Siblings Together Friendship Star

Have you made a friendship star for Nicky's Siblings Together exhibition quilt yet?  No?  Well, what are you waiting for?

Nicky is hoping that, if you have ever sewn for or contributed to Siblings Together in any way, you will stitch up one of these little 6.5" unfinished friendship stars and send it to her.  She is planning a friends of Siblings Together signature constellation quilt to exhibit in the Community Quilt category at this summer's Festival of Quilts in Birmingham.  All of the details and a little tutorial for the block are on Nicky's blog here.

I do hope that you are able to contribute to Nicky's quilt idea.  I feel immensely privileged to have been part of Siblings Together in a small way for a number of years and so it took me all of about ten minutes to pull fabric and get stitching for this.

Nicky has already gathered a few stars and with even more this could be such a lovely statement at FOQ.  Go on, you know you want to be part of it ...

Siblings Together Scrappy Rail Fence Quilt

Twenty-two months after starting to make up scrappy rail fence blocks I have finally finished a quilt for Siblings Together!  Not exactly speedy, I know, but a finish is a finish! 

I tried some large orange peel quilting on this one just for something different.  It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but it does the trick and it washed in better than it looked initially.

Still attempting to use up my stash this year, I inserted some leftover yellow backing from another quilt into a long piece of yardage and even managed to get it pretty straight! (You can tell by the column of orange peels being more or less evenly positioned - phew.)

Albeit that I think my original intention was for this to be my contribution to Siblings Together 2016, it's still for the great charity and I'm sure it will be happily received as one of the 2018 quilts.

Siblings Together - Frame Box Quilt

There has been progress of the finishing kind in these here parts!  Yay!

Last Feb (2016) I started working with my scrap boxes to pull together some Frame Box Blocks - tutorial here - with a view to making a bright, cheery quilt for Siblings Together.  I hadn't expected it to take so long to reach its conclusion but still, it's a finish now and although it didn't make last summer's Siblings Together camps, it will be there on time for this year's camps.

While the mix of fabrics in these blocks wasn't always what I might have otherwise chosen to stitch together, sometimes I think with scrappy quilts I just have to let go of my tendency to order and remember that scrappy quilts are about the bigger picture, not the individual blocks.  So, yes, not all of the blocks are truly beautiful, but look at the overall effect of that riot of colour.  It's not really so bad, is it?  Can you see what I mean about the bigger picture?

I quilted in vertical lines through the blocks in 7 places and twice across the horizontal just to give it a bit better hold.  Where my lines are a wee bit less than straight, a tumble in the wash and dryer have softened them up a bit (and hidden the multitude of wobbly sins).

Finished with hot pink polka dot binding this quilt really does look bright.  I hope that the child who receives it at this summer's camp will be cheered by it and the memories that will be associated with their Sibling through the camp too.  That's what it's all about!

This is a finish for my FAL 2017 Quarter 1 list too.

Blocks for Siblings Together

You might have seen that the one woman quilt making wonder, Nicky, over at Mrs Sew and Sow, is having a block drive for Siblings Together.

I grabbed some squares from my 4.5" pre-cut scraps and got to work late one night. They are nice simple blocks and took very little time to come together. Nicky has requested pre-quilted blocks so that she can join the quilts in a QAYG method, so a wee bit of echo quilting and ta da they were done.

The blocks are now on their way to Nicky who will likely have them incorporated in a quilt by the middle of next week, maybe even before! Nicky truly is amazing. If you haven't been following her blog or her IG account I highly recommend that you do. I love how she can take a block and turn it into an amazing scrappy wonder or use a collection of blocks in a way I had never imagined. I love being surprised by the paths she takes. Check out this fluttery butterfly medallion she made recently. She's truly a wonder, I tell ya!

Anyhow, please consider joining Nicky's efforts by sending her a block or two for her quilt drive. She has a really big heart for the Siblings Together charity and is pressing on to achieve the 100 quilts total for this year's summer camps. All the details of the block drive are here. Go on, you know you want to!

Scrap Box Block 3

Today is the last of my quick blocks from your scrap box tutorials.  Remember, these are just simple, fun blocks to help you put your scraps to good use and maybe even for a good cause like Siblings Together.

