Mini Quilts and Teddy Bears

Other than quilts and an occasional curtain or pillow, I don't sew much.  I don't make clothing, I don't cut out intricate pieces of fabric and follow patterns.  I rarely even make quilts from patterns.  Perhaps I'm just too independent to take direction well!  (I think I've had a boss or two tell me that.)  But the quilt guild I belong to (Cabin Fever Quilters Guild) recently presented us with a challenge that required a couple new skills.  Since that's one of the reasons I belong to a guild, I jumped right in.


The challenge is to make a teddy bear and a tiny quilt to go with him.  The pairs will be displayed at our bi-annual quilt show next January, then after the show they will be given away.  We can designate where the quilt will go - a friend in need or an organization that will distribute them - but we can't keep them.  The other requirements are that the bear can't be larger than 24" and the quilt must have a heart on it somewhere.  The whole thing is such a great idea that I couldn't pass it up.  While not everyone wants, needs or appreciates a full quilt, who wouldn't be comforted and pleased with a bear/quilt pair?  They are small enough to sit on a shelf, if not on a bedside, even in a nursing home room.  As Teddy Roosevelt himself would have said, "Bully!"


I've never made a mini quilt and wasn't sure quite where to start so that was a learning experience too.  These hands, with a touch of arthritis, don't love working with tiny pieces of fabric but I think I'm going to have to get used to it.  Minis are fun!  I discovered there aren't many rules about mini-quilts, just that they should look like a regular sized quilt, with everything in proportion, including the quilting.  There was a temptation to do really tiny quilting patterns but I wanted the finished quilt to be as soft and flexible as a regular quilt, not like a wallhanging, so I stayed with a little bit bigger pattern.


So, here it is.  My first quilt/bear pair.  (I haven't added eyes yet; still looking for the perfect buttons for that.)

The inspiration for the little quilt came from the Fresh Lemons website; their quilt is called Stepping Stones.  It was a way to use lots of little batik pieces.  Now I want to make a regular sized quilt like this!  The bear's fabric is an old Hilo Hattie Hawaiian shirt that hasn't been worn in years.  We've put that shirt in the Goodwill stack several times but always pulled it out at the last minute because it represented too many good memories of a trip to Maui in the early 1990's.  This seemed like a good use for it, but it may not have been my best choice...  more on that in a minute.

Because of the tropical look of this pair, I'm calling this quilt "Meet Me At Lorelei's".  There is a perfect little marina cabana bar in Islamorada FL, down in the Keys, called Lorelei's.  Heading down to Key West, watch for the giant mermaid on the right hand side of A1A.  Don't pass by.  Stop.  Have a blackened fish sandwich and some conch fritters. You'll be glad you did.  There's always time for a stop at Lorelei's.

I included the required heart and free motion quilted with a pretty variegated thread in a loopy, spikey sunshine kind of design.

So, back to why using the Hawaiian shirt may not have been a good idea:  the biggest requirement of this project is that we give away the pair after the quilt show.  But once my DH Jim saw the bear he claimed it.  It wasn't "This is nice; I hope we get to keep it."  It was "This one is mine."  OK.  How can I say no?  I used his shirt!  Like I said, everyone needs a little comfort from time to time.  This one won't be submitted for the show and subsequent donation, but I've got lots of time to make another, similar pair and I will.  


I've already made another bear and have the fabric that I'll use for the quilt back.  The fabric on this bear is a faux leather in a zebra pattern.  I love it and am glad I bought enough to do a couple bears.  The quilt fabric echoes the zebra pattern.

Both bears are from Simplicity #5461.  They are about 22" tall.  The pattern includes an 18" bear too, along with instructions for vests and a great little hat.  Because each of my bears will get a quilt, I'm going to skip the vest, but I'll definitely be making a hat or two!


If you sew, think about making something for someone who could use a little comfort.  If you don't personally know anyone dealing with a life challenge, there's bound to be an organization in your area that knows where an item would be appreciated.  As Teddy would have said "It's a bully idea!"

I've Got The Blues

I am amazed when I look back at the quilts I've made and see how many are either dominated by blue or at least contain some striking blue aspects.  When shopping for fabrics, it's the blues that often attract my attention first (although I manage to find the time to look at ALL the colors before leaving any quilt shop).


