Thursday, 29 March 2018

Basic Elements


This is the twentieth quilt top I’ve made for the hospital quilters at Intermountain Medical Center. I started the first one six years and two months ago, on a borrowed sewing machine at the Residence Inn. The overwhelming majority of these have been very scrappy sampler quilts, even though single-block quilts are generally easier to design and faster to assemble. Most of my favorite quilts are samplers. I love that each block has a different story to tell and a different skill to teach. Some use traditional piecing techniques, and others use applique or paper foundations. Some have partial seams or Y-seams, and some call for curved piecing or irregular angles. I’m particularly proud of this top, with its clean lines and bright, cheerful palette. But I’m already looking forward to designing number twenty-one. The next one will probably be another sampler, with florals and stripes in clear red, blue and yellow. Unless, of course, I change my mind.

2 comments:

  1. Love how each block is framed. So pretty! Do you donate the quilt top and then someone else quilts and binds it? Or do you donate completed quilts?

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  2. Thank you! I donate the quilt top, back, batting, binding and thread. There is a small group of ladies who donate their time hand-quilting and binding them. The hospital gives away three of these quilts each year: one to a hospital employee, one to a volunteer, and one to the senior center where the quilters stitch.

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