Siblings Together Quilting Bee

Hello everyone and thanks to Lynne for hosting me today. My name is Hannah and I am part of the Siblings Together Quilting Bee (STQB). I have just started blogging at Sewing and Slinging, I'm very new but I hope you'll come find me. I am also very frequently on Instagram @Hannlib and less frequently on Flickr by the same name. 

I live in Yorkshire with my husband and two lovely girls who are 4.5 and just 1! I taught myself to sew in 2011 because I wanted to make my eldest daughter a quilt and haven't stopped since then. I am obsessed with fabric (though I'm starting 2014 off with a fabric diet ...) and I absolutely love piecing quilt blocks and tops. The quilting itself, not so much, but I love a finished quilt so I do that too! I also dabble with making clothing for my girls, bags and so on. I'm always learning and striving to improve my technique and it has been an honour to be part of this very special bee with this group of inspirational sewers.

Anyway have you all heard of the charity Siblings Together? It is a UK based charity which aims to provide contact for siblings separated by the care system. As part of their relationship strengthening programme they run summer camps, and the Siblings Together Quilting group, set up by Lynne, aims to provide homemade quilts to all the children attending those camps. In addition to the quilts provided by the STQB the group would be delighted to accept donations of quilts - so if you have one in need of a home, or if you would also like to give a little back through your sewing this year you can find out how to donate a quilt here.

The STQB is a sponsored bee so generously supported by Moda Fabrics. Each month a bee member receives a wonderful Moda FQ bundle, provides a block tutorial and the group works together to piece the quilt blocks. I chose a bright and beautiful bundle of the very popular Potluck collection by Sandy Klop for American Jane. Some favourite prints there - the rulers! the pezzies! Isn't it lovely?

As my month was December - always so busy  - I chose a super quick and easy block, a supersized giant churn dash measuring 20" unfinished.

As you can see I decided not to add any background fabric and just use the lovely bright colours of the Potluck, this type of churn dash is my favourite. The blocks flew back and I was able to get the quilt pieced together and finished very quickly. The sponsorship generosity continued with some super soft cotton blend Sew Simple batting donated by Lady Sew and Sew and an awesome Pam Kitty Picnic recipes backing from Sew Me a Song. In order to choose the backing I spent many, many happy hours browsing the amazing range of quirky and unusual fabrics, some real beauties and well worth a look.

I added a scrappy pieced strip to my backing, basted it all together and quilted it in ecru (2000) Aurifil 50wt using a wavy stitch setting with my machine's walking foot. Simple quilting all the way for me! I then bound it in a black and white Mama Said Sew zig zag print from my stash which I think finishes it off perfectly. Unusually for me the binding is machined down front and back. I always hand stitch my bindings but wasn't sure what love and laundry this quilt has in its future so wanted to be sure it was secure. 

And I have a big bag of Potluck scraps left over ...

 ...which I am committing here and now to turning into another quilt for Siblings Together.  Here's a reminder of all the incredibly generous companies who have kindly sponsored backings and batting for this bee. We are really so very grateful, thank you.