~ Stars and Stripes Forever ~

 Hi Friends!  Thanks for dropping by Podunk!  This week we've been blessed with  picture perfect weather.  The sunny days with low humidity are amazing for outdoor quilt pictures.  So you're scratching your head thinking, low humidity?  How does that effect picture taking?

Well, high humidity really doesn't effect the quilt or the camera, it effects ME and my willingness to stay out in heat to get the perfect shot.  Wallace Farms has so many awesome little nooks great for staging quilt photos.  I have my favorite spots but have decided to expand this properties full potential.  The owner, Debbie Wallace, gives me the freedom to roam about and take all the pictures I want.

While trying to set up the perfect quilt photo it's easy to forget I'm here to get good detailed photos of the quilt and not the background.  However the lighting was perfect yesterday for quilting details.  There was no need to up close and personal with the quilt.  My simple, quick and easy free motion quilting shined bright in every picture.

There's a little ruler work on the stars to make them pop out to the quilt.  I used the same backing on this quilt as in my last patriotic quilt.  It's from the fabric line Hope Chest by Penny Rose Fabrics.   When I saw this fabric at Ben Franklin Crafts in New Albany Indiana for $2.99 a yard...I bought the entire 12 yard bolt!   That's better prices than Walmart fabric.  Which reminds me, most of the fabrics in this quilt are from Walmart.  There's a few designer prints.  The binding and the star in the bottom left of this picture is Lakehouse Drygoods.  

The truth be told I wish we could all afford to work with nothing but designer fabrics but that's just simply not the case.  When you love what you do, you will find a way to do what you love.  Will these fabrics last as long as designer fabrics?   Only time will tell, so lets just enjoy our creations now and hope for the best!  

What I can tell you is, as I stitched down the raw edge applique stars, they all behaved the same.  Meaning....none of them frayed on the edges, the fusible wasn't more visible, the whites didn't shadow the background fabrics any worse than the designer fabrics.  The wavy blue border is designer fabric that is bias cut and not fusible applique, it too behaved well with the cheaper fabrics as I glued and stitched it into place. You can see how the wavy blue was attached here.

But the one thing I loved was seeing this on the cheaper fabrics.  

Stars and Stripes will be a published pattern sometime next week.  I'm gonna say Friday but it could be sooner.  Keep your eyes open!  There will be a special offer when it's published!

See you soon!

~ Lea Anne ~

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~ Lost and Found ~

Hello, Sweet Friends!  Look what I found hiding in my dresser full of unquilted tops.  Another patriotic quilt!  Funny how we make things and forget about them.  This top was started last year about this time of year.  You can read more about the fabrics and the star block here.

After searching my history on this quilt, it looks like it already has name.  Stars and Stripes Forever.  You can read more about the quilt design, the wavy border and the quilt that inspired my design here.

The quilting is going to be super simple, lots of free motion mixed with a little ruler work.

Linking up with these fine bloggers!

https://www.quiltfabrication.com/2018/06/midweek-makers-127.html

See you Friday for the finish!

~ Lea Anne ~

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American Flag Quilt ~ FREE QUILT PATTERN

Howdy Sweet Quilting Friends!  Today's share is my version of  "American Flag Quilt" Designed by Lauren of "Brights on White Blog"  I found the video tutorial over the Memorial Day weekend while doing a random search for quick quilt patterns. 

The video tutorial calls for 12 blocks with sashing and borders of the same width. Making a nice size throw quilt.  

Since I wanted a quilt to use on a queen bed I added 8 blocks and a wider border.   My finished quilt measures 93" x 94".  Perfect if I add a few pillows to the ensemble. 

Lauren was gracious enough to allow me to borrow a  picture from her blog and share my addition/changes to her quilt pattern.  The video tutorial with the block and sashing measurements can be found here http://www.brightsonwhite.com/american-flag-quilt/

The chart below shows alterations to the pattern.  It's color coded to highlight the alterations.  Example: Added 8 blocks is in red so I've added a red frame around the 8 extra blocks.

In the picture above I forgot to mention the binding.  My quilt takes (10) 2.5" x WOF Strips to make the binding.  This was one of the rare occasions I sewed my binding completely by machine.

For the backing I used (8) yards of fabric.  If you look closely you can see one of the seams on the back.

This was such a fun and quick pattern.  The large blocks are perfect for precuts or scraps.  The pulling and cutting of scraps started around Saturday noon. Monday was family day, so I didn't do any sewing.  By Wednesday 3 pm it was quilted and bound.  That's one quick quilt!

The photo shoot for this quilt was just as much fun as making the quilt.   Wallace Farms is such a lovely property.  Thanks Debbie for allowing me to use your beautiful farm.

Linking up with these fine bloggers

https://emsscrapbag.blogspot.com/2018/06/moving-it-forward.html

http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

~ Lea Anne ~

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