New Patriotic Quilt

 I successfully completed my BIG "secret sewing project" a few days ago. So, being in-between BIG projects, I decided to sew up a patriotic quilt I cut out 6 months ago.

Standing Strong is a pattern designed by Shabby Fabrics for use as a Quilt of Valor pattern. Find it on the Shabby Fabrics website here: Standing Strong Pattern

Here is my completed top. The instructions are clear for all the cutting--each fabric is cut in a variety of sizes. It only took two days to construct the top, since all the cutting had been done months ago. But, you have to be very careful to follow the layout diagram as you assemble each long column. Keeping the fabrics labeled correctly is essential: Blue #1, # 2, Red #1, #2 , Cream #1, #2, etc.: I used up lots of fat quarters and parts of fat quarters so mine is pretty scrappy: 

The two borders are great pieces from the line Olde Glory by Sandy Gervais for MODA fabrics. They have been in storage for quite a while. I love the outer border--it is the Pledge of Allegiance:

I have selected the back and batting, made the binding and will add it to the "Quilt Labels Needed" list. Eventually, I'll quilt and finish it.

Another fun thing I get to do is meet by ZOOM with 9-12 friends in the UK and Spain. We had been meeting weekly for an hour beginning early this year, but we are all getting busier now so we are on an every-other-week schedule at the moment. And we are taking August off. 

Say hi to the ladies, hosted by my wonderfully talented friend, Barbara Chainey:

When we talk about the weather, as we are likely to do each time, I have my phone handy so I can convert Celsius to Fahrenheit. Somehow, when they complain about it being 32 I don't get it until I realize that's 90 to me. I love their accents and the fun words we don't use, like "car park" and "fortnight". We share what we're doing quilt-wise and life-wise. Today I saw a Western Sun quilt in the quilting phase, that was the class I taught for them in February. It is lovely and fun to see them getting made.

It can be a small world.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

Recent Finishes

An unusual FRIDAY edition of My Joyful Journey.  I have gotten a lot of machine quilting done in recent months as I took a break from piecing all the time so I thought I would share. 

Patriotic Pineapples, a Quilt of Valor for my husband, that has been in the making for many years:

Detail of fan quilting, done by machine:

The  second Quilt of Valor is for a friend of my husband. There is more information about this quilt in a blog I wrote as I was piecing it: Red, White and Blue  I call it Broad Stripes and Bright Stars:

Detail shot: 

With these done, I jumped on Janet's Happy Village, a top I got from my friend's estate sale and have written about here: Quilters Estate Liquidation Sale  A wonky size, 45" x 76", I am working on finding it the right new home. The panel says HOME IS WHERE YOUR STORY BEGINS. I think Janet would be pleased to see this finished: 

This is the back--a Hoffman panel I didn't know what to do with but loved. I couldn't cut it so I enlarged the quilt top and added a border to this back to make them fit together:

I was only when I saw this PHOTO, just the other day, that I realized this is actually TWO panels. If I had  seen that months ago, I would have cut it in half and used them for different quilts:

Another quilt I finished, I'm not prepared to show in full just yet but here it is waiting for the binding to be sewn in place. It is my COVID quilt--aren't we all making one of those?

Another thing that keeps me busy is teaching a ZOOM class to 14 quilters in England and Spain. Some are part of the "Thursdays at Three" one hour gathering where we talk quilting and life with each other. Western Sun was my backdrop and I got talked into teaching it to them. About half of them are hand piecing the blocks so I feel sure they won't be making theirs king size like mine is. Here is their efforts after the first 3 hour class:

Since I am teaching both Color My World and Western Sun locally this Saturday, I had to take them off the design wall. It really bothers me to have an empty design wall, like maybe my brain is empty too, so I stuck up the various projects I am either working on or have finished--so I have happy things to greet me when I walk in the studio:

That's all that's new for now. Back to our regularly scheduled posts, Sundays and Wednesdays.

Let's quilt. 

