Design Wall Monday

I've got the Patriotic Cheerful quilt top done, sort of...

Pardon the really terrible picture. It's been raining for quite some time and I could not get a decent picture. :-(

This is supposed to have a small border around it that is the same as the background fabric, but I'm not sure that I want to include it. I've decided to let this up on the wall for a little while and then make my decision. 

I was asked in a few e-mails about using this for a Quilt of Valor. The main concern was that the design was not patriotic enough (stars, etc.). I answered those e-mails personally, but thought that I would also answer here in case anyone else had concerns too.

I've been making QOVs for a number of years now and most of them have stars or something else that looks more patriotic. A couple of years ago I decided to incorporate a some "generic" designs too after a recipient asked if I had a quilt that did not include stars. He just did not like them. Fortunately, I did have a rail fence quilt and I swapped that out with the one he had received. 

I was not offended at all. Instead, I was very happy because had he not asked, I'm sure that the quilt he received would be sitting in a closest somewhere or even for sale at Goodwill. 

After that incident, I always have a variety of quilts available and am happy to swap out one for another if the recipient wants to do so. All the quilts are made using red, white (cream), and blue fabrics and many also include some gold fabric. I feel that no matter what the design, the fabrics I use make the quilts look patriotic. Plus, they always have a QOV label.

I've got a very busy couple of weeks coming up and am not sure that I'll have pictures of all the quilts before they are presented at the Veterans Day program at school. If not, I'll be sure to get pictures at the program and post them.

What are you working on today?

Check out the quilters' eye candy at 

Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

and

Beth's Monday Making 

It's Sew Time!

My Bernina 180 has been at the spa for a little while and I've been using my back-up/travel machine (Bernina 135). I don't mind using the 135, but it sure is nice to have my 180 back!

I've had this machine for 20 years (Jack bought it for me right before we got married), and I've loved every minute of sewing with it. Yes, I've used many of the more recent machines that have a lot of wonderful features like built-in scissors, dual feed, a really big throat space, etc., but I still like this machine. 

When I picked it up from the shop, Mike (the repairman) told me that this machine has more stitches recorded than any machine he's ever serviced. 😮 He said that he was impressed with the stitch count and surprised that very few of those stitches are from embroidery. Yep! I like to sew.  😃

I'm working on a couple of class samples and t-shirt quilts, but decided to throw in a couple more Quilt of Valor projects too. (You know, because I have nothing else to do. lol) 

Back in May, I made this quilt for a class. (For some reason I don't have a picture of the completed quilt!)

The pattern is Cheerful by Andy Knowlton of A Bright Corner. For the class, I made step by step samples and I used red, cream, and blue fabrics with the intention of making a QOV from it. I just stumbled upon the container with the samples and decided to finish it. Here's what I have so far. 

Everything has been cut and is ready to make the rest of the blocks. I even have all the sashing and cornerstones cut. This will be so easy to chain piece and complete! WooHoo! Hopefully I'll have a completed top by tomorrow evening.

What are you working on this weekend?

I hope it's fun and relaxing for you!

Design Wall Monday - a day late

I wanted to leave my Memorial Day post up all day yesterday so I'm a day late with my Design Wall Monday post.

I'm working on a number of projects right now, but this is what's on my wall at the moment. The pattern is Cheerful by Andy Knowlton of A Bright Corner

Although the background fabric looks black, it really isn't. It's a charcoal color that I'm sure will show up better when I get a picture outside. The same is true for the other fabrics as well. 

The blocks are all made and I just tossed the background sashing and cornerstones up so I could make a decision on the block placement. I was struggling with doing this when I didn't have the sashing up and my guess is that it's just a mental block. My goal is to start sewing the rows later today. I'm making the throw size, which measures approx. 50" x 66", so this should go together quickly from this point on. 

I'm working on a number of other projects, including a couple of custom order quilts and some Quilt of Valor quilts. (I'm almost always working on QOV quilts because they make great leader/ender projects and I always need a lot for donations.)

I was honored to present a QOV to a local veteran this past Sunday. My friend Eileen made the quilt and she asked me to do the actual presentation. As always, it was very touching and I'll post pictures in the next couple of days.

What are you working on today?

Check out some quilting eye candy at

Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

and

Beth's Monday Making