Quilt of Valor

Yesterday, I finished the binding on the QOV that I started this Spring.  Today I washed it and was so glad that I used the "Dye Catchers" in the wash.  To be safe, I used (3) and they all came out a bright pink.

Red fabric has not always been kind to me.  Before I knew about Dye Catchers, I ruined a beautiful Bible Cover and my favorite denim purse with a beautiful embroidered block on the front.  Both pieces had a "running red" lining, which ran through to the front.

QOV July 2014

Quilting by Gertrude O'Neal  July 2014

What happened here?

My husband ventured into my sewing room and asked "What happened here"?  Oh, the clear spot.  I had to clear it off, so I could sew the rest of my flannel rag quilt.  I used up most of the scraps left over from a previous rag quilt.  I plan to take the quilt and remaining scraps to my sewing group tomorrow.  Hopefully, someone with the special scissors will volunteer to snip all the seams and wash it, prior to being donated. 

"The Clear Spot"

Rag Quilt prior to cutting & washing  (36" x40")

Design Wall Monday

Last Wednesday, I had my friend, Linda come over so she could cut some 2 1/2" strips on the AccuQuilt Die cutter.  The cutting was quick and we enjoyed the day, chatting.

The next day, I decided to cut out a quilt top using a recently purchased  6 1/2" Tumbler die.  I picked  several pieces out of my stash and in less than an hour, everything was cut and ready.  However, after an hour of placing different colors randomly across the bed, I discovered I wanted the colors to look orderly.  So, I went looking on the internet for ideas.  One was to use "Trip Around the World", which I liked but more planning would be involved and I wanted to get going on the quilt.  Then, I found this pattern...

Fall Tumbler Quilt Top  48" x 65"

I'm very happy with how it turned out.  However, I quickly discovered that the pattern pieces can easily be turned around and sewn before realizing that the colors will not match up with the pattern.  I have a nice little pile of tumblers that were sewn in the opposite direction.  These can be used in another scrappy quilt, after I unsew them all.  LOL

Be sure to check out the designs of other quilters at:  Patchwork Times.com

Design Wall Monday

Just finished the top a few minutes ago.  I had a small piece of Jinny Beyer fabric, which I cut up into 1.75" strips for the inner border. I'm happy with how the borders turned out.  The top will finish at 40" x 60", so the back will not need to be pieced.  This will be donated to Project Linus.  This was a unique way to use up scraps.

DWM 07212014

   Be sure to visit patchworktimes.com to see what
   is being created by many other quilters....

TVQA Assembly Day 2014

Last Saturday, over 500 quilters gathered for our annual Assembly Day of Quilt Guilds. Lots of fabric vendors from around middle Tennessee arrived to entice us with all the latest fabric lines. This is always a favorite Saturday each summer that we look forward to attending. We had two speakers.

Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilting was our Guest Speaker in the morning. Check out her website at: 

 Missouri Quilt Co

I have spent the morning, viewing several different tutorials that she presented to us on Saturday.

Her husband kindly held up each quilt for us to see and for photos. The presentation was fast paced, so I have enjoyed watching her “YouTube” tutorials this morning, trying to decide which one I want to make first. They are all so tempting.

Jim Gatling of Crazy Creative Life in Arkansas was our Guest Speaker in the afternoon.

Here is his website: http://jimgatling.wordpress.com/

Jim showed over 100 Quilt Tops where he had added fabrics, details, borders to the tops, putting new life back into them. Of course, he told many wonderful stories about the quilts and their makers and why they had given the quilt tops or blocks to him. Many of the tops shown on his website, were tops he had with him to show to us. Jim gave us many ideas as to what can be done to give spark to a group of blocks that do not go together. One group of blocks, he added circles to every block to create a common detail among them all. It worked beautifully.

Design Wall Monday

I finished the 4-patch rows and added a solid fabric in a "dogwood" or "wine" color depending on what color chart you find on-line.  Now to decide what narrow border to use.  I pre-cut several strips of lavender but now I'm not really liking that combination.  I found a dark blue with green and purple, which I think may look striking in a narrow border.  What is hanging on the wall is all I have and since this is a project to use up little bits and pieces of fabric stash, I don't plan to buy "just the right fabric".

Be sure to jump over to  Patchwork Times.com and check out all the Design Walls.

Design Wall Monday

Design Wall Monday

Several years ago, I won a huge stack of Australian Patchwork & Quilting magazines at my Guild's annual auction.  The quilt design I found was shown on pg. 112 of the July 2003 issue.  It is very simple using 4-patch blocks and strips.  Here is what I have pieced so far.  The design had 6 rows of 4-patch blocks and 5 strips of fabric for the quilt.  A narrow border was added and next a larger border.  

Be sure to stop by Judy's Blog  to see what others are creating.