Barbara

First Quilt of Valor

 This has been in the planning stage for several years, as quilters are likely to do. Finally finished, this will be presented to a Marine Corps friend of ours. He knows nothing about it and I think his wife may only suspect. I named this quilt Broad Stripes and Bright Stars. The Top before quilting:

                             

After quilting and binding:

The back, which only sort of shows the quilting designs:

Quilting Details:

One side of the Flying Geese quilted, showing how necessary additional quilting is on the white parts:

Afternoon sun just adds something special. The binding is attached and ready to be stitched down by hand:

I usually err on the side to too little quilting. As I was binding this, I realized I needed to add another row of quilting between the pieced border and the red border. Before the additional line:

After the additional line. I do think it's better. Next time, I will quilt those inner and outer lines before doing the curvy vines between them--it will define the space to quilt the curvy lines in and I won't have to go back and add more quilting after I thought I was done:

The pattern appeared in Easy Quilts magazine, Spring 2019, and was called Sail On, designed by Eileen Fowler. I added the pieced Flying Geese borders. The original quilt design  had no border. 

Before I present this, I will wash it, using at least one Shout Color Catcher--most of the fabrics were not pre-washed. Wouldn't want a Red, Blue and Pink quilt.

Now to baste and quilt one more Quilt of Valor--also a surprise. This one for my husband. They will be presented together at an appropriate time when we can have a little ceremony. The back is pieced, the batting is selected, now to baste and quilt it. 

Patriotic Pineapple:

It's been a while since I have made quilts specifically to give away. I am enjoying this process.

Let's quilt.

Barbara 

Getting There

The Red, White and Blue Quilt of Valor is getting there--the middle is now done:

Now it is on to the flying geese border; papers are printed, fabrics are cut:

See the earlier posts about this project:

All Set

What Not To Do

In making the star points from "flip and sew" squares, I generated a bunch of 1.5" finished squares, white and red, and white and blue. So I decided to make a second one of these quilts, with 6" blocks, not 9". And I am making it the easy way. It will be good to have one of these to keep:

In between, I am doing the "Stay At Home Sampler" from Temecula Quilt Company--each day for the month of April, one 3" block is presented on Instagram and shared on the Facebook Page. They make good "leader/enders":
:

What are you working on? I hope it has you feeling creative and productive.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

What Not To Do

The other day I talked about the latest Quilt of Valor I am making: Red, White and Blue. I mentioned I had caused myself to have to do partial seams.

I was asked where the partial seams are in my complicated layout.

While it may be hard to see, the star rows do not go all the way across the quilt so I have to set the solid squares in, using partial seams. While not exceptionally difficult, it’s not as fast or easy as sewing straight rows is.

So, under “What Not To Do”: don’t take a simple design and make it really complicated. If I had used the original layout from the pattern, which I drew up in EQ8, it would have been so much easier to assemble this quilt in rows. Yes, there would be seams where all the star points come together but that would have been fine, she said, in hindsight. Keep it simple...

I drew this up while waiting to receive the pattern so was working from a photo. When I got the pattern, and studied it, I should have changed my plans, but no, I had to do it my way. Not very smart.  I am just going to chalk it up to “quilters quarantine” or “isewlation”.

My husband said “You over-thunk it”, and he is so right. I will get it done, then create and add the flying geese borders. The quilting will be fun—I have lots of time to think about that while making this top.

Let’s quilt.

Barbara

Tidying Up

I did spend a little time clearing away the clutter in my studio and found:

The comfy chair

The rocking chair--and the top of this old table

 Now I will make a few more masks:

And quilt these 3 little quilts I unearthed:

I am still searching for the perfect idea for a Quilt of Valor, using the red, white and blue fabrics from Patriotic Pineapples. It might be a string quilt:

From Pinterest

 It might be Standing Strong, a design created for Quilts of Valor--instructions can be found at shabbyfabrics.com:

Or it might be this string quilt, Blended Scraps Block, in red, white and blue, from She Can Quilt.:

Making this decision is holding me up so I will decide and start before the next blog post. Stay tuned...

Let's quilt.

Barbara