts, I needed to have a specific size which was slightly different from the pattern.  I made a few changes to size of blocks and ended up with a great looking quilt .  Brown and orange fabrics pop against the white background fabric.  The variety of fabrics makes it such an interesting quilt.

Bound in an rusty orange and quilted with straight lines in varying widths.  

Quilt #6 for charity this year.

Shades of Brown

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I had so much fun with my Bento Box Blues quilt from last month, I though I'd try one in browns.  The local Victoria Quilts is frequently looking for quilts more suited for men and this one should fit the bill.

The strip piecing method worked well.

This makes Quilt #5 for Victoria's Quilts in 2017.