Paying It Forward

Every January, I set out to make several pay it forward gifts throughout the year. I usually post on Facebook looking for volunteers that want to receive something from me. This year, I did it slightly different than in years past. This year, I asked for my friends to nominate other people to receive a gift! One nomination was for a friend of a friend that is a kindergarten teacher.

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I finally decided (I mean, it IS December!) to use a colorful charm pack that I had on hand. It is Mormor by Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics.

I cut 5" squares from my bolt of Moda Bella 98 White that I keep on hand, and sewed five color squares and four white squares together to make each row.

I sewed a 5" wide strip between each row then added a 10" border around the whole top. This made a 60" square quilt - with just 25 charm squares!

The top went together very fast! As in, only about an hour! I actually made two at the same time! (I hope to finish the other one over the weekend.)

I pin basted the quilt on our dining room table using 108" wide backing called "Widescreen" by Carolyn Friendlander for Robert Kaufman Fabrics in Desert Green (which really is more of a light gray color) and 80/20 batting from The Warm Co. I just bought the wide back fabric a couple weeks ago just to have on hand because I never have backing fabric when I finish a quilt. Well, now I don't have any again!

I used my Juki TL-2010Q to free motion quilt loops using 50wt Aurifil thread in White #2024.I kept the loops fairly far apart, maybe about 3" between lines. This is one of my go-to designs. It's quick and forgiving! I quilted it while my boys were playing out in the yard on a 60 degree day (yes, in December!). I could watch them right out the window while I was quilting!

For binding, I used another Carolyn Friendlander "Widescreen" print. This time in Gray. I used 2 1/4" strips and machine stitched it on. I discovered when searching through my stash for binding fabric that I mostly keep fat quarters, but rarely have 1/2 yard or larger cuts that I can use for binding. I need to start collecting some yardage for bindings!

Usually, I don't wash a quilt before gifting, especially if it's a baby quilt. I usually include a few color catchers with washing instructions, and include a note about wanting the quilt to smell like "mom" and not like me! When I received baby gifts with my boys, I would always wash everything even if the person said it had been washed. You just want everything to smell like you!

However, since I do not know the recipient this time, I felt more comfortable washing it myself first. If the bright colors were going to bleed onto the white fabric, I'd much rather it happen to me before gifting than to the recipient!

I only used two Color Catchers, and of course there wasn't any bleeding at all. The quilt came out of the dryer all crinkly and warm! I added a label and packed it up right away so I wasn't tempted to snuggle with it!

I can't wait for the box to be delivered! Have you ever done Pay It Forward gifts? I love keeping a secret and the anticipation of the surprise!

This is my second Pay It Forward quilt for the year (read about the first one here). This is also my 47th quilt finish for the year! (See all my quilty finishes here.)

Linking up with Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts, Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts, and Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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