Just Say "Awww..."

One of my quilt guilds meets in a church which sponsors a summer camp for foster kids.  On their first day of camp each camper finds a hand made twin-size quilt on their bed, along with a matching pillowcase, both made by a member or group of members of the quilt guild.

At the end of camp the children take their quilts and pillowcases home with them, a memento of the good times in camp and a reminder that someone cares about them.

Two years ago I decided to make this "Cat Quilt" to contribute to the cause.  I selected colorful and fun fabrics about cats and choose a pattern known as "The Yellow Brick Road, which is suitable for beginners.  Well, that beginner's pattern took me almost two years to finish so I'm glad to have it ready early for this year's summer camp!

I quilted it using Jacquie Gering's method for quilting one big spiral.  You start in the center and just spiral on outward, using your machine's walking foot to space the lines of the spiral.  It makes a great all over pattern, adding a lot of texture to the top that is particularly nice after the quilt is washed and dried.

Each quilt gets a label from the guild and another on which the child can write their name.

Here's the quilt and pillowcase, ready to go. I hope the recipient will love it as much as I do!

That same guild makes quilts for babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units at the Boulder Community Hospital.  I've just finished one of those as well; this soft and soothing little blanket which is also quilted with a spiral.

I love the labels the guild uses.  Their sweet sentiment just makes me say, "Awww.....!"