Summerberry Shortcake

It's done!

The quilt I started during the blog tour last week is complete. I chose to use a combination of scraps and strips to make my own version of "Brownies a la Mode" from Kathy Brown's book, Strip-Smart Quilts.

And I asked for blog-hopper input to select a border. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of the green floral print . . . but there's something about an under dog that draws me in! So I used the creamy fruits. (Can you believe that?!)

Truth be known, when I opened the folded cream fabric, I discovered that I had two length-of-grain strips of fabric perfectly sized for the border, already cut! It seemed like destiny favored the cream print.

To those who chose the green floral, do not dispair! I still needed some backing fabric, so I thought the green might be perfect. Nope. Not enough. Back to the stash to look for something else. And there it was - that same Chez Moi fabric in pink - perfectly matched to the salmon-y pink in the blocks. Ughhh! Not enough of that either. About 4 or 5" shy. Back to the scrap bin, to make one or two more scrap strips to lengthen the backing. Perfect!

Not quite enough of the pink for the backing. More scrap fabrics to the rescue!

Because the little quilt is going to a charity (more on that in a minute), and will probably be washed a lot, to save wear and tear on a binding, I layered the batting, backing, and quilt top. Sewed a 1/4" seam around the edge, leaving an opening. Then turned everything inside out, and finished the edge with a decorative machine stitch before quilting the entire piece.

And the quilt even has a label, and it's own name, "Summerberry Shortcake."

Now, about the charity. This quilt along with several others made by the members of my local guild during a workshop this winter are going to the McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Site. Abused children, as young as 5 or 6 years old, get to select their very own quilt once they enter treatment at the center.

It breaks your heart to know that 300 children were examined by this organization in this community last year. So it's a small, small gesture to turn a little blog quilt project into something minutely positive. Worth every stitch!

On a quite different note, Summer has arrived at last. Enjoy!
Joan