Welcome Quilt 8-31-2018

I read about the Welcome Blanket Project a couple of months ago, and decided to make a quilt to donate as a side project to the baby quilt I was making for an expected niece. The goal of the Welcome Blanket Project is to welcome refugees and immigrants to the United States with the gift of a blanket. The project requests 40 by 40 inch knit, crochet or sewn blankets. Many of the original blankets are based on knitted half square triangles, so I decided to use a half square triangle pattern in my quilt.

In past years I participated in internet-based fabric exchanges, both on Flickr and Ravelry, which resulted in a collection of 5 inch charm squares in a rainbow of colors, and a large variety of prints. Some of the fabric squares are lovely, some are not to my taste, but all are different.

I decided to try a technique of ‘making fabric’ by sewing the charms together in random strips, cutting the strips into narrower strips, then sewing the strips together, the result being a new chunk of fabric collage. I made this chunk of red/pink/purple fabric a few years ago, but then let it sit while I was waiting for inspiration as to what to do with it.

For this quilt I layered the ‘made fabric’ with a piece of white fabric and created half square triangles that I arranged in a star shape for the center of the quilt.

I needed to add about 8 inches to the star to bring the quilt to the 40 inch size as requested. After auditioning several border types, I added a thin purple border, then a scrappy piano key style border using more of the 5 inch charms, plus scraps from my scrap bins.

I wanted to include the word WELCOME somewhere on the quilt, so I sewed this  appliqué strip for the back of the quilt. The red backing fabric was leftover from making Raggedy Ann dolls for my kids when they were young. The batting was the other half of the strip I bought for the baby quilt.

Quilting and binding: I stitched triangular spirals in the center triangles, and straight lines in the border.  I had enough overlap from the backing to create a simple wraparound binding, so that is what I did, mitering the corners for stability.

I think the finished quilt is a perfect representative of the spirit of the WELCOME BLANKET PROJECT.  It is created from a medley of 5 inch charms from all over the world – some I like, some I don’t, but stitched together with scraps from my existing stash they work as a colorful vibrant fabric. I hope the family or individual who receives this quilt will enjoy looking at all the different fabrics that come together in this one textile made to provide both comfort and warmth to a newcomer.

Tour de Craft, Week 3

The Tour de France ended with a new champion, Geraint Thomas, and lots of excitement in the Pyrenees and final time trial. My one finished craft project was the Welcome Quilt. I added a few more inches to my second Cornwall sock, though I haven’t turned the heel yet.

I didn’t even go for a hike this week as the weather has been too hot and once again there is wildfire smoke creating haze. My sister is visiting, and we are up to our own adventures, and there will be more in the week to come.