'Q' is for Quarantine . . .

"And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi,

Let me now go to the field,

and glean ears of corn after him

On whose sight I shall find grace.

And she said unto her, Go, my daughter."

Ruth 2:2  KJV

'Q' is for Quarantine . . . OK, maybe not Quaker, but it is something that we are all living with at the moment. Whether or not we are in a hospital quarantine, mandatory quarantine or in-home self quarantine.

Friends around the world are reaching out in all sorts of ways - sharing how they, their family, their Meeting are spending their time and how they have changed their way of worshiping.

F/friends taking care of each other - calling, video chatting, standing outside the windows of care facilities and talking with loved ones over the phone while looking through the window.

F/friends making and distributing homemade face masks to those in need - family, F/friends, healthcare providers, first responders . . . whoever is in need.

I work for JoAnn Fabrics - and while we were closed to customers from April 8th through May 3rd of 2020, many of us continued to show up for work - filling BOPUS (Buy Online Pick Up in Store) orders, delivering to customers via curbside pickup, receiving deliveries, and stocking shelves. We were considered an "essential service" - providing the raw materials (cotton fabrics, interfacing, thread and elastic) and kits with the previously mentioned items (as available) with instructions and a pattern to make the homemade face masks - along with the raw materials that so many home crafters need to make their products to sell and bring in much needed income for their families.

I'm amazed at how generous JoAnn's has been with all  donations and concern/care not only for our customers but also for their team members. When I looked at the website and as of April 4, 2020 - company wide they had donated enough materials to make 5,000,000 face masks! In addition to that they figured that customers have purchased enough materials to make an additional 20,000,000 face masks! Customer donations to date (those that they are aware of) is 33,213,645 face masks. Along with this they partnered with Neiman Marcus Group to make thousands of scrubs and masks.

Over the last eleven months I personally made over 200 face masks and and about 50 scrub caps. Most of the face masks scrub caps went to staff at the local hospital's ER, a few scrub caps to my daughter-in-law, face masks also went to my children (including my new daughter-in-law and soon to be son-in-law) and granddaughters, along with friends and their family members.

Getting back to Friends, the need to stay connected as a faith body is strong, the need to be doing what we can to help those around us in need during this time is also great. Friends are always so good at doing what I call 'quiet service' - that is doing what needs to be done quietly and without the need for a think you. That being said, during this global pandemic Friends around the world have gotten creative! Learning how to worship safely and at a distance, sometimes thousands of miles separating those worshiping. We've learned how to use online platforms including email, ZOOM, Microsoft Teams, to conduct business and worship.

Stay safe my F/friends . . . and do what you can to make someone else's day a bit brighter.

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'Q' is for Quarantine . . . and as here in the United States we are supposed to  wear a face mask while out and about, if one must be, or while working . . . here's the pattern from JoAnn Fabrics that I've been using.

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

• Cotton Fabric – at least 12”X9”
• Lightweight Fusible Interfacing 12” X9”
• 1/4” Elastic
• Basic Sewing Supplies

DIRECTIONS:

1. Download the pattern (adult & child sizes available)
2. https://www.joann.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-joann-project-catalog/default/dw36b4f157/images/hi-res/project/pdf/042188731P321.pdf
3. Cut 1 pattern piece, on the fold, out of the cotton fabric and lightweight interfacing
4. Apply fusible interfacing to wrong side of cotton fabric using an iron.
5. Fold fabric right sides together, matching 9-inch (8-inch) sides.
6. Sew along the 9 (8) inch side, using 1/4” seam allowance and leaving a space 3” wide in the center to turn mask right side out.
7. Cut 2 pieces of elastic 7 inches long. Insert into the corners of the two open ends of the mask and pin into place. Sew across sides, backstitching well over the elastic, to secure the elastic in place.
8. Turn mask right side out and press seams flat.
9. Using pattern as a guide, fold up 3 pleats on each side, making sure the pleats are folded in the same direction. Pin into place.
10. Top stitch around the entire mask, securing the pleats and closing the opening.

