The Binky Patrol Quilt
Hi everyone,
Here is the traditional quilt that I will have loaded on my quilting machine during the Open Studio.
I thought you might like to see the traditional quilt top that will be loaded on to my long-arm quilting machine during my open studio next week. You might just have a chance to quilt a bit on it yourself!
Binky Patrol is my charity of choice these days. binkypatrol.org They provide covers (quilts, afghans, hand-made blankets) to kids in need. The covers go to shelters, hospitals, missions, etc. While they are a national organization, supporting the local chapter ensures that my donation will go to someone in need in the Kalamazoo area. I read that Binky Patrol gets fewer quilts that are sized and styled for teens- especially boys. I decided that my mandate was to help fill that gap. This quilt should be big enough for a twin size bed and will hopefully be given to a teenager in need.
I have a little warm-up routine that I do to get ready for my day. This warm-up is how I get the quilts that I donate to charity. I have totes with scrap fabrics in my studio. Every morning, before diving into drawing or office work, I put the scraps together into free-form blocks, from which I make traditional quilts. It’s quite meditative actually; it helps me clear away everything else from my mind and focus on being in the studio. As I only do a small amount of sewing during my warm-ups, it takes me almost a year to make enough blocks for a quilt top.
I also use this warm-up time to practice particular techniques I plan to work on that day-like setting circles into fabric. Comes in handy practicing this on a cotton before I switch to setting silk circles in my hand-dyed works.
