2008 MLK Quilt-a-thon Quilts

Here are some of the quilts from the recent quilt-a-thon on January 21, 2008 (Martin Luther King day).



the first two quilts are the standard 9-patch pattern, but the quilt top maker stopped at the strips of 3, instead of further cutting into the 9 patches. This enables a top to be completed quicker, and it adds interest to the quilt. Also, no points to match in the 2" squares in the 9-patch.








The 3rd quilt is composed of 35 blocks all cut from the strip sets. These could be left-over pieces from other quilts, or just from 2 1/2 inch strips.
















The 4th quilt is a nice example of taking the 6 1/2" blocks of fabric, and arranging them in a pleasing pattern.

Martin Luther King Day Quilt-a-Thon Participants

Erin and Megan each finished their tops at the Quilt-A-Thon this past Monday at the UUAC in Sherborne. This is one of their first sewing projects, and look at the results.

Not all the work at the Quilt-A-Thon is sewing, we have people behind the scenes providing the goodies for the snacks and the lunch. And a big group of people create work in the kitchen for the clean up crew. Here are John-Paul and Grace-Mary helping out Dana with the cleanup after lunch. Earlier, John-Paul and Grace-Mary were working with the flannel backs, measuring, cutting, and pressing the flannel into pieces suitable for use as backs on the quilt tops that were being made at the quilt-a-thon.

Big Block Quilt at Easton

Here is one of the big block quilt kits that was put together by one of the Easton Quilters, getting ready to be pinned to be machine quilted. Notice how the yellows and oranges play off the reds and greens. May not be a set of colors that you would initially pair together, but look how bright and cheery this quilt looks, and it went together quite quickly.

Perhaps you would like to step outside your box and do a quilt top or quilt for the cancer treatment center?

Quilting Resolutions for the New Year

It's now the new year, and winter is upon us. Have you set any quilting related resolutions for the New Year? Perhaps you want to try machine quilting, or hand piecing or improve on some other quilting technique. I always have this fear that things are not going to work out right, and I am going to spoil my project. In fact, sometime I spend more time worrying than I would have needed to actually go ahead and do something.

One great advantage of the Power of the Quilt Project is the quilts made for this project are destined for people who need comfort quilts, and the quilts are not destined for the judges at a quilt show, or those dreaded "Quilt Police". People undergoing cancer treatment are not going to complain that all the points don't line up, that there is a thread knot on the back, or that the quilting line is off center. They have much larger worries to worry about and they are just thrilled that someone thought of them in their time of need.

Perhaps this year is when you want to step outside your box and work with colors that are outside of what you have in your stash, or you want to try a bold, bright look compared to what you currently are doing.

We have opportunities for everyone. With quilt top kits, as well as tops needing quilting and binding, the Power of the Quilt Project can help you improve your quilting skills, while at the same time providing a comfort quilt for someone in need. One of our members got her granddaughter a sewing machine for Christmas. In the first two days, the 10 year old was able to piece 4 tops from PQP kits. Another person was teaching a friend how to hand piece, and used a PQP kit as the basis for instruction. So if you have thought about mentoring a new sewer or quilter, what better way than to create a comfort quilt at the same time!

Contact Paul Burega (paulburega@gmail.com) at a RNQG meeting or at a Quilt-a-thon for kits and tops.