Happy July friends!

Today I'm sharing another red, white, and blue quilt with you.

I just can't get enough of this summery, patriotic color combo!

I've been wanting to do something with the

 triangle cutoffs from my Glory quilt for a while now. 

So I used them to make 

3" finished Hourglass blocks.

And paired them with some coordinating 

solid squares that I cut from my stash.

I used 97 Hourglass blocks and 98 solid squares in this quilt.

I did a 13 x 15 layout so the finished size is 39-1/2" x 45 1/2".  

A nice baby-size quilt!  Are there any 4th of July babies out there?!?

I know a couple...

I had the backing fabric (leftover from another quilt back)

+ the binding fabric in my stash so I didn't buy anything

specifically for this project.  That always feels so good!

Jen Ostler in Highland, Utah quilted it for me.

She always quilts in an extra little motif for the

recipient to find; this time it was a heart.  So cute!

The panto Jen used is called Groovy Stars by Melissa Kelley.

If you want to make this baby-size quilt but don't have cutoffs 

from the Glory quilt, you will need:

Approximately 2-1/2 yards of red/blue scraps

1-1/2 yards of white fabric

1-1/2 yards of backing fabric

1/2 yard of binding fabric (cut five 2-1/2" x 40" strips)

To make (2) 3" finished Hourglass blocks, cut:

(1) red/blue 4-1/2" square and 

(1) white 4-1/2" square to make 

Here's a quick little step-by-step tutorial 

on how to make Hourglass blocks:

Step 1: Place (1) red/blue 4-1/2" square and (1) white 4-1/2" square on top of each other,

right sides together.  Mark a diagonal line on the top (white) square

going from corner to corner in both directions.  Sew 1/4" away

from one of those diagonal lines on both sides of the marked line.

Step 2: Cut through the squares on

both of the marked diagonal lines.

3.  Press the seam allowances toward the red/blue triangles

and then mix and match the units so two red/blue

triangles are opposite each other.  Sew the units together 

along the long edges (nesting the seams) to make

2 Hourglass blocks.

Step 4. Trim each block to 3-1/2".

(The center point of the block should be

the 1-3/4" mark on your ruler.)

Of course, you can make a 

Firework quilt as big or as small as you want.

Make as many Hourglass blocks as you need

for your desired quilt size.  

Click HERE if you want a Firework Quilt Coloring Sheet.

(There are extra squares on it if you want to make a bigger quilt!)

Also, if you're looking for more red, white, and blue

inspiration - check out THIS post featuring all 

the red, white, and blue quilts I've ever made!

What fun plans do you have in July?

We're going to Bear Lake at the end of the month.  Can't wait!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial today.

Let me know if you have any questions and happy quilting!

My Red, White, and Blue Quilts

Hey friend.  I've been meaning to share with you all of my 

red, white, and blue quilts - together in one place.  

Hopefully, if you're wanting to make a

patriotic quilt, you'll find some inspiration here!

First up is my Star-Spangled Pineapples quilt.

This is a free pattern that Amanda Niederhauser (@jedicraftgirl) 

and I created for our Five Fat Quarter Fun series a few years ago.

HERE is a link to the free PDF pattern and

HERE is a link to the original blog post with more photos and details.

Next up are my beachy, faded Stars and Stripes quilt

and my No-Point Stars quilt.

Both of these patterns are by other quilt pattern designers.

Stars and Stripes is by Camille Roskelly of Thimbleblossoms and it's available

in her shop HERE.  The No-Point Stars pattern is a free tutorial by

Allison Harris of Cluck, Cluck, Sew.  You can find it HERE.

I don't have blog posts up yet about my versions.

I want to share more details so I'll do that soon in another, separate post.

Another red, white, and blue quilt that I made

many years ago is my Scrap Jar Stars quilt.

This is a great stash-buster project!

This pattern comes with instructions for 4 different size quilts

and is available in my Etsy shop HERE.

I've also made my United quilt in 2 different color ways.  

It has 50 really simple flag blocks (to represent the 50 states) 

plus 5 stars and a heart block!  It's a fun make and very beginner-friendly!

United finishes at 78-1/2" x 87-1/2".

You can find the pattern in my Etsy shop HERE and

HERE'S a blog post with all the details about the navy one.

