RAINBOW GRADATION

I made this top in 2015 and never did quilt it.  It was an exercise in gradation and to study the properties of printed fabric and how they relate to each other.  

I had an afternoon to spare this week, and decided to do a quick quilt on it with my walking foot and a simple wave design.

I love to spend time in my scrap bins; and when I made the top, I came up with 182 different fabrics to gradate.

It's amazing how your eye perceives fabric when different pieces are placed next to each other.

THE STATS:

"Rainbow Gradation", 2018, 24" x 30", Machine Pieced and Quilted, 182 different fabrics.

For more on my process of gradation, check out my original post on this top -- http://qbits-salmagundi.blogspot.com/2015/09/an-exercise-in-gradation.html

I'm joining the following:
Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop Friday
Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday
Love Laugh Quilt for Monday Making
Cooking up Quilts for Main Crush Monday
Ems Scrapbag for Moving It Forward Monday
What a Hoot Quilts for BOMS Away Monday
Have a Cup for Share Your Cup Thursday

2018 DONATION PROJECT

Every year I try to do a donation project of some kind involving more effort than money (since I have more time than money!)

Last year, I made 36 items of clothing for an American Girl doll; donated them to a 'court support for children' organization's annual auction; I was overwhelmed with the amount of money the doll clothes raised for the organization.

This year, I decided to switch gears when I was asked to organize, design and make a signature quilt for the permanent collection of Colorado Quilting Council to celebrate its 40th anniversary.  I have been involved with CQC since almost the beginning, and have made many wonderful friends at meetings and events.  I expect to obtain at least 200 signatures of members, and have started to assemble the quilt.  Members are also involved by donating 'fat 8ths' of red fabrics for the project.

The design is to remain a secret, but here is what I'm working with --- lots of luscious red fabrics and 100++ signature squares.

I expect this will take most of my sewing time for the next couple of months, so posts on this blog will be sparse.  A hint --- I will be busy making 100s of flying geese units!!

And, I'm enjoying every minute of it reliving fun times with this group.

I'm joining the following:
Em's Scrapbag for Moving It Forward Monday
Love Laugh Quilt for Monday Making
Cooking Up Quilts for Main Crush Monday

GATHERING WOOL -- A CRAZY QUILT

I thoroughly enjoyed making this crazy quilt with wool and machine embellishment.  This was different from my previous crazy quilt experiences which were done by hand and with cotton fabric.

 Each block was spontaneous, but contains a memory such as copies of my grandchildren's doodles and drawings, favorite bible verses and songs, and meaningful appliques.

The majority of the wool fabric was sourced from thrift-store wool garments gathered over the years.  I used up various older spools of thread --- it took 10 loaded bobbins!  Lots of thread!!!

Everything was done on the machine including the binding -- a new experience for me.  The secret was "Heat n Bond" holding the binding down while I machine stitched it.

The Stats:
"Gathering Wool", 2018, 22"x 22", Machine stitched and embellished.  Sixteen 
5" blocks.

(Photographed on our beautiful in-bloom cherry tree.)

I'm joining the following:
My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday
Have a Daily Cup for Share Your Cup Thursday
Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop Friday
Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday
Em's Scrapbag for Moving It Forward Monday
Love Laugh Quilt for Monday Making
Cooking Up Quilts for Main Crush Monday
What a Hoot Quilts for BOMS Away Monday