Friday, January 18, 2013

January's Endeavor

I'd like to say I'm going to try and do one quilt top a month and complete ALL 12 quilts by year's end. That means piecing the backing, basting it, quilting, binding and possibly giving :)

I've definitely got the majority of my finished quilts from the Holidays loaded on the PC. Now I just need to share them with you!.....well maybe after I sew a bit more.

Also once I get the go ahead I have another pattern to review from Betz White that I know you guys are going to find really fun.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Stars & Banners Quilt: Crystal's Quilt

Almost exactly a year ago I started work on this pattern: Minick & Simpson's Stars and Banners
I didn't know it at the time, but this pattern was created for the Quilts of Valor group and is no longer in print or at least I can no longer find a place where you can buy it.

Aaron's send off

Ironically I intended this quilt to go to my brother Aaron, who some of you may recall serves on the Army Reserve and was deployed to Iraq for a full year.  When I found the pattern I never knew that it was made for Quilts of Valor but it's so very fitting for him and his family.


So it began as something I thought I could finish within a few months, nevermind that I was, at the time, almost 2 months pregnant.

Stars & Banners

Write out your combos and label

Or you can mark it this way

By the time I took this picture it was March.

What happens when you iron instead of press

But I "pressed" on.
Pressing from the back

And eventually I had all the stars pieced and pressed and laid them out.

Crystal's Stars & Banners quilt

But after April things had to be put on hold.  We had a nursery to finish, two rooms to fabricate in the basement and my ever expanding belly was starting to hinder me both mentally and physically.  So the quilt was put on hold and packed away.
Fast forward to November.  With a new baby waiting off to the sides and sometimes sitting on my lap to sew I dug out the quilt and sewed on the the top bunting.

Crystal's Stars & Banners quilt

Amid the jumble of still packed boxes of fabric and general sewing chaos in my new sewing room I had a quilt.

Crystal's Stars & Banners quilt

And it was awesome.
Crystal's Stars & Banners quilt
 I pieced my backing and basted the whole thing all in one day. It was now December.
But a quilt isn't a quilt until it's well, quilted and bound.

Crystal's Stars & Banners quilt
Crystal's Stars & Banners quilt
Crystal's Stars & Banners quilt
Crystal's Stars & Banners quilt


And then I washed,dried, and gently folded it up.  It was ready to give.
Finished! 2012

I didn't get a chance to get a "cool, stylish" shot of the finished quilt before I gave it away.  It was, afterall, Christmas Eve when I finished it, but my youngest sister Sarah managed to take this snap at its unveiling.

The Giving Away

I have a goal to make a quilt for every single person in my family.
It's ambitious, yes, but quilts are something you give to those you love the most.

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