It's official; I LOVE granny squares! Ever since I saw this post by Jolene of Blue Elephant Stitches I've wanted to make one and Siblings Together gave me the perfect opportunity.
On Monday a parcel of purple Jennifer sent so that I could make another quilt for this wonderful charity, and so over the weekend I've got stuck in and turned it into this quilt. I must apologise for the photos; it's been raining all day and is so dull and dreary, and cee pee hasn't been around with her camera so I've taken these shots on my phone. They don't do the fabric justice - they're much brighter and cheerier!
I kept the stitching simple, quilting the sashing and each granny square to make them puff out slightly. As the last one I finished was such a nightmare to quilt I was apprehensive about this one, but it was a dream to stitch - no seam ripper required!
The backing fabric is un-apologetically colourful! I spotted this a couple of weeks ago and knew it would be perfect for a quilt. There was just enough of this purple squares fabric to use for binding, which hopefully frames the quilt well.
While the wind and rain battered the windows this afternoon, I sat on the sofa under this quilt with Alfie watching one of my favourite films for the millionth time and hand stitching the binding; so we can testify it's snuggliness! It's since been in the washer (with two colour catchers that it turned out not to need!) and dryer, and has shrunk slightly so that it has wrinkled nicely. It has ended up at 52" x 62", which will hopefully be the perfect size for whoever it goes on to belong to to snuggle under it. Once the label has arrived and been stitched on, it will be parcelled up with this quilt and sent off ready to be given out at one of the Siblings Together summer camps.
There are still loads of ways to get involved with the Siblings Together Quilt Group. Why not check out the flickr page and have a look at the amazing blocks and quilts being made?
This Easter has given me time to indulge in more sewing. I've been working on the 'secret project' - now affectionately nicknamed 'The Beast' - there's still a fair bit of work to do on it, but I'm making progress.
A couple of months ago I'd set my mum the challenge of finding me some cotton shirts to cut up and use for The Beast and, true to form, a few days later she rang me to say that there was a big pile waiting for me that she'd already washed and dried for me - amazing! After cutting out what I needed I was left with a pile of scrappy shirt leftovers and, as I really hate throwing anything away, I decided to see how many 2.5" pieces I could cut. I think I'm at my most creative when my resources are limited - sit me in front of a huge selection of fabrics and I'll deliberate forever about what to make and how to do it, but given the challenge of trying to make something with limited resources I'll just get on with it.
While I was cutting, I thought these might make a good quilt for a teenage boy for the Siblings Together Quilt project - I'm guessing there may not be as many quilts for this group being donated as boys of that age are quite hard to make for, right? Or maybe it's just me as I'm only used to making girly things. Anyway, I ended up with enough fabric to make these simple log cabin blocks, each with a lime green centre square which I thought would add some contrast. I used a plain white cotton for the background, and managed to cut enough of the green fabric to bind the edges of the quilt with.
At 52" x 62" this is a smallish lap quilt, but it's big enough to snuggle under. I found a piece of white, blue and red striped fabric for the backing, and quilted it simply with triple diagonal lines. Quilting is my downfall - I'm pretty bad at it, so I try to keep it as simple as possible. The backing fabric (picked not just because of it's colour but because it's really soft and smooth) turned out to be a total nightmare to quilt and, as I don't have a walking foot for the sewing machine, we fell out. Big time. We've since made up - me promising never to go anywhere near it with a sewing machine again and it promising just to concentrate on being soft and snuggly.
I'm pleased with the way this quilt turned out and I really hope it helps give some comfort to the child who receives it.
Once the purple scraps arrive I'll get started on another quilt. I think I'll be making a granny squares lap quilt with it for a teenage girl.
Spring has arrived! I even got chance to sit in the garden last weekend for an hour or so to do some hand sewing! I was finishing off the baby quilt for one of my lovely friends whose baby is due in a couple of months. I won't post a full picture of the quilt in case she looks, but you can have a sneak preview! I'm loving these colours together, and I've quilted it with a thin batting, so it's really light but still snuggly.
Brenda at Just A Bit Frayed has now opened the linky party for the Bust Yo! Scraps quilt-a-long, so that everyone who took part can upload a photo of their finished quilts. I used this photo that cee pea took for me as, although I know it doesn't show the quilt up close and personal, it's a pretty special photo to me.
I also had a sort through my fabric last week and managed to find enough to make another couple of pillowcase dresses for the Dress a Girl Around The World project. These dresses are so quick and easy to make, and knowing that they're going to children who really need, and will love wearing, them makes it even more enjoyable. I sent all four dresses off to Louise at Sew Scrumptious; she does an amazing job collecting these dresses and making sure they get to where they need to be.
Talking of amazing........I read this post on Lilly's Quilts blog a couple of days ago and instantly knew I'd like to be involved. Siblings together is a charity which provides opportunities for contact between siblings who have been separated by care. This organisation arranges camps where separated siblings between 7 and 17 years old get to spend quality time together. Lynne's idea is to get enough quilts donated so that each child leaving camp this summer will take their own home with them, with a label on it which their sibling(s) have written a special message on for them. Pretty awesome right! This Flickr group has been set up for everyone to share ideas and support, and I am truly amazed at the generosity of fellow quilters! I know that I can find enough time to make a quilt, but don't currently have enough fabric - cue lovely people! Some people are offering fabric to those people who need it (like the lovely Bessiemae who is sending me some fab purple scraps to use), others are organising group projects so that people can make as many blocks as they can and they will turn them all into quilts, and others are donating quilts that they have already, or are planning to make. There are therefore loads of ways to be involved! So, can I tempt you to join in too?
