Fund Raising Quilts

I don't know how many of you have experienced this, but I'm starting to think that this is just normal "teenage" behavior. My youngest is an active member in FCCLA (Family, Career, Community Leaders of America.....formerly known as FHA...Future Homemakers of America). Anyway, a small number of them will be competing at FCCLA nationals in July and have started fund-raising for it. One of the fund-raisers was a silent auction for which my youngest volunteered to donate a quilt. "Wonderful!" I said. "And you will be making this, right?" "Yes, mom. I'm going to make it." "Great!" So I gladly provided the pattern and the fabric. Even went out and bought thread to match for the machine quilting. Five days before the silent auction is to happen.....the quilt is sitting on her sewing machine in pieces. "When do you need the quilt?" "In a few days." "Will you have time to finish it?" "No. I was hoping you would do it.....and a second quilt to go with." I was beyond words. Once again, my teenager needed to have something done and waited until the very last possible moment to do it.....and then expected mom to come to the rescue. How many times have I had these last minute requests? Way too many times. I knew I should have simply let her deal with it, but I just couldn't. Thankfully, I had already had another top made (we were making the same pattern together) that could be donated. The question was.....could I quilt and finish two quilts in five days? The answer: Yes!!! But it would mean spending lots of time in front of the sewing machine to do so.




Pictured above are the two quilts that were made and donated to the silent auction. Both are done using the same pattern.....and both are done using fabric from my stash (including the backing). They ended up measuring approximately 57" x 73". The one on the left was made using all Winnie-the-Pooh fabric I had collected over the years....even the backing. It was quilted using an all-over clamshell pattern. The quilt on the right was quilted using a 2" diagonal grid. I had played with a zig-zag stitch so that it was wide and a bit squashed looking. Helped soften up all those sharp lines rather nicely. It took me four hours per quilt to stitch the binding on. And many, many hours at the machine doing the machine quilting. But they both came out really nice and ended up being the top items at the silent auction. Would I do it again? Only if I absolutely had to. I'm not real fond of these last minute fund raisers....and will be happy when my yougest goes off to college. It will mean an end to these last minute things. It will also mean that I will miss her and our quilting afternoons very, very much.