JOANN HACKS:

• Substitute elastic with 4- 16” Fabric Ties at each corner.
• Any light-medium weight, non-woven interfacing is appropriate for this project. 

I've actually cut 2 rectangles, 6x9-inches each and sewn them together. I cut my elastic at 6-inches for each side - as so many were saying that they were too big. I use Pellon P44F - a very lightweight fusible interfacing for mine.

"P" is for Peace . . .

"And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi,

Let me now go to the field,

and glean ears of corn after him

In whose sight I shall find grace.

And she said unto her, Go, my daughter."

Ruth 2:2  KJV

At last weeks USFW (United Society of Friends Women) Fall Retreat we heard and talked about peace. We sang a lot of songs about peace, made peace flags/banners that were hung above the windows, moved to the music with scarves and collected things from nature that reminded us of peace, that we put into boxes to take home.

We had several exercises Monday afternoon, one was to write down "What peace means to me." We were then broken into groups of four and asked to pantomime a few of those words to the others in our group, and the others were to write down how that affected them - the cards were then given to the one who did the pantomime.

Our next exercise was to take those notes, the ones Friends had written about how our pantomime made them feel, and write a poem, I don't do poems, I am not good at writing poems, so I thought I'd just sit there . . . but then something happened and I found myself quickly writing on my piece of paper. Lucky for me that the words just seem to write themselves.

So, here is my little poem on peace . . . 

Where There Is Peace

Where there is peace

there is no fighting

Where there is peace

we work together

Where there is peace

we care for each other

Where there is peace

there is LOVE.

Friends were asked if they wanted to share their poems, several did . . . including me.

Tuesday morning about half the group when on the "long walk" from Friendship Lodge out to the pillars (entrance to camp) and back to Friendship Lodge - before breakfast. Along the way several short pieces were read to us and we were asked to think about them as we walked. Most in the group found little pieces of nature to take back for the mornings craft project - I took a lot of pictures . . . the Scouter in me that leaves living things in nature be for others to enjoy, so I only picked up things that had fallen.

Our morning craft was to create a box with the items we had picked up or those that had been provided . . . it was rather relaxing.

I commented that I had originally planned this blog to be about the Peace Testimony, and that didn't get written. I tried several more ideas, but never could get anything finished . . . but I've returned to the topic of peace. So maybe this post isn't about the Friends Peace Testimony, but I hope it will get my readers to think about peace.

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'P' is for "Pinwheel" . . . or in this case "3D pinwheels!" On one of our quilting days, at Mooresville Friends, a few years ago someone taught us how to make 3D pinwheels . . . they look a lot harder than they really are.

First, you need to decide how big you want your finished block to be, and then you will cut four background squares and four pinwheel squares (choose a fabric with a good contrast) half that size PLUS 1/2-inch (for your seam allowances). In the example (white and green dot) I happened to have a strip of white that was 5-inches, so that's what I cut my blocks - so my finished block will be 9-inches.

Start by placing your background squares on the table - face up, add your pinwheel fabric on top of each - face down. You will now have four pairs of squares.




Next, take the upper left corner of one of the pinwheel pieces and fold it over, right side up, so that it forms a triangle - matching your left and bottom edges to your background. Press. Do this for all four sets.





Now, take the lower left corner of one of the pinwheel pieces and fold it over so that the tip matches the lower right and corner. Press. Do this for all four sets.






Pin the pinwheel fabric to the background fabrics, matching the corners and edges. Stitch about 1/8-inch from the edge - just to hold the pieces together while you sew the squares together to form your block.






Twist and turn the four blocks so they form a pinwheel. Pin and stitch together in pairs, pressing the seams open when you're done.


Then pin and stitch the two pairs together, pressing the seam open when done.



And there you have it, a 3-D pinwheel block! That was easy . . . now, make a basket full and you've got a lovely baby quilt - just tack it in the center of each pinwheel or add some cute buttons in the centers.

