friendship quilt

What Taria said. Come see my cherished hug. Every block is indeed just perfect, every one carries a loving feeling that I would never have imagined possible. Polly

Exactly! :)

I sent in hug blocks before I had even made blocks. They were used. You can do it too. I took the chicken way out the first few times--I cut a 7 inch square and sent it out--plenty of extra fabric so the hug maker could trim as she wished. I've made a few four patches for hugs since then. I've also made a few blocks by simply sewing three strips of fabric side by side. You could even go totally scrappy and sew little strips together until you get something big enough to trim down to the proper size.

Once you've sent in the first hug block your nerves will never bother you about your possibly less than perfect stitching again. Debra in VA See my quilts at

Having assembled several HUG quilts, I can tell you that all blocks fit. From the precision-pieced to the simple. From the perfect squares to the almost pentagonal. From the exact 6.5" raw-edge-to-raw-edge to the "oops" size. I have had people write me when I host a HUG and ask if I think their block will work. Yes, is the answer. They always work. It's magical, and that magic stays with the quilt when it goes to the person who receives it.

Well, if I were a true friend (and much wealthier), I'd send every single one of my block donors a nice sharp cutter, ruler and mat! Roberta in D

"Sandy Ellison" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:C142F679.BBEA% snipped-for-privacy@sbcglobal.net...

Kris, you should never be afraid to send a block. It's always appreciated, even if it doesn't meet somebody's imaginary standards. You (even a beginner) would be ROFL at some of the blocks I have managed to force into a quilt set. Truly rectangular pegs into very odd holes! The thrilling thing is to do it over a number of years and watch how many donors improve their skills. I remember one "block" in mystery fabric, sort of sewn together by hand by someone who had maybe never sewn on a button before, and we won't even go into the colors. I put it in the quilt anyway (got lots of quilting). And that person came back the following year with something really splendid! In friendship quilts, all the variety of blocks tends to mask any imperfections, and they always look great. (If you all want to see my past projects:

I truly do not mind "fixing" and fudging, because the quilts are so much fun!Roberta in D

"Kris in Portland, Oregon" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@c28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...

Not at all! I love righting a "wrong" block. (And crappy thread is so much easier to frog! :-) The trick is to focus on all the things she did well, like the good colors! Roberta in D

"Sandy Foster" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:invalid-> Roberta, congratulations on doing all of that. It must have been just as

Those quilts are wonderful! KJ

Howdy!

Oh, I reckon you're a better friend for just fixing it and not rubbing it in.

Altho' a little lebkuchen would certainly be appreciated, I'm sure, esp for those who already have the cutter, ruler & mat.

Tools have an independent streak, don't they? Sometimes the machines, cutters, etc. just do their own thing, no matter how hard the quilter concentrates. How else did those baseball squares I was cutting yesterday end up 2 or 3 different sizes? Surely *I* did not turn the ruler so that the 1/2" marking disappeared to the other side... I was right there! It just happened! ;-P

As Wendy said and Roberta proved, friendship and hug blocks will fit. May take some extra work, but they *will* fit!

Ragmop/Sandy

Howdy!

Discovery Home channel features a program called Holmes on Homes. This Canadian carpenter goes into someone's home and fixes the bad fix-ups. He sets his jaw, gets this gleam in his eye, pointing out & talking about former repairs that were done "wrong; it's just wrong! Nobody should get away with that!" Gene & I laugh cuz this guy is just ferocious about getting in there and making it right! I love his attitude, and he does right those wrongs. Same way I feel about some of the quilt tops that are sent here for fixing and Finishing. I like to "make it right." ;-)

Ragmop/Sandy--fond of really good carpenters

Roberta, those are impressive. Thanks for not asking us to pick our favorite, because I just couldn't do it. Each time I'd think to myself that I'd seen the best, I'd find another one I liked just as much or more. Great work!

Howdy!

Knowing when to hire the experts has become key around here, and I'm the one making that decision most often. My dad had plenty of work cleaning up other people's DYI home messes. 8-> (Too often they don't want to pay to have it re-done the right way; too bad: live & learn.) I've learned to look at a job and ask myself, "Honestly, do you want to do this?" Usually, yes. But there are some jobs I just can't stand (next is having the big shower re-grouted; I don't wanna' do it but I know someone who does for a price). We had a simple, attractive, good quality pergola installed over the patio & back porch a few years ago. Wife & husband team came w/ the materials and had it finished in 4 hrs.. Tuff Shed was put up in about 4 hours by 2 men who knew what they were doing (altho' I had to insist that *I* was painting it! ).

2-story entry-hall was painted in just a few hours by a crew of men who are really good painters--I'm still in ladder envy-- & they even rehung the curtains at that window way up there over the front door. Currently working on a quilt for a woman in Virginia; she says her grandmother made the top, found at her uncle's house this summer. It's a simple 9-patch, lots of antique feedsack fabric, other cottons from the 1930s to the 1960s. BUT she used polyester in almost every block. It's a pain in the bu.. er... fingers to quilt thru' that polyester! I really wish she had done this differently, the poly will wear much longer than the cotton, but it wasn't my call. A quilting friend told the Va. lady to have it quilted ala "Baptist fan" pattern, so I'm doing that, 1/4 fans, another slight difficulty making this a tougher project than I would think, but it's looking good, and that old fabric in the top just thrills me, cute prints, funny florals and what has to be leftovers from a pair of kid's pajamas ca.1959. The border was leftover fabric w/ selvedges attached-- that had to be replaced 'cuz I just couldn't leave such a waving, wobbly mess on there. I have my standards, low as they may seem.

Ragm> Like your dad mine was a carpenter Sandy. They are good men. My 2

Both you and Mr. Ferocious would love Denmark. There's a law holding house sellers responsible for fixing code violations for (IIRC) 5 years after the place changes hands. And people without electrician qualifications aren't supposed to touch anything more complicated than installing a ceiling lamp. Roberta in D, still occasionally miss DK

"Sandy Ellison" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:C14417AA.BC8E% snipped-for-privacy@sbcglobal.net...

I live in Germany, I feel her pain. But she's getting better! Last year she sent only one block, and it was about 3" bigger than it should have been. Roberta in D

"Susan Laity Price" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Exactly!! What she said. I've assembled a couple, delivered a couple, and my skills certainly do not belong in the "expert" category. (that would be Pat on the Hill and Karen, QoS). But I know that the recipients love them, and no one is inspecting seam allowances or points askew! It's the love and friendship that count!!!

I hadn't been quilting long when I did my first hug block. I chose a nice simple block (Forest Paths - which I still often do) which has a 'built in' border that I can make a bit wider so that the assembler can trim it down if she needs to. Sometimes if the Hug has a particular theme , eg Cats, I might just frame a square of cat fabric, or just join three pieces of fabric in the requested colours.

There are lots of easy patterns on

all graded as to difficulty - lots of 1 Pin ones to choose from, and lots with the built in borders.

If you look at all the Hug quilts on Teri's site

you can see what other people have done over the years. I found that a real confidence giver - you always imagine that everyone does complicated 3 dot blocks, but they don't.

I love doing Hug blocks - give it a try. Once you are on the list, making a block for every quilt is optional and you can often choose between a 6" and a 12". Usually you have a month to do them in, so there's no pressure.

Ouch! I can do some things well - so I tend to stick to them for Hugs! That's all.

(Never a critic, though. Never would be, or even think of being.) . In message , TerriLee in WA writes