Wyoming Breezes

Scrappy Silver Lining Hat March 2023 According to my last measurement, it is time to start the decreases for the crown of this reversible hat. This is the fifth hat I've knit using the Silver Lining Hat pattern with scrap sock yarn. Each hat is unique and fun, and I love the one I kept for myself. 

Vintage Stars 59 x 75 inches Quilt of Valor #235 Karen M. sent me a vintage panel in July of last year. I used some of the panels to make Glory  in early January and had four panels remaining. The star points on Vintage Stars were made with the "waste or bonus triangles" from Glory , so the stars were fast and easy to make. I did have to make all the stars with the red centers, but I only needed to make HSTs for four stars.  The fabric for the red centers and the sashing fabric came from Anne D. in Minnesota. The colors worked beautifully with Karen M.'s vintage panel. I am grateful for the donations of fabric, panels, and patterns from other quilters. Quilt of Valor is an organization based on teamwork. 

Nearly every Thursday afternoon I join a group of friends at the local senior center to play Mexican Train dominoes. The center was closed for much of the pandemic and only opened full time a year ago. Gradually, each week more seniors come to play. Last week fourteen individuals played together (two tables of seven). Before the pandemic, we had two full tables playing every week. Have people in your community returned to pre-pandemic activities? Have you?

Cross My Heart 63 x 74 inches Quilt of Valor #234 Cross My Heart  was made with ten inch squares (layer cake squares) from one of my scrap bins as well as some larger scrap strips from other Quilts of Valor.  I used a free pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop called "Layer Cake Lattice."  The pattern went together quickly and because the red and blue crosses were pressed differently, the seams nested easily.  I am trying to use as many smaller pieces of scraps that I can in my stash and in my scrap bins. This quilt made a dent in both.

March 2023 Dee ( Wool and Steel ) posted about her recent sock knitting projects: she has SEVEN pair on the needles. I commented that she was tempting me to cast on a pair of socks: she replied, "Do It! Do It!," so I did. I haven't knit on socks for months - five months to be exact, so it was time to get busy knitting. Yesterday during the FaceTime call with my sister and niece, I cast on this sock and knit nearly two inches of the cuff.  Thanks for the nudge, Dee!

Patriotic Roundup   59 x 76 inches Quilt of Valor # 233 Patriotic Roundup was made using charms (5” squares) from other QOV. It’s made with a Villa Rosa Design called Hillside Charm .

yardage and fat quarters donated by Anne D from Minnesota to make Quilts of Valor February 2023 Anne D. sent beautiful fabric that I can use in making more QOV. Some of the pieces will make wonderful frames and borders for the quilts.  Thank you, Anne for your generous donation. 

Stars & Bars 60 x 74 inches Quilt of Valor #232 Stars & Bars is another quilt made with the Town Square pattern - also made with backing scraps. A couple of the large blocks are pieced, but again, it's difficult to tell because the fabric is so busy.  I usually purchase patriotic fabrics for backings that are busy because they tend to go on sale more frequently than the other quilting fabrics.

 backing fabric (56 yards) for fourteen QOV January 2023 Every Quilt of Valor I make requires at least four yards of backing fabric. I try to keep the QOV that I make about the same size, so I don't need to make a special purchase when a backing is needed.  Near the end of January my backing stash was depleted which required restocking. I found a fabulous online sale at JoAnn Fabrics. The twenty-eight yards of the fabric I purchased there was $3 a yard: it was previously marked $12 a yard. The other lengths of fabric and the two panels were purchased at Quilted Twins for $5.99 a yard. Overall, I now have enough fabric to back fourteen Quilts of Valor, and I paid an average of $4.50 a yard.  I'm thrilled to have found such a great deal.

Even with all the sewing that's been happening recently, I'm making progress on another scrappy Silver Lining hat. Most of the knitting is being done at night while watching movies on the tubi app. I've used six different sock yarn scraps so far on this hat, and I like the results. 

