For the Soldiers

It is *always* better for someone to be enjoying a quilt rather than a UFO (unfinished object) sitting in your sewing room gathering dust. I finally took this to heart and finished up 2 UFOs and donated them!

These quilts first appeared on my blog here, where I was sewing them in the kitchen to escape the mess of my sewing room, and here, where I finished the tops and was about to send them to my Mom to be quilted.  The blocks are originally from a swap bee I participated in *years* ago.  In this swap,  you’d turn in just as many blocks as you wanted in return, and the bee keepers were excellent at measuring and turning down blocks that didn’t meet size specifications.  This rule might seem mean, but after participating in a random Internet swap where the blocks came back up to 1/2″ bigger or smaller than the required measurement, I am *so* happy the bee keepers were strict.  These quilts were easy to put together.  (Another quilt a result of this bee is here — one I kept for myself!)

Each quilt measures about 66″x85″ — I think a great size for a man.

Somebody in the group called these blocks a single-wedding-ring, but I can’t name it that with confidence.  When I just googled that name, the block that popped up looked incredibly different.  So I can’t help with those details.  The blocks of this quilt were made so very many years ago!

My fave red fabric, also highlighting my Mom’s square-spiral quilting.

My mom finished the quilting for me LONG ago — a different design on each quilt if you notice – and then I put them in my closet.  Perhaps my closet binding-fairies would finish them up completely, right?  Um, no.  When that didn’t work and I finally got tired of all the space they were taking up in my closet, I did the binding.  At the last guild meeting I donated them to my guild’s Red, White & Blue project. They assured me they were perfectly acceptable even if they weren’t technically red, white and blue. Our guild regularly delivers these quilts to wounded soldiers at Brooke Army Medical Center.

This quilt has more of a swirl design quilted on it.

I did nearly have a heart attack after I finished these quilts.  I don’t normally wash my quilts right away, preferring the pristine condition, but I threw these in the washer because they had cat hair on them.  The last thing I would want to do is give someone an allergy attack when they snuggle with my quilt!  Despite all the color catchers I threw in the wash too, one of the white/tan fabrics was a magnet for the red dye floating in the water.  One block on each quilt, both made out of the same fabric, turned pink on me!  Yikes!

I sprayed the block and washed again with even more color catchers.  The blocks are still tinted pink, but not glaringly so anymore.  I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to donate the quilts, but I think they are good enough now.  Had you noticed a pink block in the quilts before I mentioned it?  No?  Then I’m good!  🙂

Oh, and almost forgot!  I also made a pillowcase for each quilt!  The pillowcases were made with the “hot-dog” method.  Here are the pillowcases with their quilts inside: