Happy Saturday, everybody. Sorry I’m getting this up so late! I had planned for 6pm.
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QuiltingFool is putting a beautiful new Ukraine quilt up for auction tomorrow!
Name: Stars & Sunflowers.
Auction Details
The auction begins at noon and ends at 7pm. Blog time.
Winner of the auction will donate the winning amount directly into the Balloon Juice for Ukraine thermometer, and they can decide whether to donate to just one of our 5 organizations or whether they want to split that amount between the Balloon Juice for Ukraine organizations in whatever way suits them.
Bidding will start at $450. The quilt is 74″ x 93″. It can fit a double bed or a twin bed.
IMPORTANT:
*If you would like to participate in the auction but it turns out that you cannot be around “live” during the auction, you can send me email so I can bid for you in the auction, up to whatever amount you set. Or if you are buds with one of the other BJ peeps and you want them to represent you in the auction, you are welcome to do that, if they are agreeable.
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There will be a raffle for a second Ukraine quilt in the same thread.
Name: Cats & Sunflowers.
Raffle Details
The quilt is 72″ x 84″.
Raffle tickets can be purchased through donations through the Balloon Juice for Ukraine thermometer. You can decide whether to donate to just one of our 5 organizations or whether they want to split that amount between the Balloon Juice for Ukraine organizations in whatever way suits them.
Each raffle “ticket” costs $50. If you donate $50, you get one ticket. If you donate $500, you get 10 tickets. Pretty sure everyone can do the math in between. Then we’ll pick the “winning” ticket in some anonymous fashion, yet to be determined. As with any raffle, the more tickets you buy, the better your chances, but even someone who buys just one ticket can win!
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But wait, there’s more!
If you don’t want a whole quilt but you want some individual piece from the Cats & Sunflowers quilt, you can buy those with a donation through the Ukraine thermometer. A piece like Patron or the cat with the flower headress can be purchased with a donation of, say $25-$100, whatever works with your budget.
If you want something more complicated, say with more than one cat, that would be double the cost, say $50-$200, again, whatever works with your budget.
Any piece from the Cats & Sunflowers quilt can be “purchased” with a donation. Just offering these 3 as examples.
Can I just say that Patron is amazing?
Questions? Ask away.
Chetan Murthy
I’m just curious: how much did the last quilt raise ?
WaterGirl
@Chetan Murthy: It was totally crazy. $5,000.
I am not expecting anywhere near that again. But i have neither a crystal ball nor a time machine. Obama isn’t taking my calls, so i can’t even borrow his!
Chetan Murthy
@WaterGirl: wowsers, that’s great!
zhena gogolia
Patron is amazing, you are right.
Josie
These quilts and pieces are works of art. Amazing.
BQuimby
I am unsure how to donate for just a square…will that process be tomorrow too?
WaterGirl
@BQuimby: Yes, that will be tomorrow, too.
I will have more of the details worked out then. :-) But it will basically involve donating, send me the donation confirmation, and communicating about what piece/square you want.
Emerald
These are wonderful! That first one should be sent to Zelenskyy.
jnfr
So beautiful, so beautiful! I can’t believe the artistry of these works.
WaterGirl
@jnfr: Quiltingfool is an artist for sure.
Mike in NC
Some fabulous stuff.
SpaceUnit
Those quilts are fantastic.
Unfortunately I just had my central AC overhauled and a week later had to shell out for a new washer and dryer. I’m going to be walking around with my pockets turned inside out for a couple months.
zhena gogolia
I don’t quite understand about the squares. Is QuiltingFool going to do duplicate squares for the people who win them, in addition to the squares as they appear in the whole quilt?
HumboldtBlue
Sweet mother of a quilting stitch, those quilts are beautiful, Quiltingfool. Outstanding work!
Skepticat
AMAZING talent!
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: Yes! Someone will win the raffle and will get the whole quilt.
