Red White and Blue Round Up - Day 2

Our Painter's Palette Solids collection has plenty of red, white and blue choices! 

We chose three blues, three reds, and white for designers to create these eight Patriotic Palette projects. See them below and click on the links to learn more--there's still time to make your own before July 4th! 

Our patriotic palette: 

(from left: 121-000 White, 121-111 Patriot, 121-131 French Blue, 121-025 River,
121-051 Claret, 121-002 Crimson, and 121-134 Tomato)

Fireworks Mini Quilt

Find the tutorial here.

Streamers by Cindy @ Live a Colorful Life

Learn more here.

Red, White and Blue Star Quilt by Elizabeth @ Occasional Piece Quilt

Find it here.

Atomic Blooms by Jayne @ Twiggy and Opal

Learn more here.

Patriotic Pinwheel by Linda @ Flourishing Palms. 

Learn more here.

Patriotic Pineapple by Shelley @A Pigeon in Pungo

Learn more here.

A Salute to Red, White and Blue by Stephanie from Spontaneous Threads 

Learn more here.

Modern Flag by Stephanie @ Peas in a Pod

Learn more here.

See all 168 Painter's Palette Solids colors here and ask for them at your local quilt shop. 

Feeling patriotic? Find more red, white and blue projects here.

Quilts of Valor

If we're talking patriotic quilts, we have to mention Quilts of Valor! If you're not familiar with the organization, it began with Catherine Roberts' dream in 2003. In the ensuing 14 years, this dream has grown into a huge, ongoing undertaking, taking the concepts of "quilts=healing" and presenting patriotic quilts to service members--161,000 quilts have been given to date.

The mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.

Back in February, the Quilt Lovers' Hangout in North Fort Myers, Florida, hosted a National Sew Day Event for Quilts of Valor. They used patriotic fabrics we donated from the Valor and American Pride collections to create quilts for veterans. What a great team effort! 

According to shop owner Andrea Sensecqua, approximately 20 people participated in the sew day. Andrea had bought the shop the previous year, and customers asked if there would be an event for National Sew Day. After investigating, Andrea said "absolutely" began choosing patterns from around the shop. "We had an overwhelming response and sat in our classroom, sewing all day," Andrea says. Completed quilt tops are quilted free of charge by students learning to machine quilt. The Quilt Lovers' Hangout is now an official Quilts of Valor shop.

"It was really meaningful for both customers and staff to be part of such an important event, allowing us to use our passions and skills to award recipients with quilts," Andrea says. "This even kicked off our relationship with QOV and allowed us to bring a national event to a local level."

Quilt blocks laid out, ready to be assembled:

The shop also participated in its first wrapping ceremony. Quilter Sue Styn is presenting, and wrapping, her husband, Bill in a Quilts of Valor quilt in the shop. 

Thanks to Andrea and the Quilt Lovers' Hangout for sharing the story and photos! Have you made a Quilts of Valor quilt? We'd love to hear about it.

Find out more about Quilts of Valor and how to participate here.
Find out more about the Quilt Lovers' Hangout here.
Read an article about QOV and Quilt Lovers' Hangout here.
Check out our patriotic-themed collections! See American Pride here and here and Valor by Ro Gregg here.

Loving the Red, White and Blue: Valor

Patriotism isn't just for holidays--red, white and blue color combination works year-round, creating classic American-themed quilts. Ro Gregg took a patriotic turn with her latest collection, Valor, which is richly colored and full of so much variety! From Marblehead-style basics to echoing stars, wavy stripes, traditional stars, and a sketched-style star, if you can dream it in red, white and blue, you can find it here! 

We asked Ro to talk to us about her new Valor fabrics:

Q. What inspired you to create a patriotic themed line?

Ro: The word "valor" has a Latin root that means to be strong. This collection is dedicated to the men and women that serve this country and their gallant bravery.

Q. Can you talk about a couple favorite prints in the line?

Ro: The large sketched outline star is my favorite...sort of a modern version of the star of honor.  The multi red, white and blue gemstone is very festive and reminds me of confetti.

Q. It’s so fun to see the Marblehead prints resurface here! Can you tell us about that?

Ro: I love it too! The prints are so universal and look great in the multicolor red, white and blue as well as the patriotic multi-tones of reds and blues. The Marblehead designs work in all quilts as a staple.

   

Q. Can you tell us about how the varying backgrounds—both white and cream-- change the look of the fabrics?

Ro: I used both the pure white and also a cream for a vintage look if quilters are making antique-looking quilts.

Q. Why did you decide to do three different styles of stars?

Ro: I used three different types of stars and sizes to create diversity for quilt makers. The stars work together or can stand alone, providing plenty of options.

Q. What do you envision these fabrics being used for?

Ro: So many things! Quilts of Valor, quilts for service people, school banners. Of course it’s a perfect collection for a presidential election year as well.

Find the entire Valor collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop. 

Happy 4th of July!

Wishing America a Happy Birthday and you and your family an enjoyable 4th of July!

American Flag quilt by Barbara J. Eikmeier
featuring the Vintage Shirting & Dress Prints collection

Summer of Sewing: Land that I Love Wall Banner

Welcome back to our Summer of Sewing tutorials here at Inspired by Fabric! 

We'll be featuring regular tutorials as part of our Summer of Sewing series, all using our newest fabric lines that you can find at your local quilt shop! Our tutorials will include a chance to win a bundle of the fabric line being used, so make sure to enter each time! 

