What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Last week, during Virtual Retreat Holiday Edition, I worked on the Quilt of Valor top. I needed to get this done so I could move on to the quilting. When we left off, I had the basic idea for the design, fabric choices made and most of the stripe blocks made.

I made the rest of the stripe blocks, then sewed together the ones that would be placed below the panel. I needed to sew a border onto the panel to make it large enough for the blocks below to fit. Then I added the blocks to the left side ...

Lots of piddling around was done yesterday, starting with this ornament that I began at the November guild meeting workshop, and didn’t finish. These are easier than they look. Our presenter had done the fabric fusing for us, and cut the basic square shapes. All we had to do was the folding, cutting and gluing.

Next was to glue the pieced together at the sides, making sure all the bits were facing the same way to make the colors alternate.

Pull the bottoms together and begin gluing them. I found gluing half at a time worked well.

Then, glue ...

Last week I needed to get busy on two Quilts of Valor. This one was loaded onto the longarm, but I didn’t get it done until midweek. I really like the way the piecer, Judy, did the borders around the panel, with pinwheel blocks and small eagles creating a frame.

I quilted it with my favorite pantograph for QOVs, a star and swirl design called Blue Star from Urban Elementz.

I chose a light blue Glide thread for the top, and a matching color Bottom Line in the bobbin. I thought the pale blue would blend well on the ...

Saturday, the Fiber Fair was held at Beginnings Quilt Shop and we set up a large booth space with quilts, quilted table toppers and runners, embroidered towels, and small items. The spectacular quilt from Pam B was on display with a placard stating that proceeds would be sent to Interfaith Assistance Ministry. Unfortunately, it did not sell. So, I am in the process of identifying a way to get it sold or raffled for the benefit of hurricane victims.

I sold a few things, but the wine inspired runners and placemats are all still available. If you are interested let ...

A busy week is behind me, with three full days of retreat then a lunch meeting on Friday that was more fun than work. I also had displays to set up at the library Friday morning, so I had to just drop things in the sewing room and put off cleaning it up until Saturday. I’ll talk about retreat this week, after I get all those photos processed and have time to write about it. But for today, as always, we have a variety of subjects to chat about. So get your cuppa, and settle in.

As I was ...

There are two veterans in our club and I'm going to propose a QOV award for them. 

When we left off the Quilt of Valor, I was about halfway finished. Continuing on, I finished the white in the flag, quilting wavy lines like a waving flag. Then I changed the thread color to red, and quilted the red stripes in the same way.

Advancing the quilt down, I outlined the lower wide stripes, and began quilting feathers going up in the red.

Moving the quilt down again, I did the red stripes along the bottom. Note that there are seams in the colors, but I ignored those and treated the stripe as one unit.

I rolled the ...

This quilt is for a special friend, a really interesting guy. When his wife told me she was making it, I actually begged her to let me quilt it. I said I would do a nice stars and loop pantograph on it, one I use for most Quilts of Valor that I quilt. When she let me have it, I was excited to be a part of this tribute.

The pattern she used is by Needle in a Haystack called Stars and Stripes.

I loaded the quilt, and began auditioning thread colors.

But the more I looked at it, I ...

It has been such an interesting week for projects, with a lot of things in the works. I’ve been working on a Quilt of Valor on the frame, my Japanese art quilt in my chair doing handwork, and crafting in between. We’ve had wildlife visits, too. I’ve been cooking up a storm testing recipes for the upcoming Mountain State Fair, so My Sweet Babboo has been eating pretty well. The highlight of the week was a visit by a pretty female hummingbird, perhaps the mate of the male I was able to photograph recently. It was a ...

Are you looking for a free pattern for Quilts of Valor? Download one for a panel quilt and one for a bench pillow!

Fired Up! Quilt 1

Hi, there! I went to Brazil to visit my family and returned to a pile of work! Now that I dug myself out from under that pile, I have a bunch of free patterns to post here and decided that the ones I designed for Fired Up!, a collection by Blank Quilting, will be featured first. The collection is already in stores, so get the fabrics and start sewing.

Quilt 1 measures 44 ...

The lovely temperatures last week made quilting a joy with the windows open. A gentle breeze filtered through the open windows bringing fresh air in the basement. I was able to correct the tension issues, and quilting went fairly smoothly after that.

I worked on it off and on through the week. It was nice to advance to the bottom, knowing I was getting close to done.

The final rows of pantograph went quickly. This one is Fascination from Urban Elementz.

When the quilting was done, I removed it from the frame and trimmed it. The thread color did well ...

Sometimes our local chapter of Quilts of Valor receives a quilt from someone outside the organization that just doesn’t meet the standard for our veterans. This one was such a dilemma, as it had some gorgeous blocks, but it had significant issues. We loved the quilt idea, the workmanship of the embroidery and the effort of the quilter, but it couldn’t be awarded as it was. Our veterans deserve only our very best.

The embroidery was beautiful, just look at the eagle block. But it has significant excess fabric around the motif, and no quilting.

The pretty dove ...

Download these Red White and Blue free quilt patterns now and make projects that will be loved for years to come!

Anthem Quilt 2

I am loving the fabrics in the Anthem collection by Blank Quilting! Think of all the projects you can make with them, from quilts to clothes and accessories for the home. I tried to capture all their glory in two designs which you can download now and get ready as the fabrics will be shipping to stores in a couple of weeks. Yeah!

Quilt 2 above showcases the fabrics in easy heart blocks with a mix ...

While most Quilts of Valor recipients prefer a patriotic theme color scheme, there are some that would rather have one that is more suited to their decor. Some also have issues with post traumatic stress where a patriotic theme would be too painful to see everyday. With that in mind, we like to have a few Quilts of Valor in the closet to award that are more everyday in colors. This particular quilt top was made by a lady in Oklahoma, specifically for a veteran who lives here. The top is all batik fabrics. The backing is a thin polyester ...

A lovely Quilt of Valor was given to me to quilt, and I finished the work on it over the weekend. The design is simple, basically a churn dash with a star center. For each block, you’d make four flying geese units, then place them with some half square triangles, additional bars, and a solid center square. Then the quilt top was sashed to bring it up to the minimum size for a Quilt of Valor.

The backing was a wide back, my favorite to use, but there was a minor problem. The corners were clipped, presumably to keep ...

Our local Quilts of Valor chapter has been quieter than usual this past year. There have only been a few presentations in private ceremonies, and a couple of outdoor ones for just three or four veterans. Because the group was unable to do the large ceremony for military nurses we planned for last November, we have a bit of a stockpile of quilts. So it has been a while since I was asked to do one. When I got this one, I was delighted to be able to contribute again. This was pieced by a friend, and she does nice ...

She bought the pattern so her Northwest Quilters Quilts of Valor volunteer group could make it.  

Actually, 91 year old Joy Nichols pieced the quilt, and Jane Ratcliff longarm quilted the quilt.

I adore their red, white and blue version and I am so, so honored they chose my Plantation Stars pattern to give to a ...

When you give a quilt, you’re giving so much more than a simple present. A quilt is a gift of time, a gift of patience, a gift straight from the heart with love in every stitch! There are so many wonderful charitable organizations that welcome handmade quilts with open arms. If you’re looking for an opportunity to give love, we’re here to help you find a place to send your beautiful quilts, fabric, supplies, and donations. Thank you so much for everything you do! Together we can change the world one stitch at a time.

How We ...