Quilt of Valor

I thought I would write a quick post while I have a few minutes to show what I've been doing the last couple of weeks.  I'm sure most of you have heard of the foundation, Quilts of Valor.  If you haven't, this is a wonderful organization whose mission is to "cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor."

While deciding what to purge out of my fabric closet, I thought I would do something even better than just donating a box or two of fabric this year.  Like most quilters, I tend to hoard collect fabric!  I thought what better way to use fabric I no longer want than to actually MAKE a quilt to donate.  By creating a quilt to make someone feel comforted and happy, I would also get the satisfaction of actually making something quickly and feel like I got in some quality sewing time.  I did some searching to see which organizations are accepting quilts and was overwhelmed to find so many wonderful groups.

Based on the style of fabrics I have on hand, I chose to make something for an adult.  I had read articles about Quilts of Valor in the past but decided to do additional research.  After reading the info on their website and seeing what a huge impact they have had, I chose to do a Quilt of Valor in the traditional red, white and blue colors.  There is a set of guidelines that gives the basic requirements for donating a quilt.  According to their website, they have donated 115,900 quilts to date!  I think that is absolutely amazing!

This is a double Irish chain and I did a simple border on two sides to get the quilt to the required dimensions.  It went together very quickly and I got tremendous satisfaction from making it.  I will eventually quilt it in the upcoming months.  I hope to make more quilts to donate in down time when I need to "use up fabric!". 

I  put this little Easter basket quilt together the other day.  It was fast and easy to do and again, gratifying to see something finished so quickly.  And I cut into some gorgeous unused florals, even better!  

And finally, I made a bed skirt to coordinate with the Ocean Waves quilt I made for our bed.  I wound up using fabric I had on hand that I originally had bought for a quilt backing.  It worked out perfectly and once again, I used something out of my closet!  Yay!

I know, I know, there are some of you wondering where all the vintage floral pillows went!  And why haven't I made the new pillows out of the florals I showed you?  Well. . . . after I put the new bed skirt and quilt on the bed and saw how well it all tied with the existing floral area rug, I thought I would try living with it like this for awhile.  I am kind of liking this new de-pillowed, clean, calm and serene look!  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE vintage florals and will always love vintage florals.  But I was getting tired of the time it takes every morning to make the bed with a dozen decorative pillows!  Not to mention where they all wind up every night when my husband unmakes the bed!  So I'm trying this for now, I still may add two smaller pillows in front of the shams, it seems to still need a little something, but overall, I am pretty happy with the new look.

Hope you all are getting lots of spring sewing done!  Until next time. . . .Happy Quilting!

Irish Blue

I thought I would squeeze a quick post in before the month of May is over!  I've been sidetracked this month, working on some old needlework projects and framing some pieces that have been sitting around for years in the closet, so I only managed to get one quilt finished, but I thought I'd do a little show and tell anyway.

I finished quilting this quilt earlier this month and thought you all would like to see more cables done with a walking foot.  This is a triple Irish Chain quilt I did a few years back in blue and white as a class sample for a workshop I taught.  I waited to quilt it until recently, it's been one of several in a stack needing to be quilted.  This quilt was also a tester for a border cable I've been wanting to try as well as a feathered wreath in the alternating white blocks.

I know it may be somewhat difficult to see the quilting in some of these pics, once again, a photographer I am not!  But I did try shining a lamp off to the side so the quilting would show a little more.  There is also a small cable in the inner white border.  The straight lines and all the cable quilting were done with a walking foot.

Don't you love this cable?  I had seen a similar one on an antique quilt long ago and then came across a drawing of it in a very old quilt magazine.  I photocopied it, enlarging it many times, and then reworked it to figure out the repeats so that it would fit on my border.  The inner cable is from a stencil I have, perfect for a narrow space.

This was another experiment, trying free-motioned feather wreaths.  I will admit, I am not a big free-motion quilter, although I have done some.  I love the look, but don't really enjoy doing it, mainly because I wind up with such a sore neck and back, I feel like I've been in a car accident!  And I do try very hard not to tense up, but it still requires a great amount of physical and mental energy, no matter how much I try to relax.  But that being said, I am thrilled with the results.

Here you can see how the border wraps the corner of the quilt, a bit different than many that you see.  And if you look closely at the inner white border, I just ran it into the seamline and didn't bother wrapping the corner on that one.  So it works either way, it's really a matter of taste and how much extra work you want to put into it.

And a quick note here, this quilt is really VERY white, but once again, due to lighting and amateur photography, you are seeing a dirty beige!  I'm sorry, but I figured in this case, you really needed to see the quilting more than all that whiteness.

For those of you that are curious, the batting I used is Hobb's 80/20, whoops, my mistake, it is Mountain Mist 100% cotton.  Normally I use Hobb's 80/20, but I wanted to try this one out for a change.  And I loved it, it's very thin and drapes well, very similar to an antique quilt.  The top thread I quilt with is Wonderfil's Invisafil, my absolute favorite thread for quilting.  It is very fine, similar to silk at 100 wt., but is a very soft polyester and very strong.  It sinks into the fabric, so you see the indentation, not the thread, and it works extremely well for scrappy quilts when you have a wide array of colors and prints, blending in almost perfectly on most colors.  I have used it now exclusively for many years and absolutely love it.  And in the bobbin I used Wonderfil's Konfetti 50 wt. Egyptian cotton, a very nice, low-lint cotton thread.

And finally, I want to put out a HUGE thank you and GIANT group hug to all of you that have commented or e-mailed me on the tutorial I posted on quilting cables with a walking foot!!!  I am BLOWN AWAY at the response I received, I truly had no idea it would reach so many of you!  It makes me happier than words can say to hear from you.  And to know there are like-minded women out there that feel the same way I do about traditional style quilting is just so reassuring to know that I am not alone in how I feel!  Let me just say that when I started this blog, it was a bit nerve wracking writing to "air" and not thinking that anyone would read or care what I had to say.  So I just have to let you all know that bloggers DO want your comments, especially me!  And I hope that all of you that took the time to write received my replies because I did respond to everyone.  If you aren't getting a response from me, please let me know!  I am still trying to figure this all out and sometimes it's by the seat of my pants.

Hope you continue to be inspired!  Until next time. . . .Happy Quilting!!!