My First Charity Quilt

A couple of months ago I heard about this Wrapped In Hope charity (though I can't remember where) and it really excited me. I think my most favorite thing about quilting is giving them away/knowing they'll be loved. This is why I think it's hard for me to make quilts just for art's sake. I am inspired by the recipient, what they like and just imagining it being used by them and their family for many years. With all of that said, I think it's obvious that I would enjoy quilting for charity and especially this charity who's mission is to send birthday quilts to kids who have a parent in prison, with the idea that a quilt is a physical thing that they can be wrapped up in and comforted by when their mom or dad can't.

The girl I chose to make a quilt for will be turning 8 next month. She likes art, puppies, kittens and the color blue. So what do you think? Is this a quilt an 8 year old would like?

I tried not to make it too "babyish." I wanted to make something she wouldn't hate in a couple of years, but I also wanted it to appeal to her now, obviously. I managed to incorporate kittens, puppies and a good amount of blue. Remember this flannel? It ended up matching perfectly even though it might look a little "used." I'm just glad I found a use for it because I was thinking of tossing it!

Oh, so another new thing for me here: Hand-tying. I was too nervous to attempt quilting on my machine with that flannel back and admittedly kinda lazy as well, so I thought I'd try tying it with pieces of lime green yarn. I mean, 8-year-olds probably don't care about crinkly, quilty goodness, right? I figure this is more about the prints and the cuddle factor (which is all in that flannel back).

This ended up being just about 45" x 60" which, if I'm not mistsaken, is the minimum size for a quilt donated from this charity. Whew! Good size for a child to grow with though. I really hope she likes it...

P.S. I've already signed up to make another quilt for a little girl turning 3 in June. You should really take a look at the list and see if anyone calls out to you. I hope all of these kids end up with birthday quilts this year!