This block is a little more involved than the others but is essentially constructed from four similar quadrants just in reversed colour ways.  This block is great for making use of your scrappy 3.5" squares and 2" strips.  I mixed mine with some white solid to make my blocks but using scraps of low volume in place of the solid would be fabulous!  Let's get on with this tutorial then.

Scrappy Window Frames Block

Using scant 0.25" seams throughout this block will measure 12.5" square unfinished.

You will need to cut:

from mixed coloured scraps
Cut 2:  3.5" squares
Cut 2:  2" x 3.5"
Cut 2:  2" x 6.5"

from background fabric
Cut 2:  3.5" squares
Cut 2:  2" x 3.5"
Cut 2:  2" x 6.5"

Arrange your fabrics in four quadrants as shown in the photo above.  We are going to stitch each quadrant together in exactly the same way.

A little word of caution:  if you chose a directional print fro the 3.5" squares that are the centre of two of the quadrants, turn the directional print so that it lies horizontally as you construct the quadrant.  I didn't turn mine (the red one) as you can see in the photo above, so when the block construction was complete my print wasn't lying correctly because the white framed quadrants get turned for final assembly.  Oops!  Anyway, hope that makes sense.

So, having the pieces of each quadrant laid out as above, first stitch on the two side pieces to your centre square.

Press seams away from the centre. (Sorry I had to swap quadrant pics because some were blurry.)

Now stitch the top and bottom pieces on, again pressing the seams away from the centre.  Then trim your quadrant to 6.5" square.

Repeat for the other three quadrants.

After that, it's as easy laying out your quadrants in the order you want them to be.  To make the seam alignments easier the white square centred quadrants should have the longest strips to the top and bottom in the block placement while the print square centred quadrants should have the longest strips to the sides.  Look carefully at my photo and hopefully it'll be clear.

Next stitch the two top quadrants together and then the bottom two quadrants together so that you have two rows.  Press your joining seams in opposite directions.

Then pin and stitch the two rows together, carefully nesting your centre seams, and then pressing your final seam open.

If necessary, trim the block to 12.5" square. Stand back and admire your fun scrappy window frames block.

So, now that I've covered all three of my Scrap Box blocks with tutorials, which ones are you going to use to make a funky quilt for children who have been separated from their siblings by the UK care system?  Siblings Together could really use your help to provide quilts for this summer's camps.  Please, please consider helping out.

• Make a quick quilt yourself.  
• Get together with your stitching besties and have a Siblings Together quilting Saturday (or two). 
• Canvas support on IG or on your blog for block donations to help you put a quilt together more quickly.  
• Ask your online Bee mates to make you these blocks for your quilt this year with a view to making and donating it.  

There are all sorts of ways of doing this and I promise you, it will do your heart good to know that kids out there have a little comfort as they remember the precious times they spent with their sibling this summer at camp.  Go on!  Please ...

If this isn't the block for you, check out Block 1 here and Block 2 here.  I hope one of them will grab you and get you motivated.

Although I am promoting my blocks to encourage Siblings Together contributions, I am very happy for anyone to reference these scrap box block tutorials or indeed any of my block tutorials for use in your Charity Bees or even just your ordinary Bee groups.

Have fun stitching and if you do use any of the tutorials, please share pictures of them with me either here or on Instagram #sewmesarah

Scrap Box blocks

I've been brewing a plan for a while.  It involves delving into my carefully stored and pre-cut scrap boxes and doing something useful with them.  Since committing to a whole quilt myself for the Siblings Together charity just isn't possible this year, I thought I might cheerlead from the sides, encouraging all of you to raid your scrap boxes and make a simple scrappy quilt or two yourselves. 

With a trusty assistant at hand a few weekends ago, we got stuck into my scrap boxes and the three block designs in the top photo are what we came up with.  There's no rocket science in any of these blocks and I'm quite sure that all of you would be able to come with these by yourself.  However, on the off chance that you've been wondering what to do with your scraps or trying to think of a quilt for Siblings Together and would simply like someone to have done the cutting maths for you, I'm going to share tutorials for all three types of block here on the blog over the next few weeks.