This teal, peach and white baby doll quilt (OK, I got a bit carried away with the size of it) was a gift for my oldest granddaughter in 2016, I think for her birthday. Funny, IU don't seem to have a picture of the finished quilt - I put buttons in the centers of the pinwheels. Late one night as she and my daughter left a friends' house it was bitter cold out and the granddaughter grabbed her doll quilt and put in over her legs (she didn't like socks or tights back then, so bare legs!). She then commented to her mommy "My grandma makes the warmest quilts!" I got a text, asking if I was up . . . followed by a phone call with her comment. Made my night.

This purple one, shown here with the blocks laid out and the center block is missing . . . it's different from the others. After drawing the quilting design in the solid blocks I realized I couldn't stitch them on my sewing machine, so hand quilting those. Can't remember, but I believe it has two borders on it. And if I ever finish hand quilting the solid blocks is a gift for a special little lady!


The green polka dot block . . . well, it may very well be the beginnings of a new quilt for someone, sometime . . . 



A few more pictures from the retreat . . . 

Some of the 'peace' flags/banners
hanging in the window

Friends crafting their 'peace'
flags/banners

Friends moving to the music
with scarves

Friends crafting their boxes

'G' is for Giving . . .

"And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi,

Let me now go to the field,

and glean ears of corn after him

In whose sight I shall find grace.

And she said unto her, Go, my daughter."

Ruth 2:2  KJV



‘G’ is for Giving . . . What we give and how we give it takes on many different forms – when thinking in terms of giving to the Meeting or Church Friends and non-Friends first thoughts would probably be the giving of their tithes & offerings BUT . . . it’s not just about giving our money, we also need to remember to give of ourselves. As a whole, Friends are good at doing both – some are better with their tithing, others giving of themselves and still others do both equally well.

 

 

Giving of our tithes & offerings . . . financially supporting the Meeting/Church and its ministries. The Bible mentions tithing – giving one-tenth of what one has to the Church, in the form of money or crops. The a lesson I heard more than once in Sunday School and Church when I was a child - that tithing is an obligation/responsibility of being a member of the Church.

 

Whether your Meeting/Church collects tithes by passing an offering plate or basket during worship, you drop it in a locked box or mail it in – your tithes are important to your Meeting/Church. Throughout the year there are various special offerings – in my Meeting we take up special offerings for retired ministers, Gideon’s, Churches in Mission (food pantry) and for the various mission projects supported by the Meeting/Church.

 

 

Giving of ourselves . . . we’re also asked to give our time, talents and gifts. Giving and doing for our local & yearly Meetings, our communities and for various missions around the world. While this doesn’t take the place of giving our tithes it’s still important that we share our gifts and talents with others.

 

Giving our time, gifts & talents – through serving on committee and boards, helping out with special projects and events, teaching Sunday School/First Day classes, helping during Meeting for Worship, serving as CIT’s (Counselor-In-Training) and Counselors at camp, helping with VBS (Vacation Bible School), youth ministry, helping make applebutter, crafts & working at annual bazaars/craft sales, mission trips & service and the list goes on.

 

Giving what you can where you are, that’s what God asks us to do. Knowing or finding out what your gifts & talents are and using those to benefit the Meeting/Church and your community - helping to grow God’s kingdom. The other side of giving is receiving – it’s been said that “it’s better to give than to receive.”

 

 

As I was working on this post I ran across a piece I wrote in the Fall of 2013 just a few months after I returned from a Pilgrimage to Ireland/Northern Ireland. That piece talked about giving – how and what I was able give to my Irish Friends. It was about how that giving made me feel, how I was blessed in the giving and sharing during that journey. This was a huge part of my Pilgrimage experience.

 

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‘G’ is for Grandma’s Flower Garden – quilts made from hexagons, also known as Flower Garden, French Bouquet or French Rose Garden quilts, a popular quilt pattern since the mid-1920. Early quilts made with hexagons were commonly made using the English Paper piecing method which is different from current paper piecing and is done by hand and not machine. English quilters call all designs made from hexagons honeycomb quilts and the hexagons are referred to as sixes.

