Quilt Of Valor Ceremony

Today was a really good day. Our Quilt of Valor group gave away a room full of quilts to soldiers of the 291st MP Company. They just got back from a deployment to Afghanistan. I know legions of quilters make quilts for QOV, but I wonder how many actually get to go to the presentation ceremonies? Well, if you ever get a chance I think you should attend.

This was the room ahead of the presentation. Many of the quilts are laid out on the tables waiting for a solider to come and pick them out. There is another stack of quilts over on the side stage to fill in as quilts get chosen.

It was so fun to walk around an try to pick out quilts that I had quilted. I have done so many lately that I have last track of them.

When the soldiers and their families came in they got to pick out which quilt they liked the best. It was fun to see some of the wives come in ahead of time to scout out the quilts then tell their soldier to  pick their favorite. Most of the soldiers were single so there weren't many spouses picking out quilts ahead of time.

Here are some of the tops before I quilted them.

Here are some of the pictures of the soldiers with their quilts. They were all so sweet and thankful. I don't think I have ever felt so much happiness after giving a quilt away as I did today.

Today was great! Thanks all of you who made tops, quilted them, bound them, made pillow cases and labels. These quilts will be loved! They are so special and have found very worthy new homes.

xo,
Tia Curtis

Some Quilts of Valor

So many of you know that I quilt for Quilts of Valor from time to time. We have 140 MPs getting ready to come home from Afghanistan in the next couple months and our QOV team is getting together enough quilts for all of them. Recently I have quilted quite a few, but I have been pushing them through so fast that I haven't gotten pictures of them. I thought these turned out really well so I wanted to share them.

This one I quilted with these awesome Federal Eagles. I spent almost 4 hours searching for them on the Internet. They are a Kim Diamond pantograph.

Next up is this really great quilt. I used a dense Baptist Fan on this quilt. I am pretty wild for this panto right now and I want to use it on everything. I love how modern it looks.

The wonderfully talented Raylene Mason made these lovely quilts. I love quilting her work because all there seams are pressed perfectly and they are always perfectly square!

Have a great day!
Tia Curtis

Raylene's Navy QOV

Hey there! Here is the first real quilt I have finished with the new Statler Stitcher. I used a combination of computer designs and hand guided free motion.

Since the quilt is going to a sailor, I wanted the background to look like water...the swirls and pebbles once again fill the bill.

For the two Nave Stars I selected a block design from my Statler.

The wide boarder has cathedral windows and in retrospect I do wish I would have echoed them...but at the time of quilting I didn't. The little boarder just has some back and forth loops that I did free hand.

The log cabins are just ditch stitched. I love the tiny flags that Raylene made in the centers of the log cabins. This quilt was a joy to quilt. Raylene is one of the best piecers I have ever quilted for. Her seams were all so flat and just perfect.

And here is a quick shot of her pieced back. 

What a great quilt!

On my other blog I posted a quick tutorial for my favorite way to make Half Square Triangles. I was trying to explain how I do it over the phone and I just couldn't make the words make sense...so I resorted to my blog! 

OK, back down to the quilting lair! Have a great day!

QOV #3

  Hey there!How are you doing? So very much has been going on around our house. So many quilts, so many birthday parties and some sewing days tossed in. Jennifer sent me this QOV top to quilt. I adore Jennifer. I made some bags for her years ago, but before that she sent me coffee while we lived in Australia and were getting ready for our Quiltathon.  What a treat that was! You never know how much you miss things until you just can't get them. Anyway, I have felt like I have know her for ages...even though we really didn't in real life. But then we got to real life meet up in Dallas when we both attended a workshop with Gwen Marston. I love Gwen Marston. Really I do.

OK, I have been trying to type this blog for almost an hour and I just keep getting pulled away from the computer. How about we just look at some quilting pictures?

 I am pretty excited about this fern-swirl. I taught myself how to quilt it after seeing it on Pinterest.

 I wanted to incorporate feathers, but I wanted it to be masculine too. Since it is a QOV odds are that it will go to a man. So, feathers, spikey swirls, organic lines, pearls and loops are on this quilt.

This is the one thing I am not wild about...all the thread play in the feather on the red background. But in a way I love it too...I love all the shadow it creates. Anyway, I hope it brings some comfort to a wounded service person. Keep them in your prayers. Each day dawns on life-changing new injuries for our young soldiers and marines. Even if it is not in the news, it is still happening.

QOV #2

 Hey there! This is the second Quilt of Valor I have quilted. This top was also assembled by Judy Modlin of Kansas. I decided to quilt this one with swirls in the red and blue blocks and wavy line things in the white blocks. I am pretty thrilled with how it turned out.

 Won't this be AWESOME  and packed with texture after it is washed and dried? Part of my wants to go ahead and bind it and wash it just to see, but that is not my role in the QOV line up, so I will mail it and it's brother back to Kansas tomorrow.  I sure hope these 2 QOVs provide a bit of comfort to the soldiers returning from Afghanastan.

This is a courtesy shot of the back. You really can't see much of the quilting (yet...after it is washed it will be a different story and the texture will shine) because I used a light bobbin thread that blends so well with the back fabric....but it is pretty stitching, if I do say so myself.

xo,
Tia

Quilt of Valor #1

 Hey there! How are you doing? I quilted a Quilt Of Valor this weekend (well, Friday really). Judy Modlin made the top, the Kansas Coordinator sent it to me and I quilted it. I will be sending it back to them on Tuesday when the post office opens back up.

 When I first began chatting with the QOV ladies they were talking about pantograph quilting. I don't like pantograph quilting. I don't like doing it with my Gammill. There are several reasons why, but mostly because I am a bit of a control freak. I want to see EVERY stitch that is going into a quilt and I can't do that from the back of my machine. And I think Pantographs are boring to follow. For me. I am only giving you my thoughts on this matter. I know zillions of quilters LOVE pantographs. And that is awesome. I have tried to like pantographs....when I bought my long arm it can with about 20 different pantographs. But I just didn't like following them. Quilting has always been my favorite part of the quilt making process and pantographs feel (to me) like being constrained...reined in.

Do you know what a pantograph is? Do you know what the difference between pantograph quilting and custom quilting is? I sure didn't until last year!  I was trying to describe the difference to my mom before she came out to visit and she had no idea what I was talking about.  I will talk about that in one of my next posts. I think it is fascinating. But until then...lets get back to this quilt.

 This is how I quilted this quilt. I think it is pretty. Lots of movement. The front has many patriotic fabrics and Judy did a great job assembling this top. I think the swirls look like wind or ripples in a stream...the pebbles look like pebbles. So maybe it looks a bit like a river bed?

 I added a feather to the boarder with lots of pearls. I hope this quilt can bring some comfort to a Vet or his family.

 I have another QOV up on the frame. It is by Judy Modlin as well. I do love all that patriotic fabric!