Nine patches for Paula

Hello all, and welcome to my stop on the blog hop honoring Paula Budinger. Paula was a good and gentle spirit who blogged about the quilts she made at Paula B Quilts. She made a lot of scrappy quilts for kids, and donated almost all of them. I got to know her through Angela's Rainbow Scrap Challenge, where Paula often linked up her creations. She and I sometimes chatted back and forth, like ya do, about her quilts, especially the antique quilts she collected. And she was a Wisconsinite as well, so we had a small connection there, too.

On February 8th, Paula passed away after a short illness. Her obituary is HERE, where you can read about how very awesome she was, from electron microscopes to art and design, all across the country. Paula would have been 79 yesterday, and a bunch of us are honoring her quilting legacy through this blog hop.  Because Paula's life and work made us happy, there are also some "presents" for her birthday, in the form of prizes for you! That information is at the bottom of this post.

Here is what I made in honor of Paula:

Yes, two tops! Both bright and happy and intended for children. Since Paula loved scrappy quilting and bright colors, I thought a quilt made in her honor should be the same. It happens that I had a bit of the animal fabric that I had intended to use for a quilt for my grandson. I didn't like how it looked with the alternate blocks, so I used something else, but I had already cut the animal fabric, so there it was, leftover in a strange size. It worked great for this project, though!

The larger quilt is a giant double 9-patch that measures about 45 by 45. The blocks I had cut from the animal fabric were 15 inches square, perfect for using 5 inch squares to make 9-patches as alternate blocks. It worked great! I chose the yellow and green to coordinate with the animal print, and somehow I managed to use them all up. Eagle-eyed readers will notice that some of those yellow and green squares are actually pieced together. Shhh! This quilt will be donated through Sarah's Hands to Help project.

The smaller quilt top was made with the scraps from the first one. Why not? It needed to be used!  This one used a different green and yellow, both polka dots. It happens that I made this in 9-patch form as well. I made four 9-patches with 6-1/2 inch squares and then combined them to make this 36-inch square top. This little quilt will go to Jack's Basket, an organization that celebrates babies with Down Syndrome.

I am very happy with how these two tops turned out, and they will be among the first things I quilt up when this crazy semester is over. I feel like Paula would understand! I have a few small scraps left of this fabric, but otherwise I am thrilled that it is used up and will help comfort some small people.




And now for the presents for you all!  Here are the prizes being offered:

Lorna, Sew Fresh Quilts, $50 gift certificate for her pattern shop.

Yvonne Quilting Jetgirl, 2 PDF patterns of choice.

Bernie Needle and Foot, $25 certificate for her shop.

A fat quarter bundle from Figo Fabrics

A set of quilty gift cards from Initial Thought by DMF  Note cards set 1

A pattern of choice from Karen, Sugar Free Quilts

A $30 gift certificate for Doris, Cactus Queen Quilt Co

A PDF pattern of choice from Joanne, www.etsy.com/shop/CanuckQuilterDesigns

$25 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop

(donated by Janice Holton)

"How do I get one of these prizes"? you ask. Here's how it works-- below is a list of bloggers honoring Paula through this hop. Every comment entered on one of the posts in the hop by Friday, May 15, will count as one entry. Winners will be chosen that day from all possible comments by Janice at Color, Creating, and Quilting. Then the winners get a happy package in the mail! International readers, you can enter, too, as many of the prizes are digital. So you get happy email instead of happy mail.

Thanks, all, for stopping by to honor Paula's life and legacy. Be sure to give thanks for all your quilty friends, too. As we've all sadly learned, life is sometimes too short, and it looks a little less colorful without all of us in it. 

Wednesday, May 6

Karen @ KaHolly
Kate @ Smiles From Kate

Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts of my Quilting Life
Bernie @ Needle and Foot

Linda @ My Sew-Called Quilts
Cathy @ Crazy By Design

Sue @ From the Magpie’s Nest

Thursday, May 7

Kate @ Smiles From Kate
Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts
Rose @ Something Rose Made
Nann @ With Strings Attached
Mari @ The Academic Quilter
Louise @ My Quilt Odyssey
Susan @ Desert Sky Quilts

Friday, May 8

Janice @ Color, Creating and Quilting
Kate @ Smiles From Kate
Joy @ The Joyful Quilter
Susan @ Quilt Fabrication
Edi @ Edi’s Crafting Life
Carol @ Quilt Schmilt
Preeti @ Sew Preeti Qilts
Emily @ The Darling Dogwood