December 2011 Quilts

We received an order for an entirely new design for a red and white quilt.  After some discussion we decided it required making "yo-yo's", so Sophoan tried them out.  She quickly caught the concept and made 132 yo-yo's for the following quilt:

Figuring out where to place the yo-yo's and to see just how many she would need to make.

Attaching the yo-yo's

Hand sewing all 132 yo-yo's to this quilt!

The final product

Close-up photo of detailed quilting she did all around the quilt.  This was not an easy task with the very old sewing machine Sophoan uses and limited table space.  She did a beautiful job!

Now that the ladies have made several lone star quilts, we're now working to expand the size to make a larger lap quilt.  Isn't this beautiful?

"Guy" quilts are often requested, but it's not easy to find good designs for a more manly quilt.  We found this idea online and tried it out.  It turned out great and was popular through the Christmas sales.

Sophoan's new creations in September

Sophoan made some lovely quilts this month and I wanted to show you some of her creations.  All the seamsstresses had learned how to make the Lone Star quilt, but they had only learned how to make it with a 3-piece strip.  Sophoan saw in some photos that you could also make it with more strips, so she decided to try out a 4-strip Lone Star.....and here is what she made.  Isn't it beautiful?

I saw a similar quilt like this one on the internet and showed Sophoan the photo.  This month she made it using fabrics we had on hand at the center.  It's called "Springtime" and also is very beautiful!!

Sophoan has made this pattern before, but we decided to try it out with a flower fabric this time.  She again did a lovely job.  Another gorgeous creation.

June Workshop

Because I have never quilted, Priscilla has been our teacher and advisor the past three and a half years.  But Priscilla has not been able to come to Cambodia for awhile, so she mentored me to teach the ladies.  This past month we had a one week workshop where we tried some radically new designs that required input.  They were more work than just looking in a book and figuring out how to make them.  Here are some photos from our week:

Learning to make a "kaleidoscope" quilt

This was great for using lots of scraps of fabrics that we had.

Do you see the pile of dirt just outside the door?  The dirt road into Sompovloun is in the process of being paved.  Huge mounds of dirt are everywhere as they dig the road.  Can you imagine trying to make quilts with the wind blowing in dirt constantly?  What a challenge.  These ladies are amazing.

Here are the final quilt tops.  Aren't they pretty?

....and then we worked on learning the "lone star"  

Here is Rein's star that she will make into a quilt this month.

Quilts made June 2011

The sewing ladies are preparing for fall sales here in Bangkok.  It's a popular time for women's groups to meet together - and a good time for sales.  So we continue to make a lot of the old standbys that continue to be very popular - especially the Jim Thompson fabric quilts.  We try to always have them on hand.  The "Americana" quilt was very popular this summer and we've had several special orders for this quilt. 

Here are some new looks from this past month:

This is a large king sized quilt that is very pretty.  These ladies have become such experts at quilting that I can show them a new design and they can just figure out how to make it and how much fabric to cut and sew.  They can't read English patterns so they have learned to adapt....and have done a great job.  Sophoan made this quilt.

Someone recently mentioned "watercolor" quilts to me so I started researching them and fell in love with that look.  This quilt is not the typical watercolor quilt, but was an easy beginning step to try.  It is pretty and something unique for a baby quilt.

Here is the Americana quilt that has been very popular this summer.

Thanks so much for your interest, your purchases, and your prayers.  This livelihood is very important for the lives of these women.  Please contact me if you are interested in something you see here on the blogsite.

Blessings,

Gayle





More April 2011 Quilts

Here are three new quilts I just picked up from Cambodia.  This first quilt is king size and is made from Thai sarong fabric.  The photo really doesn't do the quilt justice....it's really beautiful.  The borders have the beautiful edging from the sarong as well.  This was a special order and turned out lovely.

Lots of leftover fabrics make gorgeous quilts. 

This black and white logcabin turned out lovely, too.  The fabric is again made from Thai sarongs, and yet has a very modern look with the black and white contrast.

April 2011 Quilts

Just a few quilts to show you from this month. This is a very pretty throw/lap quilt with red/white/blue. Want something special for 4th of July? This would make a great accent!!

measures 63"x77" - costs $50

child's throw in multi colors; blue backing

measures 49"x 69" - costs $40

blue sarong throw/lap quilt

measures 52"x 62" - costs $40

Quilts March 2011

We haven't made many new styles of quilts lately, so I haven't been posting new photos. We have primarily continued with previous patterns and colors. All three types of elephant quilts have been our best-sellers. We did receive a number of orders for different quilts at the end of 2010 that we have just now finished.


Christmas tablecloths - specially sized. This was quite a challenge to work with so much white - when there are layers of dust and dirt that cover everything in the ministry center!! But this turned out well.

Queen sized "cilla" quilt made from the gold Japanese cotton. This is 85 inches square.

A pair of simple wall hangings that Sok added borders and backing to. Very cute.

This is a cilla lap quilt, but Sophoan also made it in a king size for a special order. These are very pretty pinks.

And we're already starting some Christmas quilts and wall hangings!! Several wall hangings have been ordered (seen in the last post), and we're starting some Christmas quilts to prepare for upcoming sales.