Frame Box Block Tutorial

Today I'm going to share a tutorial for this block which is a 10.5" x 12.5" unfinished rectangle.  For these blocks I went straight to my box of 2.5" strips. Just a few cuts and a few seams resulted in these pretty framed box blocks.  These would be perfect if you have leftover jelly roll strips or lengths of unused 2.5" binding. So go on, hunt a few out and join in.

To start with you will need 3 different fabrics which are 2.5" wide.

Fabric A (centre rectangle)
Cut 1:  2.5" x 4.5"

Fabric B (first frame - a 2.5" x 22" strip will allow you all the cuts required)
Cut 2: 2.5" x 4.5"
Cut 2: 2.5" x 6.5"

Fabric C (outer frame - a 2.5" x 38" strip will allow you all the cuts required)
Cut 2: 2.5" x 8.5"
Cut 2: 2.5" x 10.5"

Layout your pieces as shown in the photo above.

Using scant 0.25" seams throughout, stitch the borders in place adding the side pieces first and then the top and bottom.

Press seams away from the centre.

Your outer border is added in exactly the same way - sides first, then top and bottom.  Neatly trim to 10.5" x 12.5".   After that, hey presto ...

you will have a great wee block for the start of your Siblings Together Quilt and you'll have done something useful with those scraps!!

I realise that this isn't the most detailed of tutorials, so please do ask if you need any clarification, but honestly it is that simple.

As a by the way, I am very happy for anyone to reference these scrap box block tutorials or indeed any of my block tutorials for use in your Charity Bees or even just your ordinary Bee groups.

Hope to be back soon with the next scrap box block tutorial for you.

Block 2 is now published here.
Block 3 is now published here.

Siblings Together - Get Involved!

Last weekend, as I read through blog posts I noticed that Mary had commandeered the Lily's Quilts blog to share her plans for Siblings Together quilts for this summer.  Please go and read all about it here and find out more about the Siblings Together charity and why and how you can help Mary and her quilting buddies Jo and Susy create more fantastic quilts to be loved and treasured by children in the UK care system who are separated from their siblings.

I have contributed to Siblings Together for the past few years through Bee Blessed donated quilts and then by organising my own block drive in late 2013 and making 2 fab quilts for last summer's Siblings Together camps with the blocks that you lovely folks so generously donated.  This year I haven't been able to commit to making whole quilts so I was delighted to read on Saturday that Mary, Jo and Susy are having a block drive.  Blocks I can do!

On Sunday morning, I dove into my stash to pull fabrics in the required colours - blue, grey, green and black suitable for teenage boy quilts - and cut and stitched four of those wee blocks in hardly any time at all!

The blocks are made from charm square nine patches, quartered diagonally, mixed up and stitched back together.  You can find all of the block details, fabric requirements and tutorial links on Mary's post.  Mary, Jo and Susy are hoping to make as many quilts as they can for the summer camps and that's why they need our help.  Please consider making them a few blocks and sending them on.  Mary is also hoping that some folks might be able to offer wadding, backing fabric or a little fabric for binding the quilts.  I know from my own block drive for last year's quilts that it can take quite a lot to layer, back and bind the quilts and the generosity of others really helped get those quilts finished.

So please, please consider what you might do to help Mary and her team get a big pile of amazing quilts ready for teenage boys this summer.

Could you whip up a few blocks and post them?
Do you have some spare yardage that would be suitable for binding or backing?
Do you have access to wadding supplies that you could share?

I had to think out of the box a little when I couldn't find a piece of fabric big enough for a quilt binding so I checked with Mary if binding strips would be helpful for making up scrappy bindings.  Cutting a few 2.5" strips from the fabrics I'd used in the blocks just took a few minutes and will save the ladies time and effort when they are working so hard.  So, are you in?  Will you help make a difference just by sharing an hour of your time doing something you love?  Go on, you know you want to.  Just leave Mary a message on her post with your offer of help and then go and get busy.  I promise you'll feel good for helping out!!

Finally, just a thanks to Mary, Jo and Susy for all the hard work they'll be doing and for providing a way that I can contribute to such a worthy cause.

Siblings Together Block Drive Quilts - The Big Reveal

Ok folks, here they are at last.  Two finished churn dash quilts for Siblings Together. Hooray!

Wavy line quilted and orange basket weave print binding.

Wavy line quilted with tiny red gingham binding.

