Out of Sync

 

    When this fabric bundle arrived from Jaftex, I had to stop and think about the date.  I don't mean the number associated with that day.  It took a minute for the month and current season to register in my brain.  Working from home and living in the sunshine state can sometimes make you forget exactly what time of year it is.   

    This is the Stars and Stripes Forever group from Studio e.  It was delivered about 10 days AFTER the 4th of July.  Taking a page from the movie Groundhogs Day, I have spent the last week and a half "celebrating" the 4th of July. 

   

    Choosing a pattern wasn't difficult.  I have one in my files that I used for a Quilts of Valor project years ago.  The pattern makes a nice large quilt with a generous border and easy to piece blocks. I have never published the pattern, because it is SO easy.  After I enjoyed making this quilt, I think I will reconsider.  You should be able to have fun making this without the math calculations!

    The blocks go together super quick.  One other secret is that these blocks can easily be squared up to any size after you assemble them.  That was particularly helpful in the plan for the first quilt made from this pattern.  Those blocks were assembled by a few dozen of my oldest daughters friends.  Most of them had no sewing experience, but they wanted to make a quilt to support Quilts of Valor.  Once the blocks were returned to me, I trimmed them all to a uniform size.  I made all the blocks for this quilt, so the variations were minimal.  You don't have to square them up, but you can without changing the look of the pattern.

    Once the blocks were complete, it only took an afternoon to assemble the blocks into the quilt top and add the border.  Then it was ready for the longarm.  I chose a curved pattern for the quilting.  Stars just seemed like a obvious of a choice and I wanted something a little different.  

    I was thrilled with the speed of the progress on this project.... until I got to the binding.  Have you ever worked on a binding so long that you are absolutely sure the quilt has developed six or more sides?

     This binding is done by machine, but the quilt is large so it required nine binding strips sewn together end-to-end on a 45 degree angle.  Nine red and nine navy.  Then those were sewn together along the length.  The seam was pressed open and then all 360 inches of sew was pressed a second time to press it to one side.  Then the whole long length was pressed in half.  Once the binding was prepared it was stitched to the back of the quilt and pressed yet again to make sure that I was working with the full extension of the binding fabric.  Then I folded it over the raw edge and pinned it in place on the front of the quilt, mitering the corners.  Securing it in place required stitching around the entire quilt one more time on that little red flange to hold the binding in place.  Done and done.

    Now for some fun!  Time to take the style shots of the finished quilt.  This photo is of the quilt on the bed in our guest room.  It is nice having an "empty nest" where I can stage shots in our extra bedrooms without disturbing anyone.  I have also been known to bother the neighbors to get a good shot.  Knock, knock. "Can I borrow your front porch to take a photo of this quilt?"  

    Taking the photos sometimes feels a bit like cheating.  The quilt is twin size.  I have displayed it sideways on a king size bed.  I don't want to ruin the "magic" but I didn't make those pillows either.  The red/white/blue ones are just fabric from the Stars and Stripes Forever line wrapped and pinned around some Christmas pillows.  The larger red one has a giant jingle bell on the back!  A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

    One last item.  The Stars and Stripes Forever fabric group comes with two panels.  One is an American flag print and the other is this pennant design.  I took the no-sew approach to the pennant panel and fused Steam-a-Seam2 to the back of the triangles. Once they were fused, I rough cut them out and pressed the fabric onto a piece of cardstock.  Then I trimmed each one into the pennant shape.  The printed shape has an extension of about 1/2" at the top.  I placed the cardstock even with that line.  It gave me enough fabric to fold over the top and secure a length of ribbon using the Steam-a-Seam2 that was already on the fabric.  By adding a ribbon to each triangle, I can tie them together in groups to make the length I need.

    Here is a photo of a few of the finished pennants in my kitchen.  That bottom shelf usually holds floral print coffee mugs, but they clashed with the red/white/blue theme.  

    When I tie all seventeen of the pennants together I will have enough to decorate the pergola on our deck!  I might just do that.  Hang them up, toss the quilt over the table and set the scene for the 4th of July.  The neighbors won't blink an eye.  Oh... neighbors.... I wonder if the pennants would be long enough to stretch across Dan an Kristen's new pool?  We could stage an Olympic swimming shot!