Sunday, November 07, 2010

The seven minute quilt top

Not.

The Community Services chairwoman of the South Bay Quilters' Guild claims that her pre-cut charity quilt kits can be sewn in 6:49. I think that means she can sew them that fast. I couldn't meet her par.

The strippy quilt below was sewn that quickly, if you don't count pressing time.
I think that she means that, if the squares are stacked in piecing order, and you don't press until AFTER the entire top is pieced, she can sew the top in under 7 minutes. While I can't sew as fast as she can, I could have sewn this really fast, if I hadn't mixed up two of the squares. Rip and redo took longer than the initial piecing session.
The rest of them went well.
I think Bad Dad would have liked a bicycle-themed quilt.
This one is my favorite; if I could keep it, I would.
Anyway, these five lap-quilts (36"x36" or 36"x42") are destined for our local battered women and children's shelter. When children arrive at the shelter, they are often very scared and have nothing but the clothes on their backs. The kids are led to the "quilt closet' where they are allowed to select any quilt there as their own. When they leave the shelter, they take the quilts with them.

(We also provide bags of toiletries that guild members collect from hotels. Before TSA took our shampoo away, I used to bring home a bunch of those little toiletry bottles home from every business trip. Some of the champion business travelers in our quilt guild bring in a lot.)

Our guild makes over 500 of these quilts a year and there is never enough.

I didn't make the seven minute par, but I did make 5 of these quilt tops and half of a twin-sized quilt for a LA county foster child last weekend. I didn't get to sew this weekend at all for reasons I will explain later.

3 comments:

  1. Seven minutes! I don't think that I could do it that quickly either. I like the bicycle one too. I back my quick quilts with minkie fabric, the kids love it because it is so soft.

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  2. What a lovely idea! Letting a scared child choose their own quilt to keep is a wonderful way to welcome them to an unknown and potentially scary place.

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  3. I know a gal a few hours drive away who hosts sewing days for charity quilts like this. Thanks for the post--it reminded me how much I can enjoy the pure random beauty of pulling fabrics together. I have a closet-full I need to get cracking on!

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