In case you don't know the story, I'll quickly recap how these quilts came to be.

Back in May 2013 I noticed a thread on the Siblings Together Flickr group seeking members for a new Bee to spend a year making quilts for the charity.  Reading the discussion thread I noted that many of those commenting loved the idea of contributing to the charity quilts but weren't in a position to be able to commit to blocks every month.  Seemed a shame to me to waste so much enthusiasm and so I added my own little discussion thread and posted on my blog inviting those who would like to make a one off block contribution to a quilt for an older boy to sign up to my Siblings Together Block Drive.

Of course, you folks were amazing and pretty quickly I had offers of more blocks than I needed to make the one quilt I'd planned.  There was nothing else for it but to go for two quilts!!  So, several months of block collecting later I had a pile of 57 funky churn dash blocks from 17 different volunteers to turn into these fun, colourful quilts which I am sure will be loved by their recipients at the summer camps this year.

I cannot thank the amazing ladies who contributed these blocks enough.  They flew in from all corners of the UK, the USA, Finland, the Netherlands and Australia.  It was entirely my pleasure and privilege to co-ordinate these quilts and to allow many of you the opportunity to be part of this year's Siblings Together quilt spree.  I think we did a good job ladies!!

All that remains is for me to package these up and send them on to Siblings Together HQ and to say one final, huge THANK YOU to all of you!


These two quilts also make up the first finishes from my FAL 2014 Qtr 1 list - yay!

At last...

... my real life To Do list is back to the normal 101 things instead of a squillion.

... I've had some sewing hours in my wee room and sanity is slowly being restored.

... I'm working on putting together those Siblings Together quilts!  (Not before time, I can hear the Block Drive Peeps murmur.  Sorry folks, but I am on the case now, promise.)

 From the 57 blocks that the generous Siblings Block drive ladies stitched up I laid out 2 quilt tops.  One 5 x 5 blocks

 
and a larger 5 x 6 one.  There was much switching and swapping of the blocks to try to balance the colours and look of these two quilts.  I could still be sitting there swapping blocks around, but finally made a decision that these were good enough.  I'm hoping that these will work for older boys at this summer's Siblings Together camps.  What do you think?

While I had a lengthy spell behind the sewing machine I went ahead and pieced two quilt backs as well.

The two remaining churn dash blocks were pieced into a red gingham panel and added to some lovely navy, red, green plaid yardage as a backing for the smaller quilt.  It's hard to see in this photo but it is actually very nice (and not pink as it appears here).

The larger quilt backing was pieced from an Ikea print that I call "the wanderers" (no idea what it's really called) and a piece of green/blue tiles print that I've had for yonks and yonks.

I'm so pleased that I'm finally making progress with these two quilts. Bit of a quilting marathon next though!

Siblings Together Block Drive - more blocks

I have one more set of Siblings Together churn dash blocks from the lovely Betty to show you.  In spite of the angle of the photograph, I assure you these blocks are all the same size!  These will now join the others that have been gathering over the past few months and after Christmas (bit later than I had planned, sorry ladies!) I will set to laying out quilts for pre-teen/teen boys.  I wonder what all of the blocks will look like together?

As I say, I am sorry that I haven't been able to get to these before now, but with 55 blocks from all your generous donations I will have two lovely quilts to keep me busy in the darker months of January and February.  Looking forward to sharing pics with you as I go.

Thanks again for the great blocks Betty!

SIblings Together Blocks - still coming

More lovelies to share for the Siblings Together Block Drive.

from Catherine

from Tina

from Caroline

from Sue

A great mixture of bolds and brights and some neutrals for balance in all of these blocks.  Thank you all so much, Ladies, for taking time to make and send these blocks on for the Block Drive quilts.

The end of the October deadline for the blocks is now in sight and this pretty pile of gorgeous blocks is reminding me that before too long I will be on my knees laying out and switching and swapping blocks for two boy quilt tops.  It will be exciting to see how they look when they come together!

Siblings Together Blocks

More fantastic blocks arrived last weekend from Jo for the Siblings Together Block Drive. It's getting exciting as so many blocks are now in with the rest due later this month. Then the decisions of placement of so many lovely blocks will begin. I imagine I shall be putting the open space of my lounge floor to good use for that!
Thank you Jo!

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