I have been busy sewing a Quilt of Valor. Recently I was at my quilt guild and I found a box of donated fabrics. Like treasure waiting for me, there were four orphan blocks that are represented in the pattern by the nine patches above. Since some of the piecing was already done I thought I would take it further and design a quilt using these blocks. I also found solid red and blue fabrics in the box. These were used in the large half square triangles. I did have to purchase white fabric and I had the navy blue in my stash which I used for the cornerstones.
Using the measurements of the orphan blocks, I was able to design the rest of the quilt easily around them in EQ8. I am starting to really like this program because it takes the math out of the cutting equation. That makes quilting more fun for me.
You never know what you are going to get into when you work with blocks that you haven't pieced. These were stretched out a bit in the centers from being handled over time. I knew that once they were in the quilt and on the longarm, there would be some fullness that needed to be worked with. I did press them with steam and that helped a bit.
Here is a photo of the rows as I got everything sewn together. If you download this Free Pattern just be aware that even though the blocks are large, they can still be confusing with the angles. So pay attention when you sew the rows together. Looking at the picture versus the rows above and you can see I have some upside down. Glad I caught them so I didn't have to rip.
I did quilt this on my longarm using a continuous block pattern available in Pro Stitcher. I used a silver thread and it came out really nice.
The binding was sewn on by machine as this quilt will be donated and I wanted it to be very secure.
Here it is hanging outside my house. I had to rotate the picture so it didn't drag the ground. I love how simple this pattern came out. It took me a couple of days to piece and then an afternoon to quilt. So I think it would be really good for a beginner. The pattern will have all of the cutting and fabric requirements. I didn't include a lot of sewing instructions because you can easily follow the picture which is what I did. I just sewed the big pieces first and then worked down to the smaller units.
Are you ready to sew and donate a Quilt Of Valor? You can find a group local to you for donation by searching the Quilt Of Valor Foundation Website. I filmed a video showing the quilt being put together and the longarm quilting. Maybe it will inspire you to make one! I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work.
