Kids' Quilts Blog Hop: Day 1

We are so excited to share this week's blog hop with you! 

Quilters on the whole are an extremely generous group of people--they share their time and their talents (and even their fabric!) with others. At the same time, there are so many organizations actively soliciting quilts to give to children who are sick, scared, or lonely for one reason or another.

This week's blog hop brings those two concepts together: the featured designers have created easy tutorials featuring some of our fun new novelty prints, and each day we'll be highlighting an organization that accepts quilts for children in need. We hope you'll enjoy seeing the quilts we're sharing this week and consider making one yourself, either for to donate or to give to someone in your life.

Here's the week's line-up:

Day 1: Benartex blog team featuring Monkeying Around

Day 2: Nikki from The Girl Who Quilts featuring English Rosey

Day 3: Emily from Mommy's Nap Time featuring Doodle Dog

Day 4: Sarah from Confessions of a Fabric Addict featuring Yard Dog

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Welcome to Day 1 of the Kids' Quilts Blog Hop here at Sew in Love with Fabric! 

Today the Benartex design team is sharing a big block pattern using the brand-new Monkeying Around fabric collection, paired with a couple Fossil Fern prints. Make sure to read all the way to the bottom of the post to find out how you can enter to win a fat quarter bundle of the Monkeying Around fabric.

With a name like that, the obvious choice for a quilt design was the Monkey Wrench block. But rather than sew a bunch of blocks, this pattern uses one giant block, surrounded by two borders. Talk about a quick sew! Fun, easy, and perfect for the striped border print of monkeys! 

Finished quilt size: 43" square

Want a sneak peek at the Monkeying Around collection by Greta Lynn for Kanvas? Here it is, and you'll be able to find it in your local quilt shop in May!

To make this quilt, you'll need:

• 1/3 yard monkey stripe on green
• 1/4 yard orange Fossil Fern print
• 1/3 yard lime green Fossil Fern print
• 2/3 yard orange floral
• 1/3 yard large leaf with orange
• 3/4 yard large blue/green leaf
• 3/8 yard binding print
• 2 yards of backing fabric
• 49" square of batting

Cutting directions:

From the monkey stripe on green:

Fussy cut (4) 5-1/2" x 10-1/2" pieces to center a monkey stripe (see illustration below for example)

From the orange Fossil Fern:

(4) 5-1/2" x 10-1/2" pieces

From the lime Fossil Fern:

(2) 11" squares

From the orange floral:

(2) 11" squares

(4) 2-1/2" x 42" strips for inner border

From the large leaf with orange:

(1) 10-1/2" square

From the large blue/green leaf:

(4) 5-1/2" x 42" strips for outer border

From the binding fabric:

(5) 2-1/2" x 42" strips

Make the Quilt

1. Sew a 5-1/2" x 10-1/2" monkey stripe on green piece to a 5-1/2" x 10-1/2" orange Fossil Fern piece. Make 4.

2. Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of each 11" lime Fossil Fern square with a fabric marking pen. 

3. Lay a marked square right sides together with an 11" orange floral square. Sew 1/4" on either side of the drawn diagonal line. Cut on the line and press open to create 2 half-square triangle units. Make 4 half-square triangle units.

4. Lay out the 4 half-square triangle units, 4 monkey stripe on green units, and the 10-1/2" large leaf with orange square into 3 rows as shown. Sew the units into rows and join the rows. 

5. Sew 2-1/2" x 42" orange floral strips to the sides of the quilt center. Press and trim excess. Sew the remaining 2-1/2" x 42" orange floral strips to the top and bottom. 

6. Add the outer border in the same way using the (4) 5-1/2" x 42" large blue/green leaf strips. (You'll use pretty much the entire strip, which is slightly longer than 42".)

7. Layer with backing fabric and batting and quilt however you like. Use the (5) 2-1/2" x 42" binding strips to finish the quilt (we're going to use the orange floral to mimic the inner border).

8. Give the quilt to your favorite charity or kid! (This quilt will be going to Project Linus; see details below.)

Enlarging one block to be the entire quilt design is a great way to make a quick and easy quilt, especially for children, since the size is just right! You can try it with some of your other favorite quilt blocks as well. Make the block, add a few borders, and you're done!


Meet a Charity:
Project Linus
Launched in 1995 by Karen Loucks, Project Linus now has chapters in all 50 states, coordinating donations of quilts, afghans, fabric and supplies, and financial support to distribute quilts and blankets to children in hospitals, shelters, social service agencies, or "anywhere that a child might be in need of a big hug."
The organization accepts new, handmade, washable quilts that will be given to children ages 0-18. Quilts can be as small as 36" square, though most are somewhere in the 40" x 60" range. 

The Project Linus mission:

• FIRST

• Provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.”
• SECONDProvide a rewarding and fun service opportunity for interested individuals and groups in local communities, for the benefit of children.

To find a chapter near you and/or learn how you can get involved or donate a quilt, visit the Project Linus website.
  

For a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of the Monkeying Around collection, simply sign up to follow this blog, either through Bloglovin' (or another blog reader service) or email (both options are in the right hand sidebar) and leave a comment letting us know you follow. In your comment, let us know if you've ever given a quilt to charity before. Leave a second comment and receive a second entry by following us on Facebook and letting us know. This giveaway is 
open through Saturday, March 1 at 11:59 PM EST. 

Make sure you check out all the tutorials from the Kids' Quilts Blog Hop:

Day 2: by Nikki from The Girl Who Quilts, featuring English Rosey
Day 3: by Emily from Mommy's Nap Time, featuring Doodle Dog
Day 4: by Sarah from Confessions of a Fabric Addict, featuring Yard Dog