National Quilt Day Part 2

I decided to piece the backing together in groups so this was group #1.

I then sewed on some Tumbler pieces from my UFO stash. Then added the small Disappearing Nine Patch quilt to that. This was group #2.

Group #3 came from a Nickel Square project from several years ago. To which I added more Tumblers.

Group #4 is a small quilt I made awhile back from my own design called Fractured Star. 

I don't have a big enough display board to show the final piece but I'm so happy to have finished in a day. It measures 65" by 75" at this point which is big enough for a couple of quilts.

What did you do for National Quilt Day?

National Quilting Day!!

It's National Quilting Day, I hear, so I've decided to take on a new challenge. The above photo is a partial view of one of  Mr. Cowboy's pastures. He loved the sky background with trees and some of the cows in the foreground. He asked if I could make a mini quilt of it.

OMG!!! He doesn't ask me for much usually so I was happy to try to do my spin on the photo.

I found some green fabrics to play around with and got started.

Here's what I have so far minus the trees and cows.  I'll probably work on it a bit more today.

 

Then it was on to my backing quest. Some of you may remember that my "Wacky" friend Molly challenged us to make our own backing instead of purchasing it. So I dug through my UFO blocks and small quilts and found four that will work as a new backing.

I will be sewing most of today to get these four small blocks and quilts into a big enough backing. Cross your fingers.

Mini Wednesday

I am revisiting our American Armed Forces.

You may remember this quilt, which won first place ribbons at our county & state fair a few years ago.

 

I realize it's a bit hard to see, but in the four corners below the flag are the blocks I did back then: Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. This time I'm adding the Coast Guard block as I will be making the rest again. Mind you, this is my interpretation of each block and I am happy to show how I go about developing each block.

I'll also add a tiny bit of history (trivia) this time.

 

The Coast Guard officially began August 4, 1790 under President George Washington.

 The Guard serves as part of the Navy Department. 

Here's a look at the finished block before it gets added to the quilt I'm planning.

This is the design I'm using. I've enlarged it 135% of the one from clip-art. After taping it all together, I've outlined all the parts in Sharpie black.....the better to see it from the light-box.

I chose to do the Auxiliary emblem which is found on the more modern seals while a lighthouse, an eagle and the scales of justice, just to name a few, have also appeared on other emblems.

 

I'm using the black Sharpie to do small lines. It's easy to stitch over this later.

The Coast Guard carries out three roles.

1. Maritime safety
2. Maritime security
3. Maritime stewardship

I've placed the paper design on the light-box and the fabric pieces on top of that for placement.

 

I love watching it all come together. I think it is important to take photos as often as possible (when I think about it). This acts as an extra eye on things.

 

The motto of the Coast Guard: Semper Paratus (Always Ready)

This emblem was adapted in December 1966.

Final measurement so far is 15 inches square. When all blocks are made then I'll come up with a decision of how I want to arrange them into a small quilt.

So, I Was Inspired...........

Warning....this post is photo heavy.
This is Design Wall Monday sponsored by Judy over at Patchwork Times. Make sure you pop in to see what others are up to.
So, I was inspired by a wonderful lady who took one of my landscaping classes. She had recently visited another country and loved one of the places of worship (the photo above is not what sparked her interest). That got me thinking about something I hadn't tried. So off I went to do research the different types of places to worship and OMG there were so many ideas my head nearly exploded. I started sketching from clipart ideas, then filled that in with crayons and tiny scraps of fabric.
As you know, I love taking pics of my progress because 1. it keeps me on track, somewhat 2. I can easily see what does and doesn't work & 3. I love sharing with all my blogger friends. With that said, here's how the above block developed:

The grayish roof only seems to work with a tiny black underlining.

Everything so far is worked out on my non-stick pressing sheet. Underneath each window I used a gray crayon to shadow then pressed to seal or melt the area. (BTW, I used a sheet of copy paper between the iron and crayon markings.....wouldn't want crayon on my iron...hehehehehe)

Too much forest background.

I added a bit of sky to break up all that greenery, then added a bush or two at the back of the building.

All the fabrics are from my stash. I just love digging for just the right pieces. It's amazing how many greens are in my stash. Have I mentioned that I am in love with green. I have to make myself turn away from that color when purchasing fabric.....LOL....it's not easy.

I absolutely love this brick type fabric here. It was hard to cut into but I closed my eyes and did it.

I needed a similar color for the tower so off to the stash I went. I must say, digging through the piles and piles of fabric is therapeutic. Who else can relate to what I'm talking about?? I feel comforted in all that fabric. The colors, the smell, the feel of it, the...... oh, ah, sorry. Now where was I?

Add some windows to the mix.

This block is looking a bit naked. I am going for a church on a grassy hill but it's not quite there.

 Adding more of a rocky area underneath the church adds that illusion of up on a hill but it needs more.

A row of bushes evens it all out!! This is my favorite block so far.

Can you believe, I forgot to take the beginning pics.....sorry!!!!

I'm still using green whenever I can. This ties the blocks together and I get rid of to use lots.

Mr. Cowboy saw the tree and said that it was just too tall and overpowering. 

He was right! This one is much better.

Well, that's all for now. I'm planning on making 9 to 12 blocks but that may change.

So far each block is 12" square but I may trim them to a smaller measurement later.

Sneak Peek Revealed

This past November I posted about a project that is due in February. I mentioned a Hereford Bull we named Curly. Above is the finished top measuring 72" by 98."
As always, I had a blast making each block. I decided to title it "Way Back Then" because most of the blocks depicted, my mom told me about. This is from my family's history. Below are close-ups of the blocks.

Now to get it quilted in a timely manner......sigh.....cross your fingers everyone!!!