Wyoming Breezes

Peaceful Assembly   First Amendment  60 x 74 inches Quilt of Valor #266 Recent events promoted the name of this Quilt of Valor. Many people think the First Amendment of the US Constitution is only about Free Speech which guarantees the right of citizens to “petition the government for redress of grievances,” but that’s only part of its purpose: the amendment also guarantees the right of peaceful assembly - the right to protest.  The many scraps in this quilt show that a variety of fabrics and colors can create something beautiful, but they must be arranged in a unifying manner. Our country is the same. In order to move forward, Americans (citizens and leaders) must learn to work together as a cohesive unit: to peacefully assemble and work for the common good and voice our grievances so change can be made. It’s time to put Country ahead of Party. 

Boxing Day 60 x 74 inches Quilt of Valor #265 RoseMarie A. (a friend and quilter) offered to make blocks if I’d supply the fabric. I gathered some yardage, the 5 inch square bin, and the 2.5 inch strip bin, and gave them to her. A short time later she returned a nearly empty 2.5 inch strip bin and a large stack (over 60) blocks of framed 5 inch squares. I gave the blocks a good press before squaring them, and began putting them on the design wall, using the layout that Pat ( Bell Creek Quilts ) recently posted.  Thanks to Pat and RoseMarie, Boxing Day was finished before the end of the year. 

Olde Glory 63 x 75 inches Quilt of Valor #264 Olde Glory by Fabric Cafe has been on my list to make for over a year. Last week, I finally selected fabrics from my stash. It didn’t take me long to have the completed flimsy.  Most of the fabrics I used were donated by quilters downsizing their stash. Thanks to them, this quilt will be wrapped around a veteran. 

On Patrol 58 x 72 inches Quilt of Valor #263 Pattern: Call of the Wild Bison by Mountainpeek Creations — a similar version is available free on Bear Creek quilting . That version of the pattern only has one pieced border, but another one could easily be added on top of the panel.  The panel was purchased at Marshall Dry Goods as was the blue border fabric. I changed the layout of the pieced borders to create mountain peaks and widened the borders to meet QOV size requirements. Update - March 2026 On Patrol awarded in CO - March 2026

Chain of Command 57 x 73 inches Quilt of Valor #262 These blocks were made with 2.5 inch strips from a scrap bin. Normally, I cut leftovers into various sizes for the scrap bins - 2.5” strips, 3.5”, 4.5,” 5”, and 6.5” squares. It saves a lot of time and space in my small sewing room.  I saw this block on KatyQuilts and knew it was perfect to reduce the piles of precut scraps. She called it Jelly Roll Chain: it’s a quick and easy block to make and can be made with any width of fabric strips.  Update - March 2026 Chain of Command  awarded in CO March 2026

Forever Vigilant   63 x 73 inches Quilt of Valor #261 No pattern was used for this framed panel quilt. The black frame is 2 inches finished; the red frame, 3 inches finished; the beige frame, 4 inches finished; the blue frame, 6 inches finished. Since the panel is so large, I felt it would make more of a statement on its own. 

Star Burst 60 # 70 inches Quilt of Valor #260 Star Burst was made with the “Bursting with Love” pattern on pages 28-31 in the 2022 January/February edition of Quiltmaker. My friend RoseMarie showed me the pattern, and I knew immediately that I could easily adapt it to make a Quilt of Valor by just adding borders. Thank you, RoseMarie for sharing this wonderful pattern: I’ll be using it to make another QOV.  The center medallion was made with fabric cut into squares several months ago. The borders were cut from yardage.  * Notes       red frame was cut 1.5” wide       white frame  was cut 2.5 inches       blue side border was cut 7.5 inches wide       blue top/bottom border was cut 5.5 inches wide       striped top/bottom border was cut 7.5 inches wide                 

American Collage 60 x 74 inches  Quilt of Valor #259 Pattern: Town Square by Fabric Cafe Border adjusted to meet QOV size requirements 

Jewel Box 64 x 74 inches Quilt of Valor #258 Jewel Box used 480 HSTs made with scraps from previous Quilts of Valor. The various fabrics create the facets on the jewels and add sparkle to the blocks. 