We're getting ready for the 4th of July this week with a folk art-style wall quilt featuring the American Pride collection. This collection features a panel of two blocks, one of which we used here, and then coordinating prints. Panel blocks are perfect for adding a variety of borders, and voila! Great wall quilt. (It measures 28" square.) Scroll down to the bottom of this post to find out how you can win a bundle of American Pride.

Here's a look at the two blocks on the panel. Each measures approximately 14-1/2" square. 

Let's get started!

You'll Need:
1 panel
1 fat quarter or 1/4 yard of blue text print
1/2 yard red text print
1/2 yard checkered stars
5/8 yard cream solid
1 yard backing fabric
30" square of batting

Cutting:
Note: Our cutting directions are very specific to ensure that the directional text prints are oriented correctly on all sides of the quilt. 

From the panel:
Fussy cut one 14-1/2" square

From the red text print: 
Three 2-1/2" x 18" strips with text running the short way (see photo below); cut two 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" pieces from one strip and reserve the remainder for strip sets
Two 2-1/2" x 34" strips with text running the long way (see photo below); cut two 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" pieces from one strip and reserve the remainder for strip sets

From the blue text print: 
Eight 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" pieces with text running the long way (see photo below)
Eight 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" pieces with text running the short way (see photo below)
Four 2-1/2" squares

From the checkered stars: 
Two 1-1/2" x 14-1/2" strips
Two 1-1/2" x 16-1/2" strips
Two 1-1/2" x 20-1/2" strips
Two 1-1/2" x 22-1/2" strips
Three 2-1/4" x 42" strips for binding

From the cream solid:
Thirty-two 2-1/2" squares
Four 2-1/2" x 42" strips
Four 3-1/2" squares

Make the Wall Quilt:
1. Sew 1-1/2" x 14-1/2" checkered star strips to the sides of the block and press open. Sew 1-1/2" x 16-1/2" checkered star strips to the to and bottom of the block and press open. 

2. To make the flying geese units, draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of all 2-1/2" cream solid squares. Lay a marked square right sides together on one end of a 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" blue text piece. Stitch on the drawn line, trim seam allowance to 1/4", and press open. Repeat on the opposite end. 

3. Noting orientation of the text in the flying geese below, make four of each kind.

4. Referring to the photo, sew four matching flying geese units together into a row. Make two for the side borders. Sew to the sides of the quilt center. 

5. Sew four matching flying geese units together into a row for the top border and one for the bottom row. Sew 2-1/2" blue text squares to both ends of each row. Sew to the top and bottom of the quilt center. 

6. Sew 1-1/2" x 20-1/2" checkered star strips to the sides of the quilt center. Sew 1-1/2" x 22-1/2" checkered star strips to the top and bottom. 

7. Sew each red text strip to a cream solid strip. (Sew two half red text strips to one cream solid strip.) Crosscut ten 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" segments with the text running the short way and ten 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" segments with the text running the long way. 

8. Referring to the photo, sew five matching segments together in a row. Sew a 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" red text piece to the cream end to make the side border. Make two. In the same way, sew five matching segments together in a row, sew a 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" red text piece to the cream end and 3-1/2" cream squares to both ends to make a top/bottom border. Make two. 

9. Sew the side borders to the sides of the quilt center. Sew the top and bottom borders (with the cream squares on the ends) to the top and bottom. 
10. Layer the backing fabric, batting, and quilt top right side up and baste. Quilt as desired. 
11. Use the three 2-1/4" x 42" checkered star strips to add the binding. 

Happy 4th of July! 

See the entire American Pride collection here. 

For a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of the American Pride collection, make sure you follow us on the blog (options are in the right hand sidebar) and leave a comment letting us know you do, as well as telling us your favorite print in the collection. Giveaway is open through Sunday, July 3rd at 11:59 pm CST. We'll randomly draw a winner and announce it on the blog next week. Make sure we have a way to get in touch with you if you are selected as the winner!  

Congratulations to the winner of the Melon bundle: Kathy E.
We'll contact you for your mailing information! 

Feeling Patriotic? We've got inspiration for you!

June has sped by, and the 4th of July is just around the corner! If you're looking to add a little extra red, white and blue into your life this coming weekend as we celebrate our country, look no further than our Feeling Patriotic Pinterest board! From snacks to decor to quilts, we're pretty sure you'll find several things to repin and try yourself! 

No-Bake Berry Trifle

Find the pin here

Patriotic Pennants

Find the pin here

Flag Cake

Find the pin here

Flag Quilt (by our very own Barbara J. Eikmeier!)

Find the pin here

Red, White and Blue DIY Votives

Find the pin here

Gorgeous Star Quilt

Find the pin here

Chevron Quilt

Find the pin here

See our entire Feeling Patriotic board here and make sure to follow us on Pinterest! 

Saluting the Red, White and Blue (plus a free flag pattern!)

In honor of the 4th of July holiday, we're showcasing the red, white and blue! 

First up, download a free pattern for this classic flag quilt, made from 2-1/2" strips.

The "Old Glory" Snack Pack includes 42 strips--everything you need to make the quilt top and bind it--all tonals from our Tone on Tone collection.

Rich, textured hues from Marblehead and Marblehead Global Brights:

A fun red and blue swirl from Ro Gregg's Marblehead Venetian Glass:

Stars and swirls from Judy Hansen's new Nutcracker Christmas;

Contemporary coordinates from Linda Carlson and Diana Henage's Imagine This:

Juicy reds from Farmer John's Organic:

Modern designs from Ro Gregg's new Vibe collection:

And of course, the entire Bella Casa collection:

Look for this wide variety of red and blue prints at your local quilt shop! 

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!