 

Today some quilters still use English Paper Piecing and many quilt shops here in the U.S. teach this method, while other quilters trace around a hexagon shaped template. A ‘solid’ template (tracing around the outside of the template and using that as her cutting line) is used if the quilter will be piecing her piece on a machine and a ‘window’ template (where the middle of the template is cut away and the quilter traces around both the inside & outside of the template – using the inside line as her stitching line and the outside line as her cutting line) if she plans to piece by hand.

 

Grandma’s Flower Garden quilts are made by adding rows of hexagons around a central hexagon – the ones that I’ve seen have been from one row to three rows around the central hexagon. A quilter will make all of her ‘flowers’ before she begins connect them into the finished quilt top. These ‘flowers’ are then connected with a row of white or green which create a path between the ‘flowers.’ The path can be a single row of hexagons to connect the ‘flowers’ or more – giving a different look to the finished quilt. The size of the hexagons used has varied over the years from an inch or less across to several inches.

 

 



Pastel "Grandma's Flower
Garden" mini-quilt

The pastel and white Grandma’s Flower Garden quilt pictured here was made from 2 1/2-inch hexagons, using a ‘window’ template. I was only going to make one or two ‘flowers,’ but as you can see I made a few more than that. When I started connecting the ‘flowers’ I decided I didn’t like so many white hexagons in-between so I auditioned (tried) several different colors and liked the peach color the best so I traced and cut out peach hexagons – this created white ‘flowers’ among the pastel ‘flowers.’ There are a total of 215 hexagons in this piece.



Traditionally these quilts are either quilted in-the-ditch or by stitching a quarter-inch inside each hexagon – I chose to quilt mine using the in-the-ditch method by hand. The lime green binding seemed to really finish this mini-quilt. Start to finish, I spent 15 days tracing the hexagons, cutting them out, piecing them together, quilting it and adding the binding. Finished size is 14.5X35-inches.

 

 

Purple "Grandma's Flower
Garden" mini-quilt

I had originally cut out hexagons from a small purple print but put those aside after seeing the etched butterfly prints that I had. After finishing the pastel etched butterfly quilt I was sitting around one night and picked up the purple print hexagons that I had cut and stitched that block together . . . which lead me to cut out more hexagons and make this second mini Grandma’s Flower Garden quilt.

 

This time off-setting the 'flowers' and used a shade of green for the path. I also added a border before adding the binding. Again I hand quilted this one 'in-the-ditch.' This piece was made with - 2 ½-inch hexagons and measures 17.25X21-inches. There are a total of 95 hexagons in this piece.



 

I remember my mother hand-piecing a Grandmother’s Flower Garden for me using leftover scraps of fabric from clothes she had made for me. She worked on this while my brothers and I took our swimming lessons at the YMCA in Mishawaka, Indiana. She sat in the bleachers sewing the pieces together by hand. I know she had quite a stack of ‘flowers’ pieced but she never got it put together. I have no idea what happened to all those ‘flowers’ after my mom died in 1994 – expect that my step-father threw them in the trash . . . not knowing what they were.

 

 

As I sat at McDonald’s quilting the pastel etched butterfly mini quilt, I had two customers come up and ask me if it was for sale, they wanted to buy it! Well, no it’s not for sale. I was able to make this totally from fabrics in my stash so it really didn’t cost me anything but my time . . . and I don’t think there’s anyone out there that would be willing to pay me for all the time I put into making this.

      

'E' is for Equality . . .

And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi,

Let me now go to the field,

and glean ears of corn after him

In whose sight I shall find grace.

And she said unto her, Go, my daughter."

Ruth 2:2  KJV

 

‘E’ is for Equality . . . a Quaker belief that all people are equal in the eyes of God. That no one person is above anyone else – no one is better than anyone else. Among Friends everyone has an equal voice or say in the decision making process. Friends believe that we’ve all been created equal by God and that there is ‘that of God in everyone.’

