I'm featuring my first charity quilt today for Bloggers' Quilt Festival. Last year, when I first began quilting and reading quilty blogs, I saw lots of mentions of Margaret's Hope Chest, and after a while, I finally followed some links to read more about the charity. They have given over 1,000 quilts away to needy children and families and accept unquilted quilt tops, quilt blocks, and completed quilts. Their Wrapped in Hope program appealed to me most, a program where quilters can sign up to make a birthday quilt for a child with a parent in prison. I picked Kayla, who would be turning 18 in April. The fact that she was turning 18 was what drew me to her - I thought to myself, here is a young woman beginning her journey into adulthood, without her father present in her life. I wanted to make something for her that would not only warm her on a cold night, but that would maybe fill her home with hope and love.
I started with the information provided by her mother, that Kayla loved the color pink and ballet. After failing to find a single ballet-centered fabric that felt like it was for a child over the age of 8, I decided to stick with the color pink. I added a few other colors, lime and aqua, to give the quilt a bit more depth, and began hunting for a pattern. One day, while cleaning house and organizing my stacks and stacks of magazines, I came upon my seriously large stack of Martha Stewart Living magazines and remembered a quilt I saw in Martha Stewart Living a million years ago - a feature on Denyse Schmidt that showed off a one of her amazing quilts, Drunk Love in a Log Cabin. I remember thinking that quilting might just be kind of cool after seeing that quilt. I had Denyse's awesome book on my shelf, with has a variation on that pattern in it, but I decided to just wing it.
I cut the fabric into strips of various sizes, and went to town putting the blocks together. I was working at the same time on my Single Girl quilt, and the freedom of randomly piecing these blocks together after the tediousness of the Single Girl pattern was a much needed release.
I wasn't sure at first how I wanted to put the blocks together - if I wanted to sash them to break them up a bit, or if I wanted to just put them all together. I put the blocks up on my design wall with some space between them to simulate sashing, and I just wasn't happy with it, so I skipped the sashing.
For the quilting, I stuck with my old stand-by, a meandering stipple, in white thread. I like how it looks with this quilt, how it doesn't distract from the overall design of the blocks, but a small part of me wishes I had tried to outline quilt all of the blocks. Maybe next time I make a quilt like this, I'll give it a try.
Quilt Stats:
Size: 60" x 75"
Fabrics: Park Slope by Erin McMorris, June Bug by Alexander Henry, Soul Blossoms by Amy Butler, Wild Garden by Dan Bennett, Flora & Fauna by Patty Young, Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey, Weekends by Erin McMorris, and Kona Peony for binding
Quilting: All-over meandering stipple in white thread
Size: 60" x 75"
Fabrics: Park Slope by Erin McMorris, June Bug by Alexander Henry, Soul Blossoms by Amy Butler, Wild Garden by Dan Bennett, Flora & Fauna by Patty Young, Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey, Weekends by Erin McMorris, and Kona Peony for binding
Quilting: All-over meandering stipple in white thread
Bright and colorful, and a great cause. Good job, Elizabeth :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm still in love with this quilt, Elizabeth! I didn't notice the little touches of yellow before--so pretty! And I know Kayla is loving it too.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad Blogger is behaving again! :)
Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteLove all the pink <3
ReplyDeleteLove love loving this quilt. A LOT. Happy BQF!
ReplyDeleteYou must have had a lot of fun making this!
ReplyDeleteOH, I still love this quilt so much! I need to do a quilt for this cause too, it's so wonderful
ReplyDeleteVery spectacular, congratulations:)
ReplyDeleteLove this quilt! The colors are wonderful and I love the wonky blocks. Too cute!
ReplyDeleteThis is my fav so far at the BQF (my first). The colours are lovely for a teenager. I'm still amaized the generosity of bloggers.
ReplyDeleteI have loved this quilt all along. I'm glad you chose it to feature. It's wonderful!
ReplyDeleteSo pretty and fun! It really turned out nice.
ReplyDeleteI am so in love with the close-ups of the blocks...seriously
ReplyDeleteYou have such a kind heart :) The quilt is absolutely beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteHello Elisabeth! I love this quilt - colours are so sweet and this pattern is 'always best'!
ReplyDeleteYou made a lovely post for your quilt and festival!
Sunshine from Teje
I love your quilt, gorgeous fabrics and colour and what a fabulous simple pattern! I was very touched by your story, what a lovely thing you have done, Kayla will surely treasure that quilt forever. I will definitely check out this charity for the future. Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLovely quilt and lovely story
ReplyDeleteIt's such a pretty quilt! I love all the pink and the bits of black, too.
ReplyDeletesweetness:) Love this pink number!! TY for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOh, it's just lovely! I love all the pinks and the prints! Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLovely! I'm sure Kayla is thrilled. But tell me how can a program that gives quilts away to needy people be all filled up? Are we running out of needy people in the world?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt! I really like the fabrics.
ReplyDeleteCan I ask how you decided to cut up you fabrics? Any particular patterns or logic to it?
Wonderful quilt - the young lady is a lucky girl!
ReplyDeleteVery pretty, what a kind and thoughtful gift
ReplyDeleteI like the meander. We always think there was a better way after we finish don't we? Great quilt great cause.
ReplyDeletelovely quilt and how sweet to do this for a young woman who needs all the encouragement she can get. had two children in one of my classes with dads in prison--hard for them to have good self esteem most of the time. i'm a purply and pink lover so can relate to the colors. just great!! thanks for sharing and have a great day
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone! I appreciate all the quilt love :) BQF is so fun!