Besides the 2 or 3 (or maybe 4) blue ones in earlier posts, here are a few of my bluer quilts:


Cowgirl Blues (2003?) [for Karen]

Through Time and Space (2000) [Anniversary Gift for Jim]

Dorothy's 80th Birthday Quilt (1997)

Sunflower Wallhanging (20??) [with lots of Swarovski crystals]

Walk In The Woods (2008) [for Lawson because of Alaska!]

Blue Mountains and Meteors (2002?) [for David]  

This is just a small detail.  I can't find a bigger picture of this one.  But it's BLUE!

So, do you think I'm in a rut?  Old habits must die hard, because I recently purchase MORE blue fabric.  Maybe the best thing to do is go out, hit all my favorite quilt shops and buy anything and everything except blue.  Yeah, that's a plan I like!

I'll leave you with this lap quilt, although it's only partly blue.  When I put this one together I wasn't particularly interested in patriotic designs but I had the right fabric and it seemed like the right time.  I finished it on Flag Day 2001.  Not many weeks later we experienced the devastating losses on 9/11/2001 and the quilt took on a deeper meaning for me.  Since then I've made a couple things for Quilts of Valor; more on that great organization in a later post.

2012 Quilt Block Lotto

I'm having so much fun right now with a short term project!  I volunteered to manage the GardenWeb Quilt Forum's block lottery this year.  We post a block or a color theme each month and anyone on the forum can enter 1, 2 or 3 blocks for 1, 2 or 3 chances to win.  At the end of the month we hold a drawing.  Winner takes all!  

I discovered it was more difficult than I expected it to be to choose blocks and colors that I thought might have the most appeal.  They need to be complex enough to be interesting and to make a pretty quilt, but simple enough not to scare off the beginners.  This is a great way to learn new blocks so it's wonderful for beginning quilters.  But it's also a fun way to try new things and use up some stash, so it's great for experienced quilters as well.   Even a small winning of just 12 blocks can make a lap quilt, a donation project or be the basis for a larger quilt.  Some months there can be well over 20 blocks in the pot!  A couple years ago I won a navy blue & white lotto; I turned it into one of my favorite quilts with yellow sashing and a yellow Minky backing.  And of course it reminds me of all my quilter friends on the forum.  Can you tell that I love the lotto?!? 

To get the process started this year I have pledged to the group that I'll make 3 blocks each month.  And to help get them all interested and excited about it, I've already made everything through July and posted the pictures on GardenWeb.  Industrious, aren't I?  Really, I'm having so much fun with it I can't stop!

January (any block, in red & white)

February ("Contrary Wife" in rich jewel tones)

    

March ("Amish Diamond")

April ("Bento Box" in black/white and a bright)

May ("Next Door Neighbor" in red, blue and beige)

 June ("Log Cabin" in warm neutrals)

  

July (any star in blues & yellows)

The Wedding Quilt

My very wonderful niece Lisa found an equally wonderful man Michael and they were married in August 2010.  I was so happy for them and was proud to be able to make this quilt.  It's large enough to easily fit a king bed and done in neutral shades that I thought she would prefer.


I am normally drawn to saturated colors - jewel tones in particular - so working with creamy neutrals was a challenge!  But the more I looked at them the more I loved them.  The original inspiration for this quilt is one I saw long ago called White Chocolate; this is a much simpler design but I kept those shades in mind while picking out the fabric.


Long arm quilt artist Mary Beth quilted this one for me; as always, she did a beautiful job.
 

I had DH Jim with me when looking for the backing fabric and he pulled this one off the shelf:  perfect!  I need to take him fabric shopping more often!

This Jinny Beyer border print nicely complimented the fabrics and her borders are so much fun to miter! 

Polar Fleece?

I know polar fleece may seem too thick for quilting, but I think it works.  It is thick but it's lightweight while still being very warm and cozy.  Probably NOT a good quilt for Florida, but fine for Wisconsin or snowy New York.  


