Friday, February 22, 2019

Red White and Blue Finish

It is no secret I love to make string quilts.  In fact, no sooner than I start one, it seems I am ready to share it as a finished quilt.



Late in January, I shared these long rectangular string blocks I was starting to make. I started out with the color red and then added in some low volumes.



Since then some blue was added and before I knew it, a quilt was finished!
(I thought I would take advantage of our bright sunshine but it sure made it difficult to photograph this quilt.)



In the white area, I added in some blue improv stars.  The fabric for each star came out of the trash heap.  The blocks are 5" so they required just small bits.




On the back, I used one of my recently acquired fabrics from Connecting Threads.  It is a Navy and White Sketch fabric that I am in love with.  I pretty much used all I had on this quilt so I will definitely be buying more.  In fact, it comes in other colors so I might have to pick up a few.

I used a pantograph for the quilting.  It is a star and ribbon pattern that I ran vertically on the quilt.





When I make string quilts, I do use a fabric foundation.  In fact, I recently cleaned out my clothes closet and quite a few of my old cotton shirts were used in this quilt.

This will not be the last time I play with narrow string blocks.  After the completion of this design, my mind filled with lots of other patterns and color combinations that would be fun.

I could make string quilts for years and never get bored!






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24 comments:

Lisa England said...

Just beautiful! What a creative way to arrange string blocks, and I love the improv stars. Thanks for sharing this, it is so inspiring!

Alison V. said...

This is such a fun patriotic quilt! :D

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

that is a neat design!

Sarah Aldrich said...

I love this quilt. I think I may use this designs for a quilt of valor.

cityquilter grace said...

that is gorgeous indeed...

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I think I say this a lot, but you have the best ideas for quilts! I love how the lines between the colors look like a city skyline. Beautiful finish!

Kat said...

Love! It looks awesome!

Ellie said...

Really like the unusual stings! Great quilt. Pretty backing fabric too.

Vivian said...

Now THAT is awesome! Could see that as a great QOV too!

ginkgokid said...

This is such a fun and unique quilt! I am most impressed with the way you positioned the rectangular string blocks, and then added the improv stars to the white. I truly agree it would be a wonderful QOV quilt.
Might I ask the finished size?

Kathy's A Quilter said...

Cynthia, this is terrific! I too love string quilts and am toying with a blue string quilt with slashes of orange that I can translate into an Edmonton Oiler's fan quilt. (Team colours) If you are EVER in this area of Canada, I would love to meet you and have to do a class on your migrating geese. Just throwing that out into the universe...

Mystic Quilter said...

So this was what all those lovely large string blocks were headed! Very nice Cynthia, wonder what the next string quilt will be,

Jo said...

It looks lovely. Such an easy design.

maggie fellow said...

wonderful quilt - will there be a pattern?

Vicki in MN said...

I think you outdid yourself on this scrappy, just gorgeous! Every time you make a new scrappy I like it better than the last:)

Louise said...

Oh, this one is super fun! Love the pantograph you chose, too :)

The Joyful Quilter said...

I always love your String Quilts and this was is no exception. The smattering of stars kick it up a notch! I'm glad to hear that you had fun making this quilt. Congrats on getting it finished SEW quickly!!

Jasmine said...

Such a beautiful, vibrant quilt. I love your layout and scrappy stars.

Cathy said...

Be still my heart! It never fails to surprise me how you can whip up so many fabulous scrap quilts!! Beautiful finish!!!

Kate said...

I'm not generally a fan of string blocks (not sure why, I'm just not), but I love this one. Congrats on a great scrappy finish!

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Well now I want to make that one too!! Can I have 2 Inspired by Cynthia quilts??? It looks SO great!!!

QuiltGranma said...

Looks like an impressionist cityscape reflected in the water. Very effective. Was that your intent?

Claire said...

Nice finish! I have been saving strings, but haven't gotten to them yet.

Anne / Springleaf Studios said...

Love the blue/red combination of your string quilt. The little stars are a wonderful addition. I'm planning to make a QAYG string quilt this year but must finish few other things first. Thanks for the added inspiration..

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