Charity Quilt Week 1 - Day 1

I decided to go ahead and let you see what I’m doing with regards to charity quilting. Many people seemed to enjoy reading along when I did the Alaskan Show Off set.

Now I’m working on charity quilting - at least for a little while.

I’ll be trying to get in 8 hours a day with sewing/quilting these things while my husband is gone.

I’d like to see what I can get done in this amount of time in 14 days. It will give me a feel for sort of working at sewing for this long each day would feel like!

As I look at these next couple of weeks I know already that several things are coming up which may make my goal impossible, but we’ll see. I do have an app on my computer which lets me keep track easily.

I’d like to do the following:

1. make up tops - by either making simple tops or adding borders to things I already have I do need to get a serious head start on these tops as once I get going sandwiching, I don’t want to stop and “make tops” again. So…I’ll see what I can do during these 14 days with regards to making tops and more tops. A lot of it is just putting borders on tops that are made but not quite the sizes I need (60'“x80+” and/or 80”x90+” for single/double)

2. sandwich a bunch - as many as I can - hate to even put a number up - but a min. of 20 if possible.

3. go ahead and quilt as many as possible - not sure what will be possible.

4. bind/wash as many as I can in these next few days

I’ll keep you posted daily on how it goes.

Here’s a summary

Day 1 - time

3:53 (3 hours, 53 minutes) - worked on sewing tops together

20:56 (20 min, 56 seconds) - pressed

47:12 (47 min, 12 seconds) ordered fabric for backings

3:52 (3 hours, 52 minutes), cut out border fabrics after deciding which tops to start with. Also cut some strips for a strippy quilt and some pieces for a Scrapbook top. Also, some sewing included in this time.

36:46 (36 min, 46 seconds) - more sewing work

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1 hour, 06 min for dinner/break in the middle of the day

36:46 (36 min, 46 seconds) to feed dog, talk on the phone later in the day

From now on I won’t show the non relevant parts - as it just kinds of creates visual clutter to these posts.

This means I spent a total of 8 hours, 59 min according to Toggl - on this charity quilt work today

Let me show you some pictures.

I had to choose the tops I was going to start with and cut the borders. That was first. My friend, Fran, in AZ has made many tops or parts of tops - they are pretty much all the Around the World design - and I need to make them the sizes that work for me. I had already measured them.

Here I’ve chosen some of the tops to start with - these are all larger tops. I had previously measured them so I knew how much approximately I needed to add to them to get them a nice double/queen size quilt. These are all tops that my friend Fran has made for us. She lives in Arizona, USA.

I found this ‘not particularly attractive to me' floral in browns by Riley Blake in my stash and decided go use it up. It’s super nice fabric. Someone will love it.

I found some coordinating fabrics to make it more interesting. I’ll be showing them to you.

I also began working on a strippy quilt, several scrapbook style tops and put some borders on some tops made by my friend Fran.

By the end of the day, I had 4 small tops ready including the strippy one I started which I finished and 2 more scrapbook style done. The larger top was already bordered.

The basic layout of the scrapbook pattern I’ve used before. I’m making 5 using some of the panels just to provide a little variety. I’m making the colors of shabby chic - but with a coraly pink and not pinky pink. and green.

This is what I’ve worked up for the scrapbook pattern - it works for me. I’m adjusting it for these as I’m using some of the panels as I work on using up some of the 12 ! identical ones I had.

One thing I decided to do is try to use up some more of my florals. I have about 3 shelves of them and I’m not using them like I wish. They are pretty but I’ve simply got too many.

Yesterday I designed a simple shadow quilt using some of my larger florals and cutting the pieces into 9.5” squares to start with - and will make up several of those tops. I pulled out some fabric quickly that I’d like to see used up. It’s too pretty to just sit on my shelves. Most (maybe all?) of this came from the lady whose stash my sis and I bought in 2015 - which, incidentally, started our whole adventure of this thing called “Quilted Twins”!

I have so many pillow panels that I’m going to be trying a variety of things to make it interesting for myself including some of the ideas of people from the Quilted Twins Facebook group.

Here’s my summary picture so far:

On the left - so far- 4 single size tops done - on the right - one double. My “end of working day 1” picture.

The only reason there isn’t more done is because I’ve not finished pressing several more - they are lying on the ironing board. I am going to try to do most of my ironing/pressing during my cheap time (between 1-3 pm and between 10 pm and 6 am except on the weekends - the whole weekend is cheaper - we have a 2 tiered price agreement with the electric company),

I’d like to do a little picture report for 14 days - as a challenge to myself and to show you what I get done, day by done. There are no miracles here - just hard work. I think you will see that.

Seriously. I could wish for elves right now. they could go in and iron for me.

My goal will try to be 8 hours a day (at least) - as if it were a regular job that I needed to get this much time in.

Oh…I figure you really want to see each top opened up individually, right?

Strippy quilt

Scrapbook style 1

Scrapbook style 2

Center of top made by Fran

Here they are laid out nicely:

Each day I’ll try to make a gallery of the newly finished tops. I suppose I can describe on the picture if someone else made the main part of the top. Many of these just involve my putting borders on a center that is already pieced. Some don’t.

Check back on Monday for a continuation of this project.

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Be sure to check out what my sis has for you in the store!

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