Friends don't tend to use ‘titles,' such as Mr., Mrs. and such when addressing one another – Friends address everyone by their first name or first & last name only. I’ve even known Friends to just address another simply as ‘Friend.’ I found that this was based on their understanding that there is no hierarchy, based on one’s standing – whether that is age, position or wealth. I expect that my parents and grandparents are all rolling over in their graves over this - they brought me up to respect my elders. Imagine the fits they're having over my children and granddaughter calling everyone by their first names!

There are other ways that Friends expressed their belief in equality, one is  ‘hat honor,’ the practice of taking one’s hat off or bowing to another person. This particular practice isn’t practiced now like it once was.

Men & women are equals – both can be found in various ministry roles among Friends. Friends played important roles in the anti-slavery movement, many freeing their slaves and supporting the ‘Underground Railroad’ – becoming conductors and turning their homes in to ‘safe houses.’ Friends worked for prison reform, and are still very active in this ministry. Treating all people equally and with dignity – regardless of race, gender, age, orientation, religion, job or rank, etc.. I suppose that one could, in some cases, substitute the word inclusive in place of equality.

What other ways do Friends practice equality? Is it easy? Are there other ways that that we can practice equality as Friends? As individuals? As a Meeting?

 

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‘E’ is for Echo quilting and Embroidery . . . a couple of different quilting ideas to share with you in this post – echo quilting and embroidery. Both can be used to actually ‘quilt’ the quilt, hold the layers together, and both add some ‘decoration’ to the finished quilt.

Echo quilting is when your quilting lines follow the shape of the applique or design. It can be done with a regular presser foot, a free motion foot or a walking foot – this depends on what you’re quilting and personal preference. Echo quilting can be done any distance from the design – from 1/4–inch to 1-inch distance, the distance would be depend on the design you’re quilting around and the look you’re wanting to achieve. It’s like the ripple effect when you toss a pebble into a pond or lake.



'Echo' quilting

The example I have is a pillow that I helped my youngest daughter make this last Christmas as a gift. She sent me a picture that she found online and asked me to help her make it. I created the pattern, grabbed fabrics from my stash for her to choose from and helped guide her in piecing it. The echo quilting just sorta happened - the photo she sent me was quilted with 'stippling,' which I haven't done. To keep the stitching as straight as possible, I marked stitching lines with a disappearing marker on the fabric. The echo quilting is done around the tree. She picked a simple wave stitch to do the quilting.



'Crazy Quilt' stitching

And then there are quilts that contain embroidery like the Crazy Quilts I talked about in my ‘C’ post. Back when I was in college I purchased a package of quilt squares to embroider with some animals on it – the plan was to embroider them and sew them together to make a baby quilt for one of the girls on my floor that was pregnant, I didn’t get it done in time for her but I did finish it and was able to dig it out and use it with all four of my kids several years later. Disappointed that I couldn’t find it to share with you all here . . . my first quilt.

Embroidery can be a part of quilting stitches or designs stitched in the blocks OR the embroidery can be the quilt. It can be done by machine or by hand. I have a couple more ‘quilts’ to share with you that are embroidered . . . actually they are quilt patterns that I have done in ‘counted cross-stitch.’ I have a counted cross-stitch computer program now that creates the patterns for me - from a photo if need be.



'Wedding Ring' quilt
in Counted
Cross Stitch

The first embroidered quilt I made was a Wedding Ring and I believe I made that for one  my cousins. I had a pattern that was two rings by two rings and was for used on the front of a wedding photo album. I liked it, but it was way too small for what I wanted. So, I made several copies of the chart cut a few of those up and taped them together until I had created a new pattern that was big enough. I then decided to add a border to it and some ‘binding’ to create the illusion of a quilt. The finished cross-stitched quilt is then matted and framed. I made quite a few of these over the years, choosing floss to match the wedding colors. One was black, grey and white with red binding and another was peach, mint green and white. The one I have here was done with dark orange spice, light tangerine, very dark avocado green and ultra-dark coffee brown with dark garnet for the binding. This ended up being one of those 'addictions,' that is the first one was so much fun and turned out so well that I made quite a few of them as wedding gifts for family members.



