RETREAT QUILT ALA MINNEAPOLIS MARY

This design was posted on (what I call) Minneapolis Mary's blog. Quilters are usually a generous bunch.......Mary exceeds the best of the bunch in that department. She's a very talented quilter whose blog is a wealth of free, well designed and well written patterns.

Mary is a very active member of the HeartStrings Quilts Project. Not only does she piece and quilt her own exciting designs, but she volunteers to long arm quilt for others too. HeartStrings is an online group who joined together to make and donate String Quilts to local charitable organizations. It began Dec. 2006, as an outgrowth of Stashbusters Yahoo group.

From the beginning, HeartString members have made and donated quilts to wounded soldiers and veterans. In 2008 they became more involved in making Quilts of Valor quilts, setting a goal of 400 quilts for 2009.

Many of us have stored strips away with the idea that you'd use them someday. Here's a great opportunity to utilize these fabrics and help others at the same time. If time doesn't permit you to make a top....consider donating your fabrics to this very worthy group.

This is my version of a quilt I saw on Mary's blog and how it looked at the end of our PTA retreat. I discovered the red fabric bled, (of course after I pieced the blocks).....so the quilt came home with me pinned to the flannel.

My post yesterday described the steps I took to set the red dye......clearly, the addition of the red really impacted the quilt ...it certainly would have been much duller if I replaced them with green and gray blocks instead.

The dye is now set, the quilt is assembled, and I'm in the process of machine quilting it with simple straight lines. This piece is spoken for so it's probably the only look I'll share here.....but you all can imagine the finished quilt......

Though I'm not much of a piecer....I enjoyed this process....it was simple enough for even me to do!! Thanks Minneapolis Mary for your inspiration.