I haven't tried it often, although the quilt I made with it became one of my favorites.  I used it not only as the backing, but also in the pieced top.  This one went to my brother-in-law Tom and if I remember right, it was for his 50th birthday.  This year he said he turned 12 on his birthday so I must be wrong about the 50th!  Regression isn't a bad thing and I do believe you should get to be any age you choose.


A quilting friend just asked about using flannel as a backing and I'm sure that's why I was thinking about the polar fleece.  I loved the feel of it and the distinct detail of the quilting.  No batting was used.  I only tried flannel once (Tavern quilt); I like the results and will probably do another.  I've never used wool although I've always planned to.  Plaid woolens in a simple, classic pattern like Ohio Star would be nice.  Old flannel shirts, cut into 4" squares with a lightweight denim backing would be interesting too.  Ah...  so many quilt ideas!

Older Quilts

Today I'm going to share some more of my older quilts.  After moving back to Orlando in 1998 (or was it '99?) I had more time to sew and more room too.  I had the passion to quilt, after my early Jinny Beyer success, but few of the skills and none of the knowledge.  Deciding to make something for our queen size bed, I decided to try a mariner's compass.  Here's the crazy part:  I didn't know where to look for a pattern so worked it out on graph paper myself.  At the time that seemed like a logical thing to do; now I know it was unnecessarily difficult and there were lots of places I could have turned for help!  I was so pleased with the top, but then it all went wrong...  I used a horrible spray basting adhesive that resulted in a tragically wrinkled back, my first try at machine free motion quilting was startlingly bad,  I should never have used inexpensive muslin for the beige parts, I didn't know anything about choosing batting, etc.  The list could go on and on.  Of course we used it regularly for years and I still use it once in a while.  If you did a drive-by, looked through the window and saw it, you might think it looks nice.  But once you got within 20 feet you would see how pitiful it really is.  But I know how hard I worked on it and how proud I was to work out the compass angles, so I'll never get rid of it!

Here it is: Mariners' Blues.  I called it that because we had to sell our boat when we left
Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay.

In the couple years after Mariners' Blues, I made a few more for family.

This is a simple but pretty quilt for my brother and his wife.  I called this one Biltmore Rose after a fun trip we all made to Asheville NC.

This next one is GrayC's Garden, made for my mother around 2002 I think.  Mom was a fabulous gardener and her beloved cat GrayC was out there with her most of the time although she was and is a confirmed house cat the rest of the time.  Mother chose most of the fabric and encouraged me to use a Stack-n-Whack pattern I had recently found.  We had a blast working on this; it was an important time for both of us.  After Mom passed, I just couldn't keep this one around and was thrilled when my sister in law wanted it.  She and my mother felt great affection for each other so it was the perfect home for the quilt.

I don't have a picture of the back but it's wide alternating stripes of the light gray and the deep maroon-ish purple.   

I've got lots more quilts to categorize and post, but I'll save them for another day.  Here, instead, are a few GrayC pictures then and now:

And now:  22 pounds and the queen bee of the household!

Almost my First Quilt

Many years ago - not even sure how many but probably over 25 - I made a very simple quilt with 4" squares for my friend Margaret's first child.  As I look back on it, the colors were nothing you would pick for a baby quilt but I don't recall if I was trying to be different or if I just didn't know enough to make a good choice!  I don't have a photo of that first quilt and it's probably a good thing.


In 1992 or 93 I was pretty new at exploring the internet but somehow came across Jinny Beyer's website.  I had never seen such beautiful fabrics!  Stunned, I decided I had to try my hand at quilting again and found a shop in town (Baltimore) that carried her designs.  Here's that quilt, which I really consider it to be the beginning of my quilting life.

It's a smallish wallhanging, about 2.5'x3', more heavily beaded than you can tell from the picture; I called it Executive Wing because at the time I was working in the corporate offices of a large manufacturing company.  I was involved in many projects at work that took months and even years to see completed, so quilting gave me a dose of almost instant gratification.  It was also a way to express my more creative side and that was fun too.  This quilt hung in my office at work for several years.

Later, I gave a similar quilt to my niece, but this one hangs in my sewing room.  I still like it and I'm still attracted to Jinny Beyer's fabrics and her great borders.  I've always wanted to take one of her classes but the closest I've gotten is visiting her shop near DC.