'Single Irish Chain'
quilt in Counted
Cross Stitch

Second is an Irish Chain quilt pattern that I did using pastel variegated and white embroidery floss. A Single Irish Chain quilt is made up of alternating Nine-Patch blocks solid blocks. I experimented a bit using the variegated floss instead of a solid color when I made this one. Stitching a row of white and two rows of variegated around the edge is like putting borders on a fabric quilt.



'C' is for Community . . .

"And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi,

Let me now go to the field,

and glean ears of corn after him

In whose sight I shall find grace.

And she said unto her, Go, my daughter."

Ruth 2:2  KJV



‘C’ is for Community . . . Who OR What is community? OR What is it about community?

In Scouting, both Girl Scouts and Cub/Boy Scouts, we talk a lot about doing community service. When it comes to defining what the community is, I always find myself having the same conversation with leaders and parents that I had with the Scouts, and there was always someone in the group that just never seemed to get it.

When talking about community there is not just one quick or simple definition that I could give, as your community is always changing. Community is where you are at any given time or place . . . your neighborhood, school, Church and workplace are all communities. Scouting itself is made up of many communities, too – our Units, Service Units, Districts, Councils, National organizations and International organizations.

So, when talking about ‘serving our community’ OR doing a ‘community service project,’ we always have to start out and first identify which community we’re talking about. We might even list several of the above mentioned communities, and think of projects that fit each one. Sometimes it seemed that this part of the process took longer than the project itself.

The same can be said among Friends as we also have many different communities among us: our Monthly Meetings (congregations), Area Meetings, Yearly Meetings, the various Branches of Friends, the United Society of Friends Women/United Society of Friends Women International (USFW/USFWI) and Quaker Men International. All of these smaller communities are a part of the wider circle of Friends, aka Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC).

But, even Friends have to stop and define which community they’re speaking of – is it one of the Friends’ communities? OR is it some part of the local community? Some part of that geographical area around their Meeting? It does make a difference in the work that we do, just as it does for the Scouts.

We’re all part of the community of Friends and many of us are part of multiple Friends communities because of the various positions that we hold or jobs that we do. Community members need to be unified, take pride in and learn to work together for the health and well-being of the whole community. The members need to support and encourage one another and help the ccommunity stay strong and grow.

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‘C’ is for Cathedral Windows and Crazy Quilts. As I was working recently to finish up one of the Cathedral Window projects and the Crazy Quilt, to feature in this blog post, I realized that I had taught both of these quilt blocks to our quilting group at Mooresville Friends Meeting. Interesting that both of the blocks I have taught begin with the letter ‘C.’ It’s about time for me to be teaching another block to the group . . . wonder if it will also begin with the letter ‘C’???

Ornaments

Cathedral Windows are made using “a technique in which squares of fabric are folded and sewn together in such a way that small pieces of contrasting fabric may be inserted to form a design of interlocking curves when many squares are sewn together.” Cathedral Window quilts have no batting because of the thickness due to all the folds of the base fabric. The first few rows of stitching can be done on one’s sewing machine, but then the blocks must be finished by hand. I think it’s easier just to do it all by hand.

The first Cathedral Windows I made were double sided single blocks with a bit of stuffing or filling in them – some with ribbons attached turning them into ornaments and others that could be used as a small pin cushion or as a sachet.

Hanging block!

My second Cathedral Window project, just completed, was done from a photo posted on my Facebook page by one of my younger cousins, over a year ago. This was shortly after the National elections, here in the US, where there were issues in several locations with ‘hanging chads’ on some of the paper ballots – those little punch-outs that didn't completely separate from the ballot.

This was made without a pattern or instructions, so there was a lot of ‘trial & error’ involved. After finishing, I thought of another way I could have done it, which might have been a bit easier and quicker to do. This little quilt doesn't have a name that I’m aware of. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

Crazy Quilt blocks

Crazy Quilts are a form of patchwork in which irregularly shaped pieces of fabric are attached to a cloth foundation. These pieces of fabric can be totally random or follow a specific pattern. These quilts are usually embellished with embroidery stitches and this stitching can be all over or just over the seams or both.