ReplyDeleteJanet, to answer your question, the Wrapped in Hope program provides birthday quilts to children with a parent in prison but it does require the parent to sign up with MHC. Right now, all of the children signed up with birthdays this year are all paired up with a quilter. There's certainly no shortage of needy children, I agree, but those who are currently enrolled in the program are matched up. I apologize if that was unclear in my post.
Lovely colors! Pink is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteVery, very nice quilt!
ReplyDeleteThis quilt is seriously beautiful - and made even more so by its story! I'm in awe!
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful!
ReplyDeleteSo bright and happy. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteOh, how I love this quilt! I'm so glad Kayla has it now and loves it too. : )
ReplyDeleteI think this quilt is stunning! I love how the colors all come together. I know the piecing was a labor of love. I bet the recipient was very touched.
ReplyDeleteA fabulous quilt for a wonderful cause! I make a lot of charity quilts, too.
ReplyDeleteThis was one of my favorites when you first posted about it, and its still one of my favorites now! Love love love :)
ReplyDeleteThis is such a pretty quilt.
ReplyDeleteThis style of piecing is on my to-do list but after seeing this, I have bumped it up the list :)
Such a great cause!
I love the idea behind the quilt, I love that you put so much into it in finding the right fabrics, I think I just love everything about it (and am off to visit Margaret's Hope Chest).
ReplyDeleteWe have a local quilting group, called Caring Hearts, which I plan to visit at their meeting in June. I hope they'll accept help from this beginner.
This is a fantastic quilt. It is so colourful and warming. What a perfect choice for an 18 year old girl. I love the fabrics you have chosen and enjoyed reading the story behind the quilt.
ReplyDeleteI like the way this quilt looks, not too girlie, but pink stands out. I am sure the recipient will love it.
ReplyDeleteThis quilt grabbed my eye! Such a fun scrappy look. I can't believe you are giving it away! You and your quilt are amazing!
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ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt! I love the colours! What a beautiful contribution to that 18-year-old!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous I love it.
ReplyDeleteHello and thanks for the kind comment on my blog. I;ve been following your blog for a little while now as i love your work so its flattering that you like my quilt! also, I notice you are in Florida, im going on holiday there next week 9im from the u,k) just wondering if you can recommend any fabric shops in teh Disney area? we are staying in kissimee and im dying to find some great fabric stores thanks Dana :-)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt for a wonderful cause!
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful, Elizabeth, I really love it!
ReplyDeleteA GREAT quilt for a GREAT cause - Well DONE!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this, beautiful girly quilt for a good cause. She will love it!
ReplyDeleteThis quilt is wonderful! I love the colours together, and it is so great that you made it for someone who needed it but who you did not even know!
ReplyDeleteNice to see this quilt again! Thanks for the info on MHC- I will definitely have to check it out!
ReplyDeletewow that's beautiful, both the quilt and the story behind it!
ReplyDeleteReally cool! what a gift for that young woman!
ReplyDeleteI never get tired of seeing this quilt, it is just so gorgeous and such a lovely story behind it! Nice choice for the BQF
ReplyDeleteI love this idea, and I love this quilt! Very bright and colorful; ideal for an 18 year old!
ReplyDeleteI love this quilt and I love this idea. I know they are filled up for 2011 but I've been thinking a lot about reaching out to see if we can't start a local chapter here but I'm not sure I can commit to that level just yet.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, your quilt is lovely and I have no doubt she thought it was great.
Beautifully done, and for such a great cause. I hope this young woman enjoys it.
ReplyDeleteBellissima!
ReplyDeleteoh gosh, oh gosh, so completely adore all the pink!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet quilt. I really love the use of a little yellow to make this pop. Great work!
ReplyDeleteBright and gorgeous! And what a fantastic cause!
ReplyDeleteIt's a beauty! So good of you to select an older kid to quilt for, they do seem to get left out!
ReplyDeleteI love this pattern and your quilt looks great.
ReplyDeleteThat is SO beautiful!! Great story!!
ReplyDeleteThat is a beautiful quilt and I'm sure that Kayla will treasure it. Eighteen is a tough age for a girl and I'm sure you made a difference.
ReplyDeleteIt really is a beautiful quilt, I love that you included the lime and aqua and little pops of colour. I'm sure Kayla will love her quilt.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved this quilt! It is the perfect quilt for a young woman and I'm sure she just loved it!
ReplyDeleteJennifer :)
Beautiful quilt with a beautiful story! I love the colors, perfect for a young woman; well done!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous quilt. I love making charity quilts but hadn't heard of this program. I am going to check them out. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt and beautiful story!
ReplyDeletewhat a great story, and quilt! I think it will be much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteYou can see my submission to the Blogger's Quilt Festival here: http://blog.petitdesignco.com/2011/05/bloggers-quilt-festival.html
I love the pink in this quilt. Your story is inspiring! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAwesome quilt!! I don't get to us emuch pink, so I am a sucker for a pink quilt. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Rachel
http://www.dewberrylane.com
beautiful! nice work!
ReplyDeleteWhat a labor of love for a great cause. So sweet - I'm sure it will be treasured. Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful quilt -- and for a great cause! I'm sure it will be treasured by that young woman!
ReplyDeleteWow this one is one of my favorites for sure! :) Great work!
ReplyDeletethis is amazing...i love the black in it!!! it really brings it alive
ReplyDelete