And you can see the low volume one HERE.

If you're looking for a really simple star/flag quilt

check out my Glory quilt HERE.

I share a free cutting chart & tutorial for Sawtooth

Star block sizes 3" - 20" plus all the details for this quilt.

Another option is a red, white, and blue Star Patch quilt!

I've made 3 Star Patch quilts (a colorful one, a red and white one,

and this one).  It was just screaming to be made up in 

red, white, and blue don't you think!?!

And for all you scrap lovers out there, I've got a tutorial

for this Firework quilt.  I made a baby-size but it

would be really easy to make it bigger.  A coloring sheet is included.

And if you're in the mood for some simple patchwork,

I've got this red, white, and blue Rough and Tumble quilt pattern.

It comes with instructions for 5 different quilt sizes and is great for beginners!

I think it would be cute to layer any patriotic quilts

with a simple red or blue quilt (like the ones that I made for my new book,

Quilt the Rainbow).

[Sew Delightful.  Photo courtesy of Martingale.]

[Patchwork Plaid.  Photo courtesy of Martingale.]

You can find both of those patterns in Quilt the Rainbow; available HERE.

I recently finished this

Checkered Spools quilt in red, white, and blue!

This is a 2-1/2" x 42" strip-friendly pattern with 2 size options.

Click HERE for the paper pattern or HERE for the PDF.

I feel like you can never have too many red, white, and blue quilts!

Do you have a favorite of the quilts I shared today?

I hope you found some inspiration here!

Happy Summer friends!

Glory Quilt

 If you've been following along with me

on Instagram you may have seen a simple

star/flag quilt I made in July.  I finally got it bound and

photographed so I want to share the details

with you today.

In June of this year, I took a trip to McCall, ID, and happened 

upon a really incredible quilt shop called,

J. Beck Home.  I was inspired by the red, white, and blue

fabrics and vintage quilts there and ended up

buying most of the above fabrics.  I had something like this

design floating around in my head for what to do with them:

I used instructions from my recently published

Sawtooth Star Cutting Chart to make the stars.

It includes cutting instructions for block

sizes 3" - 20".  Click HERE to check it out.

I made 12" finished stars for this project.

I was a little nervous that this pattern was going to be too simple

but when it was all said and done, I loved it!

The background fabric I used is a light gray/puddy color

called Celestial by Art Gallery Fabrics.

The backing fabric I used is from the Watermark collection

by Tammy Green for Riley Blake Designs.

The binding fabric is Stripes C495 by

Riley Blake Designs.

I had my quilter, Jen Ostler in Highland, UT.

quilt it for me with a 3/4" grid.  I've had that size grid done before

and loved it.  I don't think it makes the quilt too stiff

and it's just so pretty!

She quilted her signature "hidden object" in one of the

squares -  the tiniest little star!  I just love it!

The labels are from Everemblem.

I get the 2" cotton, fold-over, sew-in labels.

If you go to their site, you'll have to pick a cotton label 

and customize it from there.  I've loved the ease of these labels.

Now I don't have an excuse to not label my quilts!

My quilt finished at 63" x 93"

(so about the size of an XL twin

commercial size comforter).

I turned it sideways on my king-size bed

and it makes for a really nice coverlet!

I wasn't planning on doing a pattern

or full tutorial for this quilt but I know 

some of you want to make something similar

so here are a few more details:

Make 12" finished stars using my Sawtooth Stars Cutting Chart.

(There's a tutorial on that blog post for how to make the stars.)

Sashing and borders - cut 3-1/2" wide strips.

Binding - cut (9) 2-1/2" wide strips.

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS

Red stars: (18) 1/4 yard prints

Blue Stars: (6) 1/4 yard prints

Background: 4-3/4 yards

Backing: 5-2/3 yards

Binding:  2/3 yards 

Batting: 71" x 101"

Apparently, there was a right and wrong side to the

Celestial solid fabric I used for the background.

I didn't notice until I took the above picture.

I hope you found inspiration here today!

Thank you to @imacoffeemom on 

Instagram for helping me name this quilt.

If you decide to make something similar to this

I'd love to see it on Instagram.

Tag me @gigis_thimble and use the hashtags

#gigisthimblepattern and #gloryquilt.