Quilt Finish: American Quilters SAL

I am starting this year on my UFO Dirty Dozen (PLUS) with a bang.  I already have a UFO finished.  YAHOO!!  I’m so happy.

When I hung it on my line in the early afternoon the sun wasn’t quite right.  I was getting a lot of shadows.  So I left my quilt hanging and snapped this picture.

I went outside a couple of hours later and the quilt had blown and tucked itself behind my flower containers.

I pulled it out and started snapping pictures.  Isn’t it so pretty hanging there?  The other day I was talking to my neighbor and he had no idea that I was a quilt designer or blogger.

I bet he thought I was pretty weird to be hanging quilts off my porch and laying them out on my lawn especially being he didn’t know that was part of my job.  HA!!

So here is my finished quilt.  It is American Quilters SAL.  It was a free stitch-along last summer from Primitive Gatherings.  Each week they would give the pattern for that little block.

It really was not a beginner-friendly pattern as many of the blocks have tiny pieces.

Typically I’m not one to join in Quilt Alongs.  I often get bored waiting for the next block and hate having the “mess” sitting around in my sewing room while I wait for the final clues.  I prefer to sew at my own pace.

Remember me saying there were small pieces??  I lost some of my points…oh well.  Those little triangles are only 1/2″.  Obviously, I’m far from perfect but I’m not taking it to a competition so don’t really care.

It was fun to be working on this over the 4th of July…

Now that Rosie had inground fencing she can be outside and I can get some different pictures of her with quilts.  So, here’s your Rosie picture.

…but, now that she’s outside, I also have to deal with this…

The lighting changed with the quilt being on the ground.  The blue is actually the darker color you see in the photos above.

Anything I’d do differently about the quilt…YEP.  I would not have used that bottom red color in the block shown below.  It doesn’t “read” red enough for my preference.  Overall you don’t notice it until I point it out though…so it’s all good.

I love that I used some stripes.  Check out the block that is three down and two over.  Doesn’t the strip make the blue section fun?

I didn’t have enough blue that I used on the border for the binding but I found something close and am totally content with it.

Here is the back.  I had one leftover block and used it in the backing.

The binding is the same as the blue around the flag.

I just did a simple stipple.  Honestly, I think a stipple is highly underrated.  In a quilt like this, I think it’s perfect as this way, the blocks can shine.

I used a blue thread on top and a red thread for the backing.

I’ve had a few people contact me because they too were doing the stitch along but they missed a month and now don’t have the directions for the month they missed.

Primitive Gatherings, the designer of this quilt, has taken down the free directions and now has the pattern only available as a $25 pattern.

I had missed a few blocks as well.  Luckily I was able to find the few that I was missing embedded into their Youtube videos about the blocks.  The sad news is that the printout for each block is not in every video…BUT, Lisa does a video for each block.  In each video, she gives the measurements you need to make the blocks…so, if you have the will to make it and not pay the $25, you can.  You would need to watch the videos to get the sizes.

This pattern was originally put together as a fundraiser for Hogs for Heroes.  I originally made a donation to them so I don’t feel bad about not repaying the $25 for the pattern.

On a complete side note Primitive Gatherings is doing another Quilt Along, Oh Say Can You Sew.  Again the clues will disappear.  I just discovered all of this and am late to the game.  Apparently, the clues come out each month.  I was able to dig around and find the old clues.

I am putting them here in case anyone else is late to the game and wants the clues.
Clue one is in THIS blog post.
Clue 2
Clue 3
Clue 4

They are released on the first Monday of the month so you would need to watch for the rest of the clues.  As of now, I’m printing them but don’t know if I’ll be making the quilt.

I’m so happy to be starting the month out great with one UFO already finished.  Whoot! WHOOT!!

I’m keeping this one out for the rest of the month to enjoy and then I’ll pack it away until next year.