SAHRR - Stay At Home Round Robin

This is the fourth year I've participated in this fun, great for the creative brain activity, dreamed up by Gail of Quilting Gail, when we were all in lockdown. The first year I participated was in 2023, and I haven't missed a year yet. If you'd like more information, click the link to Gail's post that explains how it works.

Here are the my previous year's quilts. There are four because in 2025 I made two, one in the round robin style and the other all blocks.

Lower right, coneflower—2023; lower left, fishies—2024; top right, Arabesque—2025; top left, aquamarine blocks—2025

Each one is so very different, no? Three of those four were built in the round robin style of adding a round around the centre. The blues and greens quilt was done in the bloc style where each week’s prompt saw me making a block as opposed to a round. It’s your quilt, so you can choose how you want to build it as long as you fulfill the prompt.

Global Garden - Hands2Help Comfort Quilt

Here is my second H2H quilt for this year, the first being my SAHRR which you can see here. Hands2Help, in case you don't know, is an annual comfort quilt drive hosted by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. I named it Global Garden as a nod to the Trip Around the World corner blocks, the floral fabrics, and the centre garden-themed appliquéd block.

After I rummaged through my drawer of lonely blocks aka orphan blocks to choose one for my SAHRR, it hit me that I really should make an effort to work more of them into a couple of quilts. In the drawer were these five blocks, the centre appliqués one and four Trip Around the World ones. I ‘won’ them in a bidding activity we did in the local guild I belonged to at that time. That was more than six years ago! Out they came and I let them percolate a bit on the design wall until I ‘saw’ the idea of using big, 15” finished, QSTs to frame and pull them together. 

A note about my Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL: that post will be out this afternoon.

Guild Orphan Block Raffle

A week ago, at our guild meeting, we had a raffle for the orphan blocks the executive has been collecting for a few months.  There were 37 or 38 sets!!  I was shocked.  I was even more shocked at the quality of the orphaned blocks, and of the quality of the fabrics used.

My winnings - I have that navy Buggy Barn fabric in the flying geese unit...

I think (okay, I know) I have too much of my dad in me, because I could not give that kind of workmanship up.  Maybe the fabric...I have donated fabric, I have sewn up beautiful fabric into quilts, and given them away to others, and even to charities.  Okay, I might be able to work up to something like this, I guess... All right, wait, hold the phone, I DID once already.  I gave away fabric to make a complete set of blocks for a Magic Tiles quilt in Cynthia's Orphan Adoption event.

My daughter, Dayna, has claimed this quilt...so I managed to grab a photo last time I slept over. Look at that gorgeous Sulky Holoshimmer thread!  circa 2001 from the faded label

She's having another!  Next month!  (which is only a mere 6 days away)

So each member and guest got a string of 10 raffle tickets.  Each set of orphan blocks was beautifully packaged up on foam core board, tied with a strip of batik fabric, on which was threaded a spool of Mettler cotton thread.  Each set had a numbered paper bag into which you could drop as many of your 10 tickets as you liked.  If you wanted, you could buy more tickets, think they were 10 for $1 or something.  I just kept my 10; seriously, did I want (yes) or need (no) more orphan blocks?  There were some beauties.  Well, I won one of the 37 sets!  We had about 55 people present.  My package is the first photo.

Inside were 3 various sets of orphans.  The executive packaged up what they thought kind of went together, related by style or choice of fabric.

The flying geese are huge, measuring 5.5X10.5".  There are 2 or more of each print with various neutrals.  43 in all.  Odd that it's an odd number.

These make me think of crocheted granny squares.  Each pair is the reverse of the other.  I was given some leftover strips sets for the pink/brown ones.  No clue what this pattern is, kind of Trip Around the World, but on point.

This appliqué block is exquisitely done.  The stitches are so tiny!  I love the fabric choices, and the embroidery details are so beautifully done as well.

Now what?

Well, the challenge is to have a finished quilt for the September meeting using your orphan blocks.  I'm not clear on whether they all have to be in one quilt or not.  (I guess I can ask at my first executive meeting this Thursday evening!)  A fat quarter stack was dangled in front of us...to be given to someone who finishes a quilt.  If there is more than one, then they'll draw. 

Fun, right?  I immediately thought that those big flying geese would make a great wheelchair quilt.  What do you think? Separate them?  Put 'em all in one quilt?  I can see possibilities for both.  I'll admit, I really want to keep that appliquéd square...work it into a table centre or maybe a bag?

Linking up with WIP Wednesday and Let's Bee Social.