But other people may want to buy squares (or rectangles) that could be used on a tabletop, or whatever.
if 15 people want Patron, 15 people can have a Patron of their very own. ;-)
WaterGirl
I think the flower headress cat is very sweet.
Quiltingfool
One small correction – the auction quilt (Stars and Sunflowers) is 74” x 93”, and the raffle quilt (Cats and Sunflowers) is 72” x 84”. Watergirl and I had several conversations today, so understandable the measurements got mixed around! Eh, they’re kind of close in size!
The measurement for Cats and Sunflowers is burned into my brain! I made all the appliqué blocks first and then had to do lots of math (and filler blocks) to get them to fit together. Thank goodness I never had a problem with fractions!
HumboldtBlue
@Quiltingfool:
This is a question I never asked my mother (who was an excellent mathematician, linguist and musician) is — where do you start the first stitch of a quilt?
Chetan Murthy
@HumboldtBlue: I knew a woman in grad school who studied textiles — as in, acrylics and such, which got used in fighter-plane nose cones. She told me about how complicated the math is, in designing stitches and such, for achieving various effects in fabrics — stuff like stretchability, etc.
WaterGirl
@Quiltingfool: Okay, I think I’ve got it right now. Check my work and let me know?
Quiltingfool
I have an Instagram account called quiltykitties. There are photos of blocks that are in Cats and Sunflowers, if you want to take a closer look!
opiejeanne
@WaterGirl: I love that square. It makes me think of a swimming cap with flowers on it that used to be a thing when I was a kid.
Alison Rose
Thank you for the “single square” option!! That’s in my budget and it will be lovely to have–especially since as much as I’d adore one of the full quilts, any blanket that enters my apartment very quickly becomes coated in cat fur, and I don’t have laundry machines here so keeping things clean is a hassle.
What is the approximate size of the squares? Or would they be different depending on the image?
HumboldtBlue
@Chetan Murthy:
I knew quilting was serious math just by the measuring instruments my mother had lying around her sewing room. My father built her a loom back in the early 70s she used up until the day she died in 2011.
Quiltingfool
@HumboldtBlue: The first stitch? Not sure what you’re asking, but when I make a quilt that is my own design (not a purchased pattern), I draft a design using grid paper and color pencils. Then I start doing math! After that comes the cutting of fabric; sewing the units that make up the larger block, then sewing those together! Pressing seams is ongoing – irons don’t have a long life in my sewing room!
Appliqué blocks are a bit different in construction, but there is stitching involved!
Did I answer your question, or did I give you way more information than you wanted?
Quiltingfool
@WaterGirl: Perfect!
Quiltingfool
@opiejeanne: I saw some photos of Ukrainian women wearing beautiful flower headdresses. So, I thought I’d make a cat with a flower headdress! It does look like those flower swim hats, doesn’t it!
I need to tinker with that design a bit. The original pattern is that same cat wearing a witch hat…
Kristine
All the pieces are gorgeous. Wow.
HumboldtBlue
@Quiltingfool:
Got it. I can see it plain as day, I have the entire sewing room in my mind’s eye, and I can see the first block and the scattered fabric along with the pencils, rulers, and thimble on the loom with the lamp to the side and the boxes of thread… the boxes of thread on the shelf above.
I always played as the thimble in Monopoly because of mom.
Quiltingfool
@Alison Rose : Most of the blocks are about 12” to 15” square. A small pieced border would make it a bit larger. The blocks with two or three cats are wider.
I had to put filler blocks around the cat blocks to make everything fit together (and that’s the math part, lol!). When I make a block for those who want one, I will add a pieced border – I think it makes a nice “frame,” a nice finish to the piece.
I think my favorite block is the cat that is holding a warship in its mouth (in the original block the cat is holding a mouse, not a ship). I call that block “F**k you, Russian Warship.” Another block has a cat juggling a tank. You can’t see the tank very well, I make another, I’m going to make sure the tank stands out!