Starry Delight 60 x 74 inches Quilt of Valor #257 Starry Delight was made using five different star studded fabrics. The various fabrics complement each other well. The pattern Town Square by Fabric Cafe is a good one to feature focus fabrics.  Update :  July 2025 - Starry Delight was awarded to a veteran in Idaho. 

blocks made from scrap HSTs You might not remember my quest to use the squares in my 3.5 inch bin, but I don’t blame you: that sewing blitz occurred in September . I finally got tired of moving the baskets of HSTs from one place to another and started sewing them into blocks. I have fifteen blocks completely finished and another five on a tray ready to sew. The block resembles the Economy Block and uses 16 HSTs. Doing a bit of math, you’ll discover that the 20 blocks I’ve made so far used 320 HSTs from my baskets. The blocks will finish at 10 inches. Can you believe I can still make more blocks! I’m hoping to have enough for least 30 blocks. Do you think there are 160 HSTs in this basket? I haven’t counted, but I hope it’s close.  I have another QOV on the design wall to finish (this squirrel project lead me down a rabbit hole the last few days) before I can start thinking about making these blocks into a quilt. 

Stealthy 60 x 72 inches Quilt of Valor #256 Stealthy was stalled for several weeks while my sewing mojo was on hiatus. The blocks finished at 5.5 inches and were made with scraps from my 4.5 inch square bin and the 2.5 inch strip bin. The border fabric was donated by Sue S. from Massachusetts .  Thanks, Sue!  Extra blocks were used to make the corners.  Update : - July 2025 - Stealthy was awarded to a veteran in Idaho

stack of “Stealth” blocks will finish @ 6 inches I think these blocks look like colorful Stealth bombers, so I’m going to name the finished quilt “Stealthy.” The blocks are on the design wall but are not sewn together because I want to play with them for a bit to find a pleasing layout. I may or may not use sashing between the larger blocks.  Not much has been happening here recently because I was sidelined by a virus of some sort. It wasn’t COVID, but it left me with a hacking and lingering cough. I’m glad I got the latest vaccinations in September because I think this could have been much worse without them. 

Fabric donation for making  Quilts of Valor I received this generous donation of fabric from Sue S., a quilter from Massachusetts. I’ll be able to make several QOV with this fabric. Thank you, Sue for this generous donation! It was a miracle I received the box in the mail. When I picked up the box outside my door where the mail carrier left it, the box bottom broke, and fabric came tumbling out. 

Scrappy Stars 58 x 72 inches Quilt of Valor #255 Update :  July 2025 - Scrappy Stars was awarded in Idaho

flying geese units ready for another quilt Another scrappy Quilt of Valor is in the works: this quilt uses two colors of flying geese. The top should be finished by the end of the week unless life gets in the way. 

Let's Be Neighbors 60 x 72 inches Quilt of Valor #254 Let's Be Neighbors  was made using the Briar Rose pattern by England Street Quilts. I eliminated a lot of 2.5 inch scraps making this quilt.  I made the sixteen patches before I selected this pattern. If I were to use the pattern again, I would not use white fabric in the sixteen patches because some of the corners of the design melt into the background fabric; thus, distorting the design. Despite that error on my part, I like the pattern and this quilt. 

My next project uses four-patches - lots and lots of four-patches!  I’m still trying to bring the scrap bins under control. I managed to use some larger scraps to make a couple of quilts, but now I’m focused on the smaller ones -- 2.5” squares.  I made piles of four-patch units and then sewed them into eight-patches, and finally sixteen-patch blocks. I think I have enough for two, possibly even three quilts. Stay tuned . . .

Lady Liberty 58 x 71 inches Quilt of Valor #253 Lady Liberty  was made using Bevels, a pattern by  Mountainpeek Creations . I’ve used the pattern before, but the combination of fabrics and colors on this quilt really show off the design to its fullest.

Base Housing 60 x 84 inches Quilt of Valor #252 This quilt used a lot of scraps from my 2.5 inch bin. The rectangular shapes remind me of the barracks and BOQs on Edgren AFB, so I named this one Base Housing.  Pattern used: Rectangle Dancing with Stars by Lisa Sutherland