I am going to try to get this quilt finished in time for the UFO Challenge:For details about the challenge, see this post.
I volunteered to make E's kindergarten teacher a quilt as an end of the year appreciation gift. I have made quilts before using the kids' handprints and I knew that is what I wanted to do again, but since I had so few kids (24) I knew I needed more than just handprints.
Enter Pinterest.I love the way the snowball blocks (which would perfectly fit handprints) make a secondary star pattern. But I didn't want to do it 100% scrappy. I wanted it to reflect the teacher's love of patriotism and do it in red, white and blue. So I sat down and sketched it out, taking into account the 24 handprint blocks:
I knew I wanted to keep the blocks at a size which was easy to divide into 3 so I settled on 9 inch blocks: 
I then made up packets for each student to sign. I included one white fabric square, a fabric marker and the instruction sheet on how to trace their hand:I put it all in a ziplock bag and secretly handed them out (and then collected them) at school:
Since I decided on a secondary pattern I then had to calculate how many types of blocks I needed, as well as how many squares to cut:
In case you are interested in the cut list, here is what you need to make this quilt:
White:
(12) 9 x9 inch blocks (for signatures/handprints)
(26) 3x9 border strips
(2) 3x3 corner blocks
(2) 3x13 long border strips
Blue:
(12) 9x9 inch blocks
(78) 3x3 inch blocks (64 for snowballs, 14 for border)
Red:
(12) 9x9 inch blocks
(44) 3x3 inch blocks (30 for snowballs, 14 for border)
Here is a little teaser of what it looked like laid out on the floor:
See my
next post for assembly instructions. And hopefully I can get it finished in time for the UFO party! Make sure you check back!
Linking up to these parties
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I've been eyeing your fabric stash seen in the background of some recent photos and hoping you'd share a sewing project ;) I can't wait to see the finished product!
ReplyDeleteI could never have the talent for this; but, oh so beautiful. I love how you know the color combinations will work together so well.
ReplyDeleteI used to teach 2nd grade and would have flipped over something like this. What a beautiful gift you have given your child's teacher.
ReplyDeleteThis is so thoughtful and lovely! She will still be treasuring it and remembering those kids long after they have graduated from high school. :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great idea, and so thoughtful!! Your color selections are perfect!
ReplyDeleteShannon@SewSweetCottage
What a brilliant and thoughtful idea!!! As an ex-teacher, I would have LOVED this!!! I would love you to share this at our ongoing linky that's just for Quilting and Patchwork...
ReplyDeletehttp://threadingmyway.blogspot.com/2012/04/threading-your-way-quilting-and.html
Yep, I TOTALLY failed Home Ec during sewing.
ReplyDeleteI envy you.
GREAT job and SUPER sweet!
-Joanne
That would definitely get you the Teacher's Pet award.... That is a fabulous teacher gift! I would never get it done in time myself, even if I started at the beginning of the school year. LOL!
ReplyDeleteWOW!
ReplyDeleteTHat would be quite the teacher's gift.
I wish I were that teacher :o)
THanks for linking up - this is just beautiful!
Stacey of Embracing Change