Another charity quilt finished

This quilt has taken so long to get done. I get inspired, then life takes over, get re-inspired and life takes over again. I am still up and down on days with energy or not and this probably has a bit to do with it. I have also been made redundant effective next week, which is a roller coaster ride, even though it is a positive move for me.

The quilt is made entirely from donated material and the back is very apt as it is bright material with stylised children all over it. This was just a case of sewing all the odd strips of material I had, once I had put them in piles of similar sizes, then adding row after row. 

                         

I have been wanting to get better at actual quilting for ages. Often  by the time I get to quilting I am a bit over it and just want to get it finished. But this time I used it as a practise for feather style quilting. I feel it is still a big messy but it was getting better by the time I go to the 

So Hope Homes - here comes another quilt for an orphan.

Linking to all these places.

A finished quilt for charity

Well this week I posted my last huge university assignment onto the website, so to celebrate I sat at the sewing machine. I could not work out how to quilt this together without affecting the look of the cats. So I just did an all over stipple.

The original quilt top was sent in by Jennifer, my sister then sewed borders and I sandwiched, quilted and bound it. All ready for the orphans at Hope Homes International.

The high winds we have been having stopped us going out in the caravan this weekend so I took Eli out for a date night. We both had a blast. For a total of $40 we went to the movies, had dinner, bought a gift each and rode on the coolest things in the mall.

This finish has gotten me inspired to get on with stuff, so I started finishing a giraffe. Then it stopped hmmm.

Linking to these places

Finished, another quilt for charity

First finished item at retreat. Completed the star last year as a paper piecing experiment and loved it. But was stuck with what to do. Now really pleased to have made it into a quilt for an orphan at Hope Homes International.

Was not that happy with the quilting of the coloured star but love the straight line quilting of the grey fabrics.

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18 down 7 to go!

Yes I now have 18 quilts for the orphans. Only 7 more to go and all the kids at Hope Homes International will have a quilt. Slowly getting there.

So I made this ages ago but have finally quilted it all. I posted about the making of it here.

As there were a lot of different styles of blocks I decided to quilt in an overall flower and loop pattern as anything that was rigid lines or diagonals would clash with various blocks. I used a quilting pattern that Crazy Mum Quilts had put on her blog one time. I am pleased with the result.

The back of the quilt is in a 1970's flannel that was donated and the binding in a black and white spot. Also donated.

Happy to be finished. 

I link up to these places and finish it up friday with Crazy Mum Quilts.

A most reluctant finish

Well this quilt has finally been finished! It has been a quilt I would call SIGH if I named quilts. I have sighed the whole time making it. The patchwork I blogged about back here. It is donated cut blocks which I only had to add a few more in. Donated flannelette backing which is original from the 70's.

But how I struggled with this quilt. I had to push myself to sew it, push myself to sandwich it and the quilting of it was procrastinated about for ages and ages. I feel that this is the worst quilting I have done in a long time. There are material puckers, it is only straight lines, it looks like the first quilt I have ever made. But no matter what I did to try and fix it, it just wasn't working. So I closed my eyes (figuratively) and just got on with it.

The flannelette back

I know why it was such an issue;

1. I like to start things and not necessarily finish them as I want to get onto the next idea.
2. I found this utterly boring, not my style of patchwork and quilting at all
3. I was unhappy with my finish on it.

But the good thing is that it is now another finished quilt for the Orphans at Hope Homes International, so I spent all my time sewing talking to myself ("any child will be thrilled with this, they will not look at how well it is completed, they will appreciate that someone has done something for them) etc etc

Linking to these places. and

I tried to "Just whip it up"

I finished this quilt top two nights ago. It is another quilt for the orphanage that I support in Eldorat, Kenya. The material was donated by someone and came to me with all the centre squares cut (5 1/2inches) and some of the outside squares cut. To make it large enough I cut a few more of the big outside squares (8 1/2 inches). But somehow the maths did not work and I think that could be why the person gave up and donated it. I am sure that no child is going to look at it and criticise the red border as not being the same all the way around!! So I just got on with it.

I read so many blogs where the quilt was "just cut and made last night" or just whipped up over two nights. I thought that if that was ever going to happen to me it would be on this quilt where most of the cutting was done. But no, this still took me four nights to sew together. Maybe I am a slow sewer, but I think too that by the time I have the kids in bed and everything done it is about 9pm and so I sew slowly as I am tired and really have to concentrate.

I might get this one finished by Christmas as the wedding is tomorrow and so all the organising and sorting clothes etc , that has been taking my time, will be done.

I link to these places.