I have years of fond memories of a crazy quilt made by my step-great grandmother. It was made of a variety of fabrics, textures and embroidery stitches. The backing, which was rolled over for the binding, was blue thin wale corduroy and was perfect for snuggling under on cold days and nights.

During the Victorian era crazy quilts were very elaborate and contained satin, velvet and lace embellishments. Today crazy quilts are still popular some are planned and the quilters purchase fabric for them much like any other quilt they might make, while other crazy quilts are created as a way to use up fabric scraps. Modern crazy quilts may be made out of all cotton fabrics or a variety of washable fabrics.

'Stack & Whack'

The first crazy quilt blocks I made were done using the ‘stack & whack’ method. This involved deciding how many ‘pieces’ each finished block would have and how big the beginning squares would be. Then picking out that many fabrics and cutting out the same size square from each fabric. Stacking the fabrics on top of each other and then using a ruler and rotary cutter, cut out the pieces. The next step involves taking each ‘stack’ of fabric: stack #1 - leave it alone; #2 - take the top piece of fabric and move it to the bottom; #3 – take the top two pieces of fabric and move them to the bottom and so on taking one more piece of fabric off each time and moving it to the bottom, so each ‘layer’ will have a different fabric in each shape. Beginning with the top layer, sew the pieces together, repeating with each layer. One needs to pay attention when sewing these pieces together as there is a proper order to sew them in so that they will fit together.

I used six fabrics, so I ‘whacked’ my squares into six pieces, which gave me six finished blocks. I cut and sewed my blocks together individually, not sure what I’m going to do with them. Thought is to cut some move squares and ‘stack & whack’ them, in different designs and then put them together and quilt them with the decorative stitches on my machine.

The next three crazy quilt projects I made were completed in a short period of time, then again they were smaller projects. First was a ‘walker tote’ for Aunt Sylvia, I've mentioned her in several of my blog posts, most recently ‘B’ is for Bibles . . . and ‘B’ is for Bow Tie Quilts. I made the walker tote for her for her 101^st Birthday/Christmas while she was in rehab at one of the local nursing homes in 2009.

Aunt Sylvia's
Walker Tote

Aunt Sylvia like pink, so I dug through my stash of fabrics grabbing pink ones I could find. I had found a set of four crazy quilt templates online, which I used as the foundation for the blocks that formed the pockets on this tote. Four extra-large snaps, two on each side, kept the tote securely fasten to the front bar of her walker. This was a HUGE hit at the nursing home and one of the residents asked me to make her one in purples, she pestered me every day until I finally did. The third one was for member of my Meeting, Doral. Doral like earthy tones, so I used an assortment of brown prints and tonals. Doral's was made to fit over the arm of her wheelchair with just one pocket.

Group Crazy Quilt

When I taught the crazy quilt block to the group at my Meeting I used the same templates that I had used for the walker and wheelchair totes. Each of the quilters was able to take two of the sheets I had drawn out the templates on, so they could make two blocks - one to give me and one to keep for themselves. Eleven of the quilters returned blocks to me, one gave me both of hers, so I had a total of twelve blocks to make something with.

The blocks are arranged in a 3x4 arrangement, trying to keep from having two blocks from the same template next to each other, which was really hard as most of the blocks received back were from the same one. Some of the blocks got twisted so they don't look alike. A dark green inner border and a tan tonal outer border. Embroidery stitches on my sewing machine to do the quilting - changing the top thread often, but using cream thread on the bottom, to match the unbleached muslin. When I got all the blocks quilted, I then quilted the seam between the blocks and the green border - using cream thread and changing the stitch every time the fabric changed. For the binding I used a dark chocolate brown tonal.

Using the same templates I made mini pillows, six-inches square, for the girls in my cabin up at Quaker Haven Camp in June 2011. The girls loved them!

Four of the 20 mini
 Crazy Quilt pillows for camp