Quilts for Kids - Information

I recently came across an organization dedicated to making quilts for sick children.  The organization is called Quilts for Kids and has partnered with Downy's "Touch of Comfort" campaign.

The organization obtains left-over quilting fabric from textile mills and sends out quilting kits to volunteers.  The volunteers complete the patchwork and sew together the quilts.  The finished quilts are then returned to the Quilts for Kids headquarters where they are distributed to a number of children's hospitals. 

Therefore, please consider requesting a kit or two and making a quilt for a sick child.  If you do not wish to make a quilt using the kits provided by the organization, you may use your own stash of fabric.  Cash donations are also needed to cover the shipping, fabric, and administrative costs of the program.

Please check out the the website:  Quilts for Kids. 

You may also find the following YouTube video inspirational:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igraIvlADEs

Free Quilt Patterns

I am a huge fan of free quilt patterns and have found fabric manufacturers often have many free patterns to download.  Here are a few of my favorite sites:

Moda Bake Shop

Baum Textiles

Hoffman Fabrics

Andover Fabrics

Robert Kaufman

Hope you enjoy!  If there are other sites you have found, please share!

Bright Steps

This quilt was created using the pattern Courthouse Steps by Sharon Hiltgren. The quilt was long-arm quilted by Patched Works Inc. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The quilting has kittens chasing balls of yarn sewn using a variegated thread.  The quilting truly made the quilt.

I purchased the fabric from Walmart about ten years ago. I am now hooked on Moda fabrics and do not frequent the fabric department at Walmart. I find it so much easier to make points match up with high quality fabric. I would highly recommend beginning quilters experiment with higher-quality fabrics even though they are slightly more expensive per yard.

I made two identical quilts - one for my cousin and one for my sister. Like most of my projects, it took me approximately five years to complete these quilts.

My little cousin hung her quilt on a special shelf made by her dad - it is so cute!

The Purple Quilt

I am also currently working on a purple quilt from a pattern called "Puss in the Corner II" from the book "101 Fabulous Rotary-Cut Quilts" by Judy Hopkins and Nancy J. Martin (ISBN 1564772403).  The quilt is composed of three colors and will be 62"x78" when completed.

The quilt presented in the book is:

I have also used this pattern in the past for a baby quilt, but do not have a picture right now (I will work on that).

Current Project - The X's Quilt

I am currently working on a quilt made of jewel toned fabrics. I particularly liked this pattern because the blocks are set on the diagonal and the pattern encourages you to create both high- and low-contrasting blocks. I purchased the quilt kit including all but the backing from Patched Works Inc. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The pattern is called "IsoTaupe" from the July/August 2007 Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. 

Here is the quilt featured in the magazine:

Here are a few of my blocks laid out on my design wall:

The quilt is composed of 179 blocks and each block looks like this:

I work on this quilt between other projects and hope to complete it within the year (hopefully!).

Great Online Quilt Stores

Here are a few of my favorite online quilt shops:

Over the Rainbow is a great online shop with excellent customer service.  Their email newsletter is also great to keep updated on new collections.

Missouri Star Quilt Company features a "Deal of the Day" and flat rate shipping for only $5.  Their service is great.

The Fat Quarter Shop is a great store with an amazing selection.  Their products always arrive quickly and very well packaged.

Keepsake Quilting has great charm packs organized by color consisting of 50 charms for around $14.  They also have great "Bitty Bundles" which are 8 fat-eighths (9"x22") for under $10.  I also like this store because they sell pre-cut squares in multiple sizes including 2", 4", 6" and 10". This store also sells die cut shapes for applique and scrap bags.

The 9 Year Quilt

I finally finished the very first quilt I started.  It is now known as the "9 Year Quilt" and is a rail fence pattern using cream-colored fabrics.  I began this quilt over Christmas break duirng my freshman year at college. This quilt had moved with me to five dorm rooms, two apartments and a house (in three different states).  I am a self-taught quilter and this quilt was my very first journey into the world of quilting. Since I had such a long history with this quilt (and was so tired of looking at it), I gave it to my parents for Christmas this year. 

Looking back, I am not sure how it ever turned out!  The pattern was off the internet and was for a single block.  I purchased a bunch of fabric and later drew up the pattern. To make the blocks, I traced lines on the back of the fabric using a county-fair yard stick and a pencil.  I then cut out all of the pieces using a pair of scissors.  I subsequently lost the hand-written pattern during a move only to find it two years later after another move.  This quilt sure made me glad to have acrylic rulers, rotary cutters, and purchased patterns!

Black and White Crazy Nine-Patch

Using directions from a wonderful blog by Jenny B. Harris, I made this quilt for my sister and her husband for Christmas.  The design is a "Crazy Nine-Patch" or a "Stack 'n Wack".  I loved making this quilt - the directions were so easy and the process so quick.  I would highly recommend this method for a first-time quilt.  The quilt could be simplified by not using sashing and simplifying the borders.

Jenny's "Allsorts" Blog

Crazy Nine-Patch Directions - PDF

The quilt is made from all black and white fabrics from numerous stores. The sashing is a cute print of sewing pins and the back fabric is an animal print.  The quilt was long-arm quilted by Patched Works Inc. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin using a grey thread on the top and bright red thread on the back.

Here is a close-up of the blocks and the label:

My sister has two beautiful Shih Tzu's.  Here are two pictures of Barkley with the quilt - he is a perfect match!

So cute!  If only my sister would let me have him....

Baby's Arrival Quilt

This weekend I tried my first quilt using the Strip Tube Ruler by Cozy Quilt Designs.  What a great tool!  This ruler lets you create stunning looks with such ease.  The pattern I selected is called "Freestyle Roman Stripes" from the book "Strip Tubing" by Daniela Stout and Georgette Dell'Orco.  The book is published by Cozy Quilt Designs (ISBN 9780979531651).

See the Cozy Quilt Designs website for more information: 

Cozy Quilt Designs - Strip Tube Ruler

Cozy Quilt Designs - Strip Tubing Book

I named this quilt "Baby's Arrival".  My husband's cousin is having a baby at the end of this month and we are all so excited.  The couple decided to keep the baby's gender a secret, hence the neutral green used in the quilt.  The finished size of the quilt is 32"x40" and is made from part of a Moda honeybun called "Wonderland".  The back of the quilt is "Posh" by Chez Moi for Moda (pattern #15881).

Here is a picture of the single blocks before being sewn together:

Here is the finished front of the quilt:

Here is the backing fabric along with the patchwork:

Finally, here is the backing fabric with the binding I will use once the quilt is long-arm stitched:

The quilt was long-arm quilted by Sew Delightful in Northport, Alabama.

Here is my husband pretending to sleep with the baby quilt...silly!