Quilt of Valor Blog hop 50 states quilt

When I saw a post for the Island Batik Ambassadors about doing a Quilt of Valor quilt, I was quick to sign up!

I LOVE patriotic quilts!!

Island Batik sent us all some goodies to play with!
They are called Freedom batiks

A lovely 10″ square pack and matching yardage and solid white.

So then I started brainstorming!

I’ve done a 50 states block quilt before and that was fun, but I saw an ad from Annie’s for this United states quilt block pattern

I then had the “plan” to be able to create all the blocks with Accuquilt QUBE sets!

As the QOV “rule” was a final certain size range and I figured that it would 12″ blocks with a layout of 5×6 and a border, now that only added up to 30 blocks and there’s 50 states!

Also I then went into EQ8 and simplified some blocks to be able to work with QUBE sets, if a block was based off of 2×2 grid or 4×4 grid, I could easily use the 12″ qube set, but if it was a 3×3 block like a nine patch then I’d use the 8″ qube set.

Also I needed to add the 20 blocks extra somewhere, so I recruited my son to figure out a layout, if I made 4 blocks that are 6″ and put them together into a 12″ block, how would it work out and still look great?

He figured out that if I had 28 of 6″ blocks that would make 7 larger 12″ blocks, so then there’s 23 left, and 23 +28 is 51so I HAD to add a block for Washington D.C!

and sure enough the Annie’s block had a D.C. block in there too!

Now since my own rule was to use QUBE sets, several of the blocks in the book didn’t work or I modified them a LOT! but the end result turned out GREAT!!

This was my general idea at first with some white parts but that was before Bjorn helped me 😉

I first used my 6″ QUBE sets and made all the 28 6″ small blocks

I also made a rule that I had to add some of the yardage on each block and only one NEW fabric from the 10″ stacks. 

I sewed all the small blocks together into the larger 12″ blocks in alphabetical order

Then I made the 23 – 12″ blocks only a few were made with the 12″ qube set, some I used the 8″ set or even the 6″ set too.

The blocks were SEW much fun to make!

I did some playing around with the layout and blocks but finally came up with this

Want to know which blocks is which state?

Starting top left and if it’s a 4 in 1 block I start top left too

Row 1:

North Carolina (where I live!)

Texas

Alabama(that one is changed a LOT from the book

Alaska

Arkansas

California

Utah

West Virginia

Row2:

New Hampshire

Mississippi

Vermont

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Kansas

Row 3:

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Iowa

Virginia

Wyoming

Maryland

Louisiana

Maine

Michigan

Minnesota

Row 4:

New Mexico

Missouri

Nebraska

Nevada

Ohio

Montana

Massachusetts

Arizona

Row 5:

Illinios

New York 

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

New Jersey

Indiana

Row 6:

North Dakota

Kentucky

Rhode Island

South Dakota

Tennessee

Washington

Washington D.C.

Wisconsin

Let me know if I missed any- there’s a few blocks that are similar in EQ so I might have duplicated it when I wrote it down.

With the borders added, the quilt measures 66″ x 78″

I didn’t get to quilt it yet, as I had hardly any scraps leftover!

I did have enough to make this pincushion

I just love Red, White and Blue quilts!

If you haven’t seen this already, here’s the participants
Participants
July 1
Becca Fenstermaker — Pretty PineyDenise Looney — For the Love of Geese
Gail Sheppard — Quilting Gail
July 2
Pamela Boatright — Pamela Quilts
Anne Wiens — Sweetgrass Designs
July 3
Bea Lee —Bea Quilter
Carla Henton — Creatin’ In the Sticks 
July 4
Emily Leachman — The Darling Dogwood
Joan Kawano — MooseStash Quilting
Jen Strauser – Dizzy Quilter
July 5
Steph Jacobson — Steph Jacobsen DesignsLeah Malasky — Quilted DelightsAnja Clyke — Anja Quilts
Maryellen McAuliffe — Mary Mack Made Mine

Thanks again to Island Batik for sponsoring all the fabrics!

22 thoughts on “Quilt of Valor Blog hop 50 states quilt”

  1. OMG, you really put a lot into figuring out this beauty to make it work with EQ. It's spectacular!! Happy 4th.

  2. Very nice! I would love to see what they had for the Alabama block in the book.

  3. This is fantastic, Bea. Your quilt is so unique and I love it in the Freedom Fabrics. You make me want to try these blocks.

  4. Very nice. You’re one determined lady! Wish I had a way of sharing with our Illinois Quilts of Valor!

  5. Hi Bea! What a wonderful quilt to share with us on the day before the 4th, and what a fun blog hop. Kudos to representing all 50 states. This quilt top really is a beauty. I look forward to seeing how you are going to quilt it. Happy 4th of July to you and your family. ~smile~ Roseanne

  6. Becca // Pretty Piney

    Oh my goodness, this is INCREDIBLE! What a commitment to make the blocks work both with the Qube and the QOV specifications, and the result is totally worth it. Gorgeous!

  7. Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting

    That was a lot of hard work. Glad your son could help with the setting/math.

  8. Wow, that's really going to be loved by a veteran! You did a lot of work on this one, and it looks great!

  9. What a gorgeous quilt for a great day and a great cause! As a relatively new user of EQ8 and also Accuquilt cutters, I love seeing your ideas and tips. Thank you.

  10. Great job on the quilt! Nice to have help with the math sometimes, isn't it?

  11. Elizabeth V Kelbaugh

    Fabulous! Thanks to your son for helping figure out the math and EQ for planning it all. I love the scrappy feel.

  12. I love your QOV quilt! It is fun to look at with all the state's represented! Good job on the layout! I try to make all my blocks with my AccuQuilt as well! So much nicer cutting! I have the 12" and 8" block sets too. (From before they named them cubes!)

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