Independence Day {Quilt}

"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved."

~Franklin D. Roosevelt

I mentioned last year that I loved the Quake pattern I have made.  It inspired me to raid my pre-cut bundle bookshelf and cut up a bunch of rectangles to make quilts for gifts and charity.

This quilt was a Red, White and Blue fat quarters with a few other random patriotic styled Fat Quarters from Joann Fabrics.

The Quake pattern, once again, came together very quickly.

I will admit that I'm not sure what happened when I was piecing this one last summer, but the strips really started to get very curvy?  I suspect it was an example of mindless piecing where I didn't make sure the weight of the strips were evenly going along my foot.  OR I was just impatient, as usual,  during the tube/cutting process that I didn't cut evenly. 

I did unpick and re-pieced the entire top with a bit more luck.

I decided on pieced backing with fabrics I had in my stash.

 and paired it with a Moda Three Sisters Diagonal Stripe.

I found a fun quilting pattern that I've been seeing around the internet. 

After practicing and seeing the example I was shooting for, I realize now where I went wrong. 

But I really don't mind the results!

Binding red and white ticking home decor fabric I have used a few times. 

 I sometimes like using unexpected fabrics for my binding.

Quilt Stats:

Measures: 54" sqaure

Pattern: Quake by All People Quilts

Fabrics: Joann Fabrics, Moda Fabrics

Quilted: Freemotion on Handi Quilter Avante

I've decided that I don't like the quality for a charity or a quilt gift.  I don't have a quilt that I keep in the car for picnics or fireworks?  I also noticed that it fit right into hubby's traditionally styled home office when I was trying to take photos, so I think it will work out for the more patriotic holidays!

Brittany's Butterflies {Quilt}

 This quilt was made for a special young, and I mean YOUNG, lady with cancer.  My friend asked me if I could make one and I knew I had to pull out my new "quick and go" Quake quilt pattern!

I'm embarrassed to say that the photo above is the only one I have of this quilt in "full".  

I've forgotten to take "good" pictures before, but this one takes the cake!

 I was actually a bit concerned about the prints from my stash I had curated from my charity bin of being juvenile for a young adult, but my friend approved it.  I loved the butterflies for her Cancer Walk theme "Brittany's Butterflies" and the angels for everyone praying for her! The purple for the T-shirts they wore!

Again, I might gush, but I love how this pattern goes from Fat Quarters to strips in a blink of an eye and creates a stunning pattern.  I was able to stitch it up quickly, but it got stuck in the queue for the longarm.

Luckily, I had picked up some new pantographs in that time period and this Bossa Nova was fun with some light yellow thread.   

This was the only photo I could find of it complete!  You can see the yellow binding and that's about it.  It actually is a sweet soft butterfly print on yellow, second row from the top of the fabric pull above!  As you can see, I had a lot of deadlines by the end of the summer and these were just the ones that were being mailed out!

All I know is that I hope she enjoys it.  And I hope she knows that there are a lot of people praying or her to win the battle!!

Quake {Quilt}

This pattern.

This pattern has been aptly named the Quake quilt.

It all started with the Godsend quilt.

Button chose it from the spring 2016 issue of the Quilts and More magazine.

You can read all about the Godsend quilt HERE.

This post?  This is a post about how I plan to make more.

Many more. 

I have nine bundled up ready to go.
 They just need to be pieced together with a second stage of what I call "the magic" to finish the top!

Why do I want to make so many of the same pattern?  Quite simply.  It's fast. Really fast. And I've had some serious stash hanging around.  With no plans. No recipients. Just collecting dust. The fabrics don't exactly excite me anymore. They were picked up on whims. Yeeeeears ago. 

And honestly?  I don't think other quilt fans have any interest in taking them off my hands.

The beauty of the quake quilt is that it can be made in a day if you wanted to.
 I plan on just making all the tops on a rainy day or as needed to clear my shelf.
It just depends on the schedule.

And then take them to the nearest hospital.
 They are unloved as bundles of fabric, but I haven't found anyone that doesn't love a quilt.  

Godsend {Quilt}

definition: (noun) a very helpful or valuable event, person, or thing.

This quilt.  It just wasn't enough.

You know you have a gem of a preschool teacher when she.....

• tells your child he is "so very brave today" on the days he feels a bit sad about going to school. Especially, when he smiles immediately and his little chest puffs up.
• helps your son write a letter to the brother that went to college, whom he misses very much.
• let him spend weeks trying out different nicknames. JP, Jim, John, Patrick, and a totally made up word he typed into a computer one day and used it phonetically and spelled it correctly for three weeks straight.
• picks him up from the extended day class to be her "helper" in the afternoon class because he wished he had gone home with mom before lunch (I swear, just two days a week...we were working separation anxiety problems)

And really?  I could go on, and on, and on, and on.......

So I made her a quilt.

Button chose the Quake pattern from the Quilt and More Spring 2016 Issue. 

I was working on another project so I handed him quite a few magazines and he chose the pattern.  I think it was the alphabet fabric that was the clincher.  Then Button chose his fabrics.

Unfortunately,  the pattern calls for all fat quarters and he had pulled quite a few fat eighths, so I hit the shelves for similar colors. I'm still in trouble for not finding a new grey....

The pattern is super fast.  SUPER fast.  I MEAN SUPER FAST.

I may start tossing magazines at Button more often to find fast patterns for me?

From the time I cut the fat quarters to having a finished top?

1 hour and 45 minutes.  Did I mention FAST?  

I skipped the pattern instructions to add two borders because I wanted to keep it a small lap size.

I used a leftover bright white minky from my stash.  I had a panic moment, but when I saw it together with the top, I knew it was meant to be.  The quilting started out as a consistent chevron pattern using my rulers on the longarm, but I soon lost interest and started playing with widths and angles to make it interesting.

A cool large dot purple was chosen for the binding "since it's Mrs. P's favorite color", according to Button.

My favorite part?  I had Button compose a thank you note on my iPad and draw a heart.  He just recently learned to draw a heart from a little girl in his class and was eager to please.  I then digitized the note and heart and designed a embroidered quilt label.

The only regret I had was not having him write her name too.  

His handwriting is just soooo adorable.

To say he was excited and proud to gift her this quilt last Friday would be an understatement.

Quilt Stats:

Measures: 52" x 54"

Pattern: Quake (see details above)

Fabrics: Random fabrics from my stash, Shannon Fabrics white minky for the backing.

Quilting: Chevron pattern on Avante Longarm Machine in Omni Bright White by Superior Threads