05 Jan Charity Challenge – January

Welcome to the first #ehqcharitychallenge of 2016!  I took quite a lot of time off over the holidays this year, so getting back to my sewing machine to quilt Winter Star felt SO good!

Winter Star

I pieced the top during the first half of December, but hadn’t had a chance to quilt it.  I probably should have done some free motion quilting on this one, but I didn’t want to start off the year with a stressful project.  The free motion quilting I’ve done on these charity quilts has improved my skill level, but it still isn’t enough to make me good at it or comfortable with it.  So I returned to my favorite straight line quilting in one of my favorite patterns.  I made a big “X” through the center of the star and echo quilted out from each line in “V” shapes.

Butterflies

The quilt for January, Butterflies, was inspired by my holiday break.  Babies are starting to arrive in our extended family and I’ve made a quilt or two as a shower gift, but I have been so busy with my quilting business, I haven’t made the time to make them all quilts.  So, I’m starting now.  I asked one of the grandmothers what kind of quilt she thought her daughter and granddaughter might like and she replied, without hesitation, “Pink and purple butterflies”.  I’m working on a pink and purple version of Butterflies for them, but thought a less girly version would be more appropriate for the Charity Challenge design.  You can download the PDF here.

I hope you all had a lovely holiday season and your New Year is off to a wonderful beginning!