The Covid Round Robin Quilt
Being stuck at home ALL. THE. TIME. is a pain in the butt, but we must make the most of it. Luckily we are quilters and most of us have a sizeable stash that will carry us through these isolated times. After we've made all our face masks for family, friends, neighbours, and health care workers, and have finished all our UFO's (UnFinished Objects), we still need a focus for our sewing. Our little group decided on the Covid Round Robin Quilt project. Patti, Becky, Marg and I are taking part, but Gail decided not to participate because she lives a considerable distance away from the rest of us. We miss her!!!
What's a Round Robin you ask? Well, it's a project where a small group of people each make a section of a quilt. The owner of the quilt is the person who makes the central large block in their choice of colours and design. This person also includes whatever fabrics they would like to have included in the quilt so as it moves from person to person there is some fabric/colour continuity. The owner of the block also includes any pertinent information for the others of their likes and dislikes. For example, Becky and I are not fond of florals and I hate brown and Sunbonnet Sue...just sayin'.
Here is my block, fabrics, box and instructions (Patti's name is at the bottom, but it doesn't show because of the flash):
After that it moves on to the next person on the list who will make a border, made up of specific design features, to go around the block. Once they've sewn their segment they can include any fabrics they've used that they think can also be used by any of the other participants. And so on and so on until each person in the group has contributed a border to the original owner's quilt block.
Of course, it is mandatory that we take into account everyone's safety. First of all we wash our hands thoroughly before actually working on the project, then the blocks and fabrics are placed in a plastic project box that is wiped down with disinfectant wipes. We wear gloves when transporting the box to our friend's porch where they, in turn, wipe it down again. We let it sit for a few days before working on it, but that, in my opinion, is the hardest part...I want to start working on it right away!
Here is a breakdown of steps for our Covid quilts:
First person: owner of the quilt makes the central block (12” or larger), includes any fabric they wish to have used in the quilt and any instructions for the others.
Second person: places the block on point with corner triangles and adds a 4” finished border using either rectangles, squares or a combination of both. They can also add any of their own fabrics to the box.
Third person: adds a 5” finished border using flying geese. They can also add any of their own fabrics to the box.
Fourth person: adds a 5” finished border using half-square triangles, triangles or diamonds.
We are also to take a photo at each step of the project to show the progress as the quilts go on their way from person to person. We're hoping that once we are finished we'll be able to get together for the final reveal, but we're not holding our breath...this physical distancing might take a lot longer than we hope! I can't wait to see what my friends have done with my quilt block.
Once we are all done, I'll show you my finished quilt...hopefully I can persuade the other ladies to share photos of their quilts with you too.
This is our way of keeping in touch with each other (aside from regular texts) by doing our shared hobby together...but apart. Hopefully, you too have a way of connecting with your quilting friends during this tough time. Stay safe everyone!