Monday, August 30, 2010

Charity Quilt Top

A couple weeks back, my brother-in-law asked if I'd be willing to make a quilt to donate for a silent auction. There's a little boy in his neighborhood with Cerebral Palsy. The whole neighborhood has banded together to raise money for this little boy and his family. At various times in my life, my family has been the recipient of such kindness and I wanted an opportunity to pay it forward.

I bought a Frolic jellyroll a few months back without a specific idea of what to make with it. After the call from my brother-in-law, I set out on trying to figure out what sort of design to use for this charity quilt with the jellyroll. At our July quilt guild meeting, one of the girls brought a string quilt. I loved the look, but I'm totally intimidated by paper-piecing. Then I saw this pattern, which just so happened to use the Frolic line. After searching a bit more for inspiration, I read through Cluck Cluck Sew's easy double hourglass tutorial and knew I could find a way to fuse all these looks together. Here's what I came up with:

Note: The photos link to flickr so they're cut off a little on the right side.
Frolic Charity Quilt

I constructed each block using CCS's directions for the double hourglass blocks, but I made mine using three jellyroll strips.

I started by separating the jellyroll strips into sets of three, making sure to create contrast in the pattern and color, but also making sure the strips went well together. Then I took out my trusty ruler and cut each strip at 45 degree angles, alternating the direction of my ruler.

Charity Quilt, Strip

I was able to get five triangles from each jellyroll strip set. I paired four of them together as shown below. I reserved the leftover triangle for later use. Sewing the triangles into a block was tricky because of the cut being on the bias. When you sew something this way, you have to make sure not to stretch the fabric or else your block will bubble.

Charity Quilt Block

The 42 jellyroll strips gave me 16 12" blocks, 13 of them looked symmetrical like the one above, and other three were comprised of the leftover triangles, making them look a bit more scrappy.

Charity Quilt Block, Varied

Each strip set had a bit more leftover so I cut a few smaller triangles and paired them together like so.

Charity Quilt Block, Post

I had enough smaller triangles for six 8" blocks, but I only used four blocks as the corner posts at the ends of the borders.

Frolic Charity Quilt

The quilt top measures about 60 inches square, a good size lap quilt. I need to pick up the backing material still and my deadline is swiftly approaching (September 15) so I best get crackin'. Hopefully the quilting and binding will go fast and I can hand this quilt off for the silent auction ASAP.

Linking up:
Fresh Poppy Design



23 comments:

Tanya said...

The colours are pretty! Glaf you have the opportunity to give back/forward.

Kati said...

I love this and have been thinking of doing something similar with a jelly roll on my shelf. I really like your design of the corner blocks.

SewSara said...

wow, you are very charitable!
i'd want to keep that for myself :)

it looks great :)
i'm a fabric addict, too.
this is my first time visiting your blog (came from quiltstory :) )

Denise said...

How generous of you to work this hard for a young boy you don't even know. I love the fabric and patterns.

Heather said...

That is a really nice quilt to make! I love that you are paying it forward, it's sweet.

Quiltstory said...

What a cute idea. Love it! Thanks for linking up. (we can feature you twice you know?) email us when you want to do another feature!

The Paisley Abbey said...

Nice quilt and design! My haven't gotten that advanced yet. Thanks for sharing.
:)
Courtney
(I found you at AmyLouWho's linky party)

Michelle (Lemonadegal) said...

This is wonderful! I love the colors of this quilt. I'm sure it will be the star of the silent auction. Thanks for sharing!

Nina... said...

Such happy and fun fabric. A lovely quilt for a good cause!

p.s.phyllis sews said...

Great work on those blocks. Such careful sewing you did to get every seam to align so well! Congrats!!!

Delilah said...

That is so cute. I don't know if you remember me, I was at the first modern quilt guild meeting we had. Your quilts are fabulous!

Katie @SwimBikeQuilt said...

I'm sure someone at the auction will love it!

amy smart said...

Brooke, I'm so happy to find your blog! This quilt is beautiful - and for such a lovely cause too. Way to go! And thanks for sharing the how-to's. Your pictures are so pretty and inspiring.

pinksuedeshoe said...

Very pretty quilt! It looks fantastic, and what a great way to share your talents.

ktquilts said...

Great Quilt!!! Ilove the colors!!

Leslie said...

this looks great and for such a great cause...i am sure it will raise lots of money

Karen said...

Love your quilt top. Great pattern. I am hoping to use that pattern with some Dream On fabrics.

Maevy said...

Brilliant! You have made a wonderful job with this quilt, and it is so generous of you to give it for a good cause, knowing all the work you have put into it.

Katie B said...

What a great contribution to the silent auction! I love what you did with the corners.

amylouwhosews said...

So pretty! I think I could handle a quilt like that. I like strip piecing a lot. It seems to save so much time. I did some string blocks and they were way easier than I expected - you should try it!

thanks for coming to Sew & Tel!

Lappedamen said...

The quilt is gorgeous. I love the fabrics.

Sarcastic Quilter said...

beautiful and for a great cause. Good for you.

Haylee said...

Your quilt top turned out beautifully.

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