Quiltingfool
@HumboldtBlue: I liked the thimble, too! I have several – I used to do hand quilting, and you better have a good thimble if you don’t want holes in your fingers! My joints can’t take hand quilting anymore, alas!
Alison Rose
@Quiltingfool: Where is the one with the cat with the warship in its mouth? I can’t find it in the whole-quilt pic.
Quiltingfool
@Alison Rose : Here’s a photo of the block before it was put in the quilt. https://pin.it/2NuRP09
Alison Rose
@Quiltingfool: Ahhh now I see, thanks!
Bupalos
@Quiltingfool: These are absolute works of art. Your eye is incredible. I’m not a quilter, but graphic design is my field and I’m very into art. And really, these are just completely arresting and beautiful works. There’s a real depth to them. You should be proud, and proud that you’re able to bring that talent to service in such a critical cause.
Inspiring.
Quiltingfool
@Bupalos: Thank you so much! I am glad to be able to make something to help the people of Ukraine. My heart aches for them.
Jackie
What’s the appropriate price for a Patron square(s)?
Chetan Murthy
@Quiltingfool: Do you have a public page someplace with email contact info ? Please don’t post your email address here; I’m sure we can figure out a way to communicate.
Elizabelle
Those are some of the most beautiful quilts I have ever seen in my life. Just wow.
Elizabelle
Totally want a Patron square. What are the dimensions? Are those available for the asking/donating?
Jackie
@Jackie: And do square purchases contribute to the Ukrainian cause?
Quiltingfool
@Chetan Murthy: You can contact me through my Etsy store –
https://www.etsy.com/shop/QuiltingByCynthia
I have added this to my Leave a Comment, so you will be able to click on my nym and get there, too. I do have an Instagram account, quiltykitties, you can see photos of my quilts.
Quiltingfool
@Jackie: Watergirl and I thought a minimum donation of $25 would be appropriate for a smaller (at least 12” to 15” square) block. We’re going to leave the amount you wish to donate up to you. For example, a Patron block would be a small block. There will be a pieced border around the block, it will be quilted, too.
Joy in FL
These are all so beautiful. It’s so awesome to have the possibility of getting an individual square. Thank you for that !
Quiltingfool
@Jackie: Absolutely, every penny of your purchase will go to a Ukrainian charity!
Quiltingfool
@Elizabelle: And you shall have Patron! The fabrics may be a bit different than in the quilt, but he will be a handsome fella!
The block without a border is 8 inches square, but I will frame it with a pieced border to give it a nice finish, so it may be 14 to 16 inches square, depending on the border I choose. I like to be creative with borders!
If you want a block, we ask for a minimum donation of $25, to a maximum of $100, whatever is in your budget. Lots of us may not have the coin for a big quilt, but we can manage a small sum. And those small sums do add up!
jnfr
I’d love a block. I hope when the time comes it’s clear how to get one.
Ruckus
@Quiltingfool:
I like the Stars and Sunflower quilt. A lot.
But there is the small detail of winning an auction I can’t afford to enter.
So.
I want a Patron square.
I mean I really, really want a Patron square. I’ll donate after WG tells us to pull out our wallets, bank accounts, credit cards, Apple Pay, spare change, recycling, search under the cushions…..
Could I ask that the outer border be blue or blue and yellow?
Elizabelle
@Quiltingfool: Thank you, thank you! I join Ruckus in asking for a blue and yellow border. Thinking on any further Patrons for gifts.
I Patron. And I Quiltingfool for being so outrageously skilled and creative, and WaterGirl for making the auction and square sales happen.
Lot of Patron love ❤️ on this blog.
WaterGirl
@HumboldtBlue:
Just reading that made me tear up. Did your mom know that? if she did, I bet that put her over the moon.
WaterGirl
@jnfr: As soon as I figure out the details, you’ll have them. :-)
‘Stars & Sunflowers’ Ukraine Quilt from Quiltingfool: Auction Starts Now, Goes til 7 pm
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