Hurricane Quilts, Free Patterns

Thank goodness the recent hurricanes are over, and people can start putting their lives back together.  All my family members in Florida are okay, although my brother and his girlfriend in Key West are still struggling with lack of running water and electricity.  Thanks for the prayers on their behalf.
Three more quilts are ready to go to Texas, for kids who have been through Hurricane Harvey and the Houston flooding.  I had hoped to get these done last week, but you know how it goes.
All of these are made from simple patterns, and can easily be used by groups or individuals.

Up first is a Scrappy Bricks quilt.  I made this using a pattern from the Austin, Texas Linus Connection web site.  Apparently this is one they use a lot.  All of the pieces are 4.5 in. wide.  The rectangles are 4.5 x 8.5, and the squares are of course 4.5 x 4.5.  I made the baby quilt size, which finishes 40 in. x 40 in.  Other sizes are listed on the pattern, and are mostly just adding more rows.  Click HERE to go to the one page PDF.  This is a great scrap buster.

The other two quilts are Trip Around the World.  Here's the pink and purple one...

And here's the blue and green one.
I have made several of these quilts for different causes, and I always use the same method.  I know these can be strip pieced, but I make them from squares.  I have used 4.5 in. squares, which makes a quilt 36 in. x 36 in., but both of these were made with 5 in. squares, so they measure roughly 40 in. x 40 in.  It's convenient if you have scraps cut in this size, but you may have to dig into yardage for some of the fabrics.  I find it easiest to use two colors for each quilt (in this case blue and green), and I look for fabrics with both colors in them to help blend the prints together.

When I work on these I lay them out on the floor, and place them in "rounds".  The first square is the center, in this case a medium blue print.  I'll use the same print for the four outer corners, so I need 5 squares in this fabric.
The second round needs 4 squares, in this case the blue chameleons.  I like something eye-catching in this round.  The pink quilt has castles in this spot.
Round three uses 8 squares, which are a turtle print here.
The fourth round uses 12 squares, a sort of crackled print in this quilt.

The next two rounds use 16 squares each, and are the largest in the quilt.  My quilt has a Go Diego Go print for the 5th round.  I bought it years ago to make something for my oldest grandson.  He's 12 now, (did I mention I procrastinate somewhat?) so this is a good use for the fabric.  My 6th round, also 16 squares, is a blue print with swirls.

Round seven needs 12 squares, in this case a jungle print.  I often include something lighter, like prints with a cream background, in one or two rounds, to brighten things up.
Round 8 takes 8 (that's easy to remember!).  I know you can't see it, but my fabric for this round is a green print with numbers on it.
And that takes us to the corners, which are 4 blue squares in the same print as the center.

So that's a total of 81 squares, set in 9 rows of 9 squares each.  This is easy, especially if you already have squares cut, and makes a nice sized quilt.

I've got my eye on another free pattern to make.  It's by Bonnie Hunter, so you know it's terrific, plus it uses 5 in. squares.  I've never seen this one on her free pages or in any of her books.  The pattern makes a quilt 60 in. x 70 in. Click HERE to go to Bonnie Hunter's Sticks and Stones.  It's a 3 page PDF.

I am absolutely in awe of all the people across the country (and even the world!) sending help to the hurricane victims in Texas and Florida.  All of us working together in our own small ways can make a real difference.
Wishing you joy and peace,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Today's Link Ups:
Crazy Mom Quilts
Can I Get A Whoop Whoop
Busy Hands Quilts

Quilts for Children

I love making quilts, ANY kind of quilts, but my favorites will always be quilts for children.  This is my adorable youngest grandson posing with his new quilt.

I made the top before he was born.  It's bigger than the usual baby quilt, but not as big as a twin.

I just knew he would love cars and trucks and fire engines, and he really does.  I think he's influenced by his daddy and big brother.

I finally made time to quilt it.  The quilting is done very simply, mostly in the ditch.  In the border, I tried to make it look like a road.  The center line has really long stitches.

Here's the back, one of my favorite polka dots.

In other news, sometimes, procrastination pays off.  I had been dragging my feet about sending some baby quilts to Quilts for Kids in Pennsylvania when the hurricane hit Texas last week.

So I boxed up three baby quilts, and sent them to Linus Connection in Austin, Texas, to be distributed to children affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Click HERE to go to their web page for instructions on mailing, etc.  Linus Connection is a 501(c)(3) organization, very similar to what we know here in Wisconsin as Project Linus.

Here's the next one I'm making.  I hope to send a new batch next week.

None of us can do everything, but all of us can do something.

I wish you good weather, warm hugs, and lots of lovely quilts.
Cheers,
Sylvia
Linking up this week with Confessions of a Fabric Addict,  Crazy Mom Quilts, and Busy Hands Quilts.