Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Foster Quilts

I've been making some donation quilt tops during the past couple months.  One with my own materials, and others from kits or orphan blocks sent my way by Jo at Jo's Country Junction to be put together and donated.  

I've started to think of these as foster quilts:  Something I have the temporary care and nurturing of along their journey to becoming a finished quilt and ultimately landing in the arms of someone in need of warmth and comfort.

First up, the one from me.  When The Joyful Quilter put out a call for quilts (or parts thereof) for Lutheran World Relief, I promised to send something her way.  I started pulling some older, half-forgotten things from the stash, a bit like going through and cleaning out the pantry.  What hasn't moved in a while and needs to have another life?  A little of this and a little of that, and pretty soon I had a nice subdued palette of florals and coordinating fabrics for a simple patchwork quilt.


Pictures don't really do this quilt justice.  It had such a soft, cozy vibe.  I also put together a backing and binding and sent everything off to The Joyful Quilter for quilting and donation to LWR.


Then I started on one of the projects that Jo had sent, which I presume was sent to her by one of her readers.  Unfortunately, I don't know who that person was.  If anyone reading this recognizes this, please let me know.  


The blocks were already pieced.  It just needed to be put together as a top.  The maker had included extra 2.5-inch strips and other coordinating fabrics, so I used those to sash the top and make borders.  



There was a yard or so of a rust colored solid fabric the maker sent along, and I had a similar rust colored print in my stash.  Those pieces, along with some more of the 2.5-inch strips, were enough for a kind of improv backing.  The remainder of the strips were just right for a scrappy binding.

(Backing)

This turned out to be one very pretty quilt!  It was a little large for me to quilt on my domestic machine, however, so I sent it on to Karen, a quilter I connected with through Jo's blog, to be quilted and donated.

Then I finished a Thimbleberries quilt kit that had been sent to Jo by "Connie in Wisconsin."  Everything was there and complete to make this darling quilt top.  It went together fast, and the fabric quality and instructions were excellent.  


I remember when Thimbleberries quilts were quite the popular thing (this kit was dated 2002), but I had never made one until now.  I can definitely see what the appeal was!  I sent this top to Karen, along with the other one, for quilting and donation.


This last quilt top was a made with sampler orphan blocks sent by Jo.  Again, unfortunately, the maker of these blocks is unknown to me.  Please let me know if you recognize them as yours.


Once again, the blocks were already done.  I just had to bring them all to a uniform size and sash them with a cafe au lait brown solid I had on hand.  This one was also a good size, so I asked Joyful Quilter if she'd like to finish another one for Lutheran World Relief, and she said she'd be glad to.


It makes me so happy to see these quilts fostered to completion by various hands in the "quilt village."  I'm happy to have played a small part in that!

And now for a technical thing.  I'm trying something different with this post.  Lately, my pictures seem to be blurrier in Blogger (and in my feed reader, Feedly), so I've increased the file size of the pictures uploaded for this post.  Let me know if it causes any noticeable issues as far as page loading, etc.

10 comments:

Jikke13 said...

loads well, love the concept of "fostering"

Quiltdivajulie said...

No issues with the photos - they look nice and clear. And hooray for fostering those quilt tops to completion. Your analogy is such a good one.

Paulette said...

Thanks for the feedback! :)

Marei said...

Loaded fine for me. You have certainly been busy! Nicely done. I, too, like the concept of fostering these quilts. That's kind of what we do in my guilds, but often the fabrics chosen, or the workmanship of the made blocks, seriously detracts from the joy you should feel when working on charity quilts.

KatieQ said...

I always enjoy seeing the quilt tops, blocks, and fabrics that people send to Jo to be finished as donation quilts. It's nice to see another step in the process of getting them ready to comfort someone in need of a quilty hug. I love how you put together the rust colored backing.

Leslie Schmidt said...

I, also, had no problem with the pictures loading. They seemed quite clear. How wonderful of you to complete these quilt tops so that they may become a comfort to someone who needs it. Very inspiring!

Paulette said...

I'm glad to know it doesn't seem to be a problem. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Paulette, all of these quilts are lovely, and they are going to bring the recipients comfort. Sometimes it really does take a village. You are all to be commended for your kindness. Happy New Year my friend! (And I know I owe an email, just need to find a moment to get my thoughts together.)

QuiltGranma said...

I too have made quilts similar to the one at the top, for baby quilts... donation. If I could get to that stash and use up that old fabric I would be SO happy! Like, I could empty a couple of 12 gallon bins of old stuff! Storage is very full, and I cannot get in there well due to waiting for a new hip, then hopefully also a new knee in 2021.

Kaja said...

I really like the idea of foster quilts - stuff gets finished, quilts get given that might otherwise languish in a box or cupboard, and the work of lots of hands is combined to offer comfort to a stranger. Lovely.