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Ages ago (I honestly can't even remember when!), my friend Natalie and I decided to make a small dent in our respective fabric stashes by creating collaborative quilts together to donate to the charities of our choice. Our idea was to pick a block pattern, each make 1/2 of the blocks needed for a quilt, and mix them together. We then split the basting, quilting and binding duties. 

Though this is a very informal project, we did want to create labels for the quilts so that they could both be identified and numbered. We came up with the name "The Modern Quilt Collective" and I designed a simple label which I printed through Spoonflower. Each quilt is hand numbered. 

We both really like the quarter log cabin block, so for this first round of quilts we made, we stuck with that design. This large rainbow quilt went to a family in Newport, NH, who lost their home to a fire. (Photo by Natalie.)

We also made a batch of baby quilts using restricted color palettes, which were sent to recently resettled refugee families in California, who are either expecting, or recently had, a baby. I loved shipping these quilts out knowing that they were destined for brand-new babies!

As you can see, we stayed scrappy on the backs as well. It was so nice to use up so many cuts of fabric!

I was able to connect directly with these families through the amazing organization Miry's List. You can either donate directly to Miry's List to support their work, or purchase needed items from families' Amazon wish lists. These tangible items help families set up and start their new lives here in the US, and perhaps bring some comfort during what otherwise must be a very disruptive time in their lives. I highly recommend checking Miry's List out if you're interested!

Sometime last year, I connected with Erin Dollar, the designer behind Cotton & Flax, an LA-based home goods company. Erin creates awesome surface patterns from simple repeating shapes, which she silk-screens onto linen-cotton fabrics.  

In addition to creating the free Double Dash quilt pattern for her first fabric collection for Robert Kaufman Fabrics, I've also been working with her leftover screen-printed scraps to create new quilts (like this flying geese wall quilt). The two log cabin baby quilts pictured here are my latest work made from Erin's scraps; in this case, I worked solely with her designs printed on a flax-colored/natural linen-cotton blend.

This first quilt features her designs printed in black, paired with strips of cream and white, and squares of solid peach, to form four Courthouse Step blocks. Each block was pieced improvisationally using strips of various widths, so each block is unique and varies in size and shape.

This second quilt features Erin's patterns printed in white, and the fabric strips are arranged in a much more orderly and uniform fashion to form four log cabin blocks. The layout is the same as the one I used to create this neutral log cabin baby quilt earlier this year. Each of the blocks' centers feature a unique, warm-colored solid. 

I really enjoy the act of working from scraps---making design decisions on the fly since I'm limited to the fabric that's in front of me---so I really loved the process of making both of these quilts and am so happy with how they turned out. 

Both of these quilts are now available in the shop, if you'd like to take a look. And you can read more about this collaboration in Erin's write-up from last spring.

All photos by Jane Cuthbertson of Gray Green Goods.