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Thursday, February 18, 2021

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  



10 comments:

  1. Quite the collection of R/W/B! I really like your Alycia's 2017 mystery. (I hadn't found her back then.)

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  2. Wow! That is quite the collection of quilt backings and fabric big enough to make backings from. I'm impressed. I bet you're going to be busy quilting for a while! Great job prepping all those backs.

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  3. Wow! Beautiful tops and lovely backs!

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  4. Wow is right! What a wonderful collection of RWB tops and great organization of backs. How nice to have everything prepared when you're ready to quilt.

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  5. Gosh, these are all so beautiful! You just pulled all of these finished tops out of a closet? How many tops do you have in that closet? I have 3 of my own tops waiting in a closet to be quilted, in addition to the client quilt tops and charity tops from my guild. I would feel so much better if I could get caught up and finished with ALL of my UFOs and have ZERO tops waiting in that closet. Do you think that's an unrealistic goal? Now I'm curious about how many skeletons -- I mean unquilted tops! -- other quilters have hiding in their closets! :-). Great job coming up with all of those backings just from your stash, too, by the way.

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  6. I Love them all!! What a fun quilt show - and a back show!! Those back are awesome!! and they all will look so great!!!

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  7. Wow! Look at you go, Julie. Fabulous array of Patriotic quilts now paired with their backing and ready for quilting. Have fun with that!

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  8. That was a fun parade to watch. Such beautiful quilts, all of them, and some inspirations for the backs. Great job! ;^)

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  9. You've got some great red, white and blue quilts. It's hard to pick a favorite from all of these, I think the Meadow Mist Mystery quilt is my favorite of the bunch. You did well on getting those backs together. Now you just have to sandwich and quilt. That's going to be a lot of quilting! But then you'll have lots of finishes.

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  10. Wow, great way to move some projects forward and use some fabric at the same time! I love the blue circle fabric for the third back.

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