Covering the World

Kansas Dugout

When Moda approached me about participating in the Covering the World campaign to donate a quilt, I did not hesitate. I make quilts for a living, but also for my family. There are those in my family that think of my shelves full of quilts when someone is in need or when trying to raise money for a cause. I'm always happy to share. 

My daughter, Nicole, has her Master's in Social Work and knows of many organizations looking for quilts and pillowcases for foster children, seniors and victims of domestic violence. My daughter-in-law is the director of SAVA (The Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Center) in Northern Colorado. They provide crisis intervention, advocacy and counseling for all those affected by sexual violence while also providing prevention programs through community outreach and education. She organizes and hosts a fund raiser each year to continue their privately funded organization.

I know I'm not alone. Quilters are the most generous people ever. They love giving away quilts almost as much as they love making them. It's unconditional love stitched in cotton to share with whoever needs a big 'ole quilt hug. 

All four of my children and their families now live in the Longmont, Loveland, Fort Collins area of Colorado. As Robert and I were driving there the week after Christmas last year, we started to smell smoke, thinking it must be remnants of the wildfires in the mountains. As we continued, we realized visibility was greatly reduced as the smoke thickened. We could hear sirens and see first responders racing along the highway. We reached Longmont just before they closed Highway 25. It wasn't until later that evening that we saw the news and realized there was a large, fast moving fire in the Marshall, CO community. Sadly, more than 1100 homes and businesses were destroyed and thousands of families evacuated. We all felt helpless the next day as we celebrated Christmas together, knowing so many would be searching for a safe place for their families to sleep. 

 

Soon after we returned home, I received a call from my daughter-in-law saying one of her employees had lost their home. Did I have a quilt? Yes. Yes, I did.

I was pleased to learn that so many quilt guilds and quilters in Colorado have come together to make and donate quilts for the families affected by this tragic fire. I'm humbled to add my quilt to the many more given with love.

Kansas Dugout was originally made with my KT Favorites II fabric line about 10 years ago. It features my Layered Patchwork technique for simplified connector corners. 

With my Layered Patchwork technique, instead of stitching & folding a square to create a connector corner, I simply cut the square in half, layer the triangle on the corner and topstitch close to the bias edge of the triangle. It does not unravel because of the bias edge, but softly frays the more it is washed and cuddled. I love the primitive look of the soft edges.

 

Kansas Dugout

 

Thanks to Baby Lock and AccuQuilt for partnering with Moda for this year-long campaign and inviting me to participate. Find out more at:
Baby Lock - https://babylock.com/
Accu Quilt - https://www.accuquilt.com/


For more information and to follow a year of donations, go to the Facebook Group for Covering The World.
 

As a small "Thank You", I am offering the Kansas Dugout PDF pattern free to all of you generous quilters out there who make quilts and give them to those you know and love, and, to those you've never met. Find the pattern on our website at ktquilts.com HERE.