GO, Cardinals!

When my sister told me she was involved in organizing a fundraiser to help with her BFF's medical bills I (naturally!) offered to make a quilt to be raffled.  I wanted to make something that would appeal to a large audience so I decided to make a gender neutral baby quilt. Then, I got to thinking about the fact that this fundraiser is being held in Cardinals country.  St. Louis Baseball Cardinals to be exact.   A lot more money could be raised from a Cardinals quilt, right? 

Really simple blocks came together fast .....

..... AFTER washing that red batik seven (yes, seven!) times to remove excess dye.  

Gotta love those color catchers, but it wasn't until the last wash cycle when I added Synthropal that I saw the results I wanted.  Next time I work with red fabric I think I'll use it the first time.  :-(

Once it was basted I wasn't sure what thread to use.   My quilting is decent, but I don't really want it to show up that much!

It's hard to tell when you look at it on the spool, but this variegated thread is blue, red, and yellow so I thought it would work well.  The quilting shows more than I wanted it to.  I just had to work slowly and do the best I could.  Well.  I always do the best I can, but, you know....

Not too shabby!

It ended up about 60" x 70", the perfect size for a snuggle quilt.

Of course, I had to add a little fun to the back .....

..... and get a few semi-creative shots!

So, off it goes in the mail this week to my sister.  Fingers crossed!

March Goal for ALYoF

So far, so good for my goals this year.  I've met both of my ALYoF goals, used 35 yards of my stash, not purchased any fabric, and I completed two of my UFO's.  That makes me hopeful that I can set and finish a goal for March. I want to have it done by mid-month this time.

A friend asked me to make a quilt for a fund-raiser at the school where she teaches kindergarten, Clarence Cannon Elementary in Elsworth, Missouri.  It's for a little boy in her class who is undergoing treatment for Leukemia.  The school colors are red and white so I decided to make something in those colors. Of course, all my reds needed to be washed first, but after three washings this is how much the Color Catcher was still picking up.  

I was afraid the fabrics would be worn out if I washed them any more, so I soaked them in a Synthrapol solution to set the dye.  I hope that did the trick.

So far, I've cut and pieced the top.

The school's website has a lot of shooting stars on it, so the plan is to put some white stars on it with raw-edge appliqué then quilt it with a large stipple.  My goal is to have this completed in the next week or so.  

I'm linking up with Fiber of All Sorts for the A Lovely Year of Finishes Goal Setting Party