Blue Lightning Quilt

This is the 'Blue Lightning' quilt, that I made on (what I call) the 'Shadows' pattern, but with descending blues of various shades rather than a single color, as the earlier 'Shadows' quilt displays. I think you will agree that it's stunning now that I've finished. I had to wait until I got all the earlier quilts in the mail before moving on with this one!

This started as a quilt for a family member, who I thought that I had missed while making quilts for all the others. When it was nearly finished, I reached out, just to be sure that I had missed making this person a quilt in the last round, and found that I had, in fact, not missed him! Though it would have been easy just to send it to him anyway, that would mean that I would need to get working on another for all the others, to keep them all equal and even. Instead, I turned this into a Quilt of Valor, and got it on it's way! 

In a couple of years, when each of my family members are approaching another watershed point in their lives, I will create and send them each a quilt.

May 31 - two halves of the top only

 

Working and Working and Working

Finished 'Blue Lightning' QOV

Finished Red, White & 'Blue Lightning' QOV

Cory's Quilt of Valor (Feb 2024)

My Cousin Cory's Quilt of Valor is very like his grandfather, Don's Quilt of Valor, on purpose! They are both Irish Chain style quilts utilizing very small blocks of 100's of different fabrics. Don's has white or off-white snowballs, while Cory's has golden yellow snowballs. The snowballs are made in 5 pieces. The middle is 5" wide, the other 4 are 2" wide. 2 of them have a 2" colored square at each end, 2 have 2 2" colored squares at each end which allows for the chain effect and 'snowball' effect of each block.

Cory's Quilt before getting the binding on

Cory's Bound

The Back of Cory's

 

Quilt of Valor For My Cousin Don (January 2024)

Don is a Vietnam Vet, and this went out to him in January! It's an Irish Chain pattern, with very small (stamp) sized squares. If you zoom in and look close, you will find that there are few duplicates. There are 49 small squares in the big blocks of colored squares. There are duplicates, but not all that many. I made 'literally' hundreds and hundreds of the small squares, and more than 100 of the small square blocks. I hadn't touched the sewing machine in more than a year, when I sat down to make this for him in December. 

Don is a long lost cousin, and found me or I found him, and we connected. He served in the Air Force in Vietnam. His is a very interesting story! In the 40's, when he was a small boy, he and one of his brothers were given up to an orphans home, due to divorce. Not all his brothers, just these two. After decades of searching, he found his older siblings, and recently found the rest of us. My Great Great Grandfather is his Great Grandfather. 

This is his quilt. The next quilt I made is for his Grandson, Cory, who obviously is also a lost cousin, and is currently serving. He's spent a lot of time in the middle east war zones.

 

Next Quilt of Valor Begun

I have the pieces cut out, sitting here staring at me on my porch, or I wouldn't be starting this now. I am really getting tired of sewing, and I still have Holiday gifts to make. But, this is for a good cause, will make someone feel appreciated, and feel seen, so I will get it done.

 

Laying out the block	First block completed (though not ironed)	Blocks finished on to assembling
First of two tops only need borders	Two quilts are in halves	Quilt 20 Finished, on to the next one
Quilt 21 Finished, no more for awhile	Texted Borders