Making Backings for Quilts of Valor

There was a national sewing day for Quilts of Valor a couple of weeks ago. I didn't have a current QOV project going, and I didn't want to start a new one (very unusual for me!) Instead, I decided to focus on making backings for some Quilts of Valor tops and other red, white & blue quilt tops.

When I checked the quilt closet, I found six different RWB tops. There are three definite QOVs, and the other three I might keep for now. They are all throw-sized tops, around 60" x 80". My goal was to come up with backings for every top. I had a bin of larger yardages of RWB fabrics which had been set aside to become quilt backs. I started with single fabric backs, then combined the leftovers to make pieced backs. 

The first one was the easiest. It is a wide backing fabric from the line "Saltbox Village" by Country Essentials for Connecting Threads, and I bought it in 2013. It will be the back for my version of Allietare, Bonnie Hunter's 2015 mystery, now available as a digital pattern.

Allietare, top finished 2/3/2016
67" x 81"

Up next is my Woven Squares quilt top, made in May/June 2019. This quilt is my version of a pattern from Fons and Porter's Easy Quilts magazine, Winter 2016

Woven Squares, top finished 6/6/2019
59.25" x 75.25"

I used another fabric from Connecting Threads for the back. It is "Patriotic Patchwork" from the "Liberty for All" line, made in 2015.

The last of the single-fabric backs was for my Musical Stars quilt. I made this top in 2018, using a block pattern called "Double Delight Star" by Lynne Hagmeier of Kansas Troubles Quilters. Her pattern was originally shared as part of the 2017 Moda Blockheads QAL.

Musical Stars, top finished 8/15/2018
59.5" x 76.5"

For the back, I used yet another Connecting Threads fabric. This one is "Cartouche" from the line "Symphony in Blues" by Jenni Calo, 2014. There is one long vertical seam running through my quilt back, but I got the pattern to match up so well that it is practically invisible!

At that point I had run out of big enough pieces to make whole backs. It was time to start piecing together the leftovers. First up was my Meadow Mystery quilt. This is my variation of the mystery pattern designed by Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs.

Meadow Mystery, top finished 3/12/2017
60" x 84"

The back for this quilt was made from pieces of the leftover "Patriotic Patchwork" print plus two other Connecting Threads fabrics. The light blue is "Bunting" from the "Liberty for All" line, 2015, and the red/white print is from the "Rhapsody of Reds" line, 2014. The quilt back is more symmetrical than what you see here--the left side is cut off by a doorway.

The final quilt back to be made is for one of the mysteries by Alycia of Alycia Quilts. This was Mystery #A-11, later named "Under the Starry Sky." If you aren't familiar with Alycia's QOV mysteries, you should definitely check them out. She just listed the fabric requirements for #A-12 "Dakota Inspired" a couple days ago. Get more info HERE.

Alycia's Mystery A-11, top finished 11/22/2020
60.75" x 81.75"

Like the last back, this one was pieced from multiple fabrics. The flag print was given to me; it is by Fabri-Quilt. Again, the left side is cut off by the doorway. The flag fabric is actually the same width on both sides of this back.

I have only one more RWB quilt top that needs a back. It is another of Alycia's mysteries, this was her Winter Quilt-Along from November and December of 2019.

Alycia's Winter QAL, top finished 12/24/2019
60.5" x 72.5"

My leftover pieces are running low. I might have to go back to the stash for some more options, or else do more piecing in the back for this quilt. That's feeling like a project for another time. I think five finished quilt backs is very good for this week!

Linking up with:
Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA