It is Veteran’s Day weekend, time to honor our living veterans and thank them for their service. One of the ways I do this is by participating in the Quilts of Valor organization. In October, I went to a retreat and got a little farther on my Quilt of Valor that I started last February. I had to set it aside while I was covered up in the hurricane project quilts. With Veteran’s Day tomorrow, it is a good time to pull it back out and get a little farther on it. Plus, I have some QOV news to share. So, let me review what I did last February, and where it stands now as I’ve had a few new readers want to see the block from the beginning. At the February retreat, I used some jelly roll strips to make four patches.
I had a layer cake in patriotic colors, so I cut 10-inch backgrounds to pair up. Using Moda Cake Mix papers set #3, I made a plethora of HSTs in an amazingly short amount of time.
These are so easy and fast with the papers, once you cut apart the HSTs, there is no trimming.
Perfect HSTs, just a quick pop of the paper and a press, and they are done.
I paired up red ones and blue ones into flying geese.
Then I decided to make those into square in a square elements for the center. The four patches were placed with the blue to the center and red larger squares.
For the ones with blue large squares, I put the red to the center on the four patches.
I kept going until I had 12 blocks done.
Then I set this project aside while I worked on hurricane quilts for the next several months. For the recent retreat, I cut sashing strips and took along another print for borders.
Each block got one strip on the side and one across the top.
Then the blocks went onto the design wall, and this was the final placement.
I sewed them together, and added the left and bottom border, completing the sashing.
Looking at the flag print, I really didn’t like it all that much with the rest of the top, so I brought it home without the final border. At home, I had a nice cream color print with a red star that I liked much better. Final borders were added with this print to bring it up to the right size.
The scale of the red/cream matches the blue star sashing and I just thought it looked much more cohesive.
Here’s the other corner.
So, finally the top is done and meets the Quilt of Valor size requirements. I loaded it on the longarm for quilting. I’ll have that for you soon.
Looking for a holiday romance read? A new paperback book that came out in October features a Quilt of Valor. It is Wrapped Up in Christmas (affiliate link) by Janice Lynn and published by Hallmark. There is a forward in the book dedicated to Quilts of Valor, a free QOV pattern, and a recipe too. If it sells well, Hallmark may be making it into a movie for the 2020 holiday season. Hallmark is interested in helping us to spread the word about Quilts of Valor, so please take a look.
Amazon Prime is a great way to get deals on Try Amazon Prime on the 30-Day Free Trial, then take advantage of the yearly renewal at just $119. That’s less than $10 a month for the Prime Video Streaming service, free shipping on all purchases with no minimum, borrow Kindle books, plus music streaming too!
What are you working on?
From My Carolina Home 
I love your QOV! I am very involved with our local chapter, Myrtle Beach Shorebirds. We are presenting 30 QOV’s to local veterans this Tuesday. So many deserving men and women are waiting for quilts! We have 500 on our waitlist. It is wonderful of you to get the word out about this great cause!
Pat, please get in touch with me (rpsppb@aol.com) & I’ll try to send you some QOVs as the winter goes along.
Beautiful looking quilt. I need to look into those papers-that would be so much easier for me-is this the one the most used size?
A beautiful QOV piece, Carole. I have always done my sashing using short sides and long rows; I love that your method allows you to get more sewing done, and have a better feel for the final look as you move things around. I am going to try that!
I clicked through and got that book for my Kindle. 🙂 It sounds like a sweet story to read. Thank you for mentioning it. Your QOV is looking wonderful. Working on it sounds like a great way to enjoy this weekend.
Beautiful quilt. I enjoy paper piecing, but not the removing of the paper. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for doing this. My husband is a frequent patient at the Veteran’s Hospital in Illinois and it is quite humbling to see all these people and knowing that everyone in this building has been in a foreign war. Your quilts mean the world to these men and women that a complete stranger would take the time and effort to give them these treasures.
Thanks again,
Hello Carole, This is a fantastic quilt for the Quilts of Valor! I just recently finished trimming a whole bunch of “extra” HST that I had. It took me two days to get them all trimmed down. LOL. But now they are ready to use in a quilt project that needs two and a half inch half square triangles. Right now I am trying to make purses for my two Nieces. I realized last night in bed while watching a movie that I sewed the two sides together wrong …at least I only did one side yesterday! LOL. It is actually fun to change from making quilts to something entirely different once in awhile! I look forward to seeing your QOV quilt all quilted and finished. Have a fabulous day!!!
That is a great design, Carole! I really like how you pulled all the blocks together with the sashing and border fabric, too. Thanks for the book recommendation – I’ll check it out!
I have 2 sides to sew on my last Stitch it and Gift It gift, then I need to embroider the name on it…luckily all done by machine!! I’ll make it before “my” day on Thursday. I’m looking forward to the 1-hour a week mystery QAL…the fabrics I chose are just hanging out, looking at me and begging me to start! It feels so good to get back into sewing again. Off to check out the book!
What a spectacular QOV, Carole! Thank you so much for sharing it with us! I’ve been involved with QOV almost since its very beginning & find it such a rewarding experience. Too bad none of my offerings are as gorgeous as this one is… LOL! Oh, well, it’s the thought that counts, right? I also sash my blocks the way you did — think I “learned” it from Marianne Fons a while back. I think it’s not only easier but gives a more uniform row (if that makes sense). I’ve never tried these papers but think I will & maybe give a duplicate to this a whirl… is that OK? Have a super Sunday! Once again, thanks for sharing this gem with us!
I am a new quilter and would love to make a quilt of valor I did purchase the book from amazon hopefully there will be enough interest that Hallmark will make into a movie :-)))
Your QOV is beautiful; I adore red, white and blue quilts! I’m a huge fun of amazon prime…we’ve been members for years!! 🙂
That is one of the prettiest QOV! I love the block! We love Amazon Prime. Being in the country it is so worth the $ to have the delivery to there house – and we love the Prime for movies!
Hugs
You have made a beautiful Quilt of Valour, it will be treasured. I am working on an Aussie Hero quilt today with poppies.
You always do such a nice job on your QOV. I know how much the quilts are appreciated by the recipients. Those papers make for quick and accurate sewing.
What a great QOV! I made my first one this year and have a Charlotte contact, we just need to meet up. I found a pattern that will make a great red, white, and blue scrap quilt that I can use as a leader and ender project–probably will start that one in the new year.
I love the QOV quilt, simple but very pretty
Great result with the red, white and blue. This has turned into a great quilt..