Something New: A Finished Valor Quilt

It's finished!  Thanks to those who have patiently stuck it out through my millions of posts on this project. :)  And welcome to any new visitors from Amy's link-up!

I put the final stitches on my Something New Sampler quilt last night.  I wasn't required to finish it completely in order to meet the deadline, but I was so close I decided just to push myself to finish.  Which I did - with one day to spare!

I'll be donating this quilt to the new Veterans Memorial Home that will be opening in my city soon.  I put a TON of time and effort into this quilt, so I feel a little sad giving it away, but I'm sure it will be well loved.  It helps to know that most of the fabric (and all of the batting) was donated to me by good friends who will be happy to hear that their kindness is being put to good use.  I know it is going to be very, very different from most of the quilts that are being donated, but I LOVE that I got to have the opportunity to try new things.  This quilt made it possible to try them out when otherwise I probably wouldn't have bothered.  Amy's quilt-along was SO FUN!  I even tried lots of new quilting methods.  (For those who are curious, I added an update to THIS post on how the rest of my QAYG turned out.)

I tried to get some good pictures during my limited nap-time window.  I hope they do the quilt justice.  Here we go:

A couple close-ups.  The bright light outside really helped the quilting to show!

 I forgot to account for the wider seam allowance and squaring up that was going to happen when I attached the quilted sections, so some of my borders ended up a little wonky.  Oops.

I wanted to be as economical (and simple) as possible, so I bought a sheet to use for the backing and then did an easy fold over binding.  The sheet doesn't necessarily match all that white, but somehow I still think it works.  The backing is sewn down every 15 inches or so.  I didn't want to add too much more stitching to the front.  It's pretty loose, but I think it will hold up.  We'll have to see how it looks after being washed and dried.  I'll also be watching to see if those seams created from attaching the quilted blocks soften up at all.  EDIT:  After washing, the back still looks great.  I think it's going to be fine.

An obligatory bed shot, to prove how big it is:

And here are a few more, just for fun!

Quilt stats:

Started: January 2013

Finished: March 13, 2012

Fabrics:  Everything is from my stash.  Most of the fabrics I used were given to me by a friend (particularly the red stars and the blue stars used in each block).  The batting was also donated by a friend and pieced together.  The only thing I payed for was the white fabric, the backing, and the 2,500 or so yards of thread I went through (YIKES!)

Finished size: About 76 x 91 (before washing)

Recipient:  Utah State Veterans Home

Previous posts about individual blocks HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE

Previous post about quilting and QAYG method HERE 

The quilt is in the wash right now.   (Gotta get all those pencil markings off.)  Which means there will have to be a few more pictures once it comes out of the drier.  ;) 

EDIT:  It's washed and dried and is now crinkly!  I know there are lots of people who love the crinkly look but to be completely honest, I'm usually disappointed when I take my quilts out of the drier and the crinkliness has overwhelmed the intricate quilting designs.  I really love the way my quilts look BEFORE washing.  But then when you step back and look at the whole thing, it's still the same quilt. 

AFTER washing:

I'm linking up with Amy at The Cute Life.  Starting Friday, March 15th, there will be VOTING for all who finished a project.  Go check it out!!  Edit:  Vote HERE.  Make sure to click on the button ABOVE the quilt you choose!  Voting closes on Friday, March 22nd.