Monday, March 26, 2007

8 more preemie blankets!

We've had such great response to our request for more preemie blankets. Mary B just brought over eight more blankets! Thanks so much, Mary.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Shoe Box Treasure

Judy G made this fun quilt from the Shoe Box Treasures pattern. If you click on the link (the underlined words in the preceding sentence) you can see the pattern. The site says it will donate $1 to Project Linus for each pattern sold. The pattern looks complicated, but has only two types of blocks (a plain square and a square made of two half-square triangles), making it easy to use for a quick but interesting quilt. Thanks, Judy, for your many contributions to Project Linus!

Another way to make up this pattern is to put a different novelty print (a "treasure") in each solid square.

Tradition in brights

A lucky child will have a wonderful time snuggling in this bright quilt! Pat M used very bright, kid-friendly fabrics in a traditional quilt pattern -- just perfect for Project Linus. She clearly put a lot of love into this quilt, even piecing in a small yellow border that sets the design off perfectly. Thank you, Pat.

First Camp Coco 2007 quilt

Shirley O turned in our first Camp Coco quilt this year! It's bright and cheery with outdoorsy prints on the front, and the back is pieced in green and brown prints that won't show the dirt.
Shirley added a little something extra to her quilt by embroidering "Camp Coco 2007" on the back. This quilt will be a reminder of a fun summer for the child who receives it. Thanks, Shirley.
The Central Illinois region needs 120 quilts by June 15 for children at Camp Coco, a camp for children ages 6-16 with leukemia, other cancers, and blood disorders. Quilts (pieced top, batting, backing – no fleece) must be of 100% cotton. They should be at least 40” wide and 60” to 72” long. Remember that some of these kids are teenage boys who need a large blanket. The quilts should have a summertime outdoors theme and be bright and cheerful. Please use backing that is dark enough to hide dirt from camp. If you would like to help but are not sure about finding a pattern or the right fabric, the Linus Committee will be providing some kits with a pattern and fabric for the top, but kit-makers will need to provide their own batting, backing, and binding. If you would like a kit, please let the Linus Committee know as soon as possible.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Baby quilts

Sue K did it again! She took all the unclaimed fleece after last night's guild meeting (and due to a wonderful response on the part of other guild members, only 4 pieces were left!) and serged the edges to make more preemie blankets. Thanks again, Sue.Joyce C made this cozy flannel baby quilt from a committee kit. She has been working on it at Sew Sassy work nights. If you're thinking about making a Linus quilt, that's a great way to do it. Just show up and we'll provide a kit for you to work on there. Joyce took her kit from start to finish, but you can just work one night and let someone else finish it if you prefer. This quilt looks really cute, Joyce -- thanks so much!
Mary M quilted this strip quilt put together from a Linus kit. (Sorry, I don't know who pieced the top.) Thank you, Mary. It's always wonderful when someone volunteers to take on the quilting!

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Preemie blankets with instructions

Thirteen preemie blankets! When Sue K heard that Project Linus needed more preemie blankets, she made 13 the next day. And they are lovely... Thanks, Sue!

The need for preemie blankets is ongoing. Central Illinois goes through about 40-50 each month. Here are directions to make one:
1. Choose fleece that is in kid-friendly patterns (no solids). It's important that the fleece not be predominately green or yellow in color because it's difficult to assess the baby's skin color when they're laying or wrapped in green or yellow. Watch for sales to get fleece at a good price.
2. Take a 1 yard piece of fleece (36" x 55-60" wide) and cut it in half making 2 blankets that are approximately 36" x 30".
3. Serge around the edge. It needs to be smooth, neat serging and the corners can be rounded.

That's all there is to it!

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Beautiful backs -- and of course, fronts!

Charlene and Talese both donated wonderfully colorful quilts that have some added interest on the back, too. Charlene made this wonderful star quilt:

And pieced the back with equally colorful fabric.
Talese used a simple pattern with fabrics that any child will love to look at:
And then put a very soft -- and very bright! -- cuddly flannel on the back to make the quilt extra cozy:

Pretty panels

In a recent newsletter of the Central Illinois Project Linus, panel quilts for babies was listed as a current need. They are fast to make and adorable to look at, so you might consider stitching up one of these if you want to make a donation. Judy made this cute bear family quilt:


I don't know who put the border on this donated panel top, but Cheri quilted and bound it. There are lots of bright colors!

Sunday, March 4, 2007

Angels and Dachsunds

Thanks to Glennys M and Theresa L, who made these two quilts. They look great!

Glennys made this angelic (excuse the pun) attic windows quilt from a kit made by Debbi D. It's lovely. In addition to stitching in the ditch around the windows, Glennys finished the quilting by making machine tacks. The tacks are star stitches done in variegated thread and it's great on this quilt -- it makes it look like stars around the angels. Click on the photo for a closeup of the tiny stars.

Theresa L made and quilted this kit. If you click on the photo you can see that the squiggles in the yellow are really dachsunds. A dog-loving child will be delighted to get this quilt!