This photo from Simply Sock Yarn 's Facebook page made me laugh out loud. 

Last week I posted about playing binding chicken on a Quilt of Valor and thought the 12 inches was close, but when adding the final borders to Liberty & Justice (yesterday's post) I had a REAL squeaker!  I was using the final pieces of the blue backing scraps to make Liberty & Justice, and when I trimmed off the excess fabric on the top and bottom borders, I had exactly a half inch of fabric on each strip -- much too close! The last two QOV have literally utilized the last bits of some fabrics, and I couldn't be happier. 

Liberty and Justice 60 x 74 inches Quilt of Valor #231 Liberty & Justice is another QOV made using the Town Square pattern and backing scraps. The lighter fabric was a donation from Judy J in Texas. I appreciate the fabric donations I receive from quilters who are culling their stash. Judy's fabric was just the right fabric to complement the other fabrics in this quilt. No doubt you'll see several QOV posts in the near future: I'm taking advantage of my recharged quilting mojo.  

Breezy 60 x 74 inches Quilt of Valor #230 Breezy was made using scraps from the backings (the focus fabric and the blue fabrics) of previous QOV. The Town Square pattern from Fabric Cafe requires a total of three yards and is ideal for large focus fabrics. My version requires more than three yards of fabric as I needed to alter the borders to meet QOV size requirements. The two smaller frames were cut at 2.5 inches, and the outer border at 5 inches.  The pattern came together quickly and was perfect for using the red, white, and blue fabric. The fabric is so busy that it is nearly impossible to see that several of the big blocks are pieced.  I'm trying to use the smaller cuts of fabric that I have in my stash, and you'll see in upcoming posts that the Town Square pattern is helping me do that.  Breezy was awarded in Laramie, Wyoming November 10, 2023

adding binding to a Quilt of Valor As I neared the starting point, I was worried I wouldn’t have enough binding to finish the quilt, and I knew I didn’t have anymore of the blue fabric. I’ve played “yarn chicken” on some knitting projects, but this is the first time I played “binding chicken.” In the end, I had 12” of remaining binding, but even that was much closer than I like. 

Twinkle 62 x 74 inches Quilt of Valor #229   Twinkle was made with two charm packs and some backing scraps from previous QOV. The pattern was designed by Tricia Lynn Maloney - Orphan Quilt Designs for Villa Rosa Designs.  I added the blue top and bottom borders to meet the QOV size requirements.  The bottom right block was inadvertently turned when I sewed the row together. I noticed the error when I took the photo. I’m going to leave it as a “design element.” Update - November 2024 awarded to Rueben C. Eppson Center presentation 

String Orchestra Laramie High School students January 2023 Last Wednesday, one of the three orchestras at Laramie High School performed for a large group of seniors at the Eppson Center. Nearly all of the students have been playing string instruments since they were very young. It was a delight to hear them perform. 

close up of a Twinkle block shown with sashing February 2023 Here’s a sneak peek of the blocks I was sewing last week. The blocks are large (16.5 inches) and fun to make. 

working on a new QOV January 2023 After I finished binding the two Quilts of Valor the longarmer returned, I started working on a kit I prepared last year. This new QOV is being made from two charm packs donated by Judy J. in July 2022  and backing scraps from other QOV.  I using a pattern that is new to me for this quilt, and so far it’s been a pleasure to sew.  My sewing mojo seems to have returned after a long hiatus. 

Two Quilts of Valor were recently returned by a volunteer longarmer, and I set to work adding the bindings and labels. I sew the binding on the backside before flipping it to the front. I press the binding and secure it with clips so it’s easier to machine stitch the binding into place.  The final step is to launder the quilts with color catchers. Frequently, it’s the red dyes that are captured, but blue fabric can also release dye.  Once the quilts are removed from the dryer, I allow them to air dry for a couple of days before preparing them for shipping to the coordinator who awards the quilts to the veterans.