Welcome to my stop on the Celebrate Red, White and Blue Blog Hop and my celebration of the colors of Old Glory! I hope you enjoy what I created to share with you today.
When this hop was 1st announced, my original thought was to totally stay away from the traditional star blocks and do something unconventional. But then while browsing through my books for ideas, I came across the Blackford's Beauty block and all previous ideas flew right out the window. This one just called out to me to be my inspiration.
I delved into my stash and scraps, cut and sewed, and this is the result.
I said to myself "I like, I like". So what did I do next? I made another one of course!
Two led to three and this one was the next one completed.
An addiction was started. Oh no. One more just screamed at me, begging to join the party.
Next thing I new I was cutting for yet a 5th Blackford's Beauty block.
More, more I wanted to make even more, but a glance at my watch showed me that I was almost out of time! July 2nd was fast approaching. So I resisted the urge to keep going but then I was left wondering what to do with all these beautiful blocks. I'm not one to just let them remain unfinished.
They were hanging out on my design wall and Hello the obvious project was staring me right in the face. With a little of sewing together, a bit more cutting and a few borders, I created this patriotic table runner. I named it American Beauty.
It is my first table runner and I am ticked Red, White and Blue how well it turned out. A couple of quilt models wanted to help but then weren't the easiest to work with.
It measures 22" x 70" and officially it is considered a UFO since it's neither quilted nor bound. But it still looks wonderful on my dining room table.
Why isn't it actually finished? Well the final stitches weren't completed until yesterday afternoon and I've also decided that this will be my first piece that I will quilt myself. I already have a plan ready. I don't have the right needles nor any good quilting thread so a shopping trip is in order. I'm anxious to finally quilt one of my quilt tops on my own. I'm just praying it goes as well as hope it will. keep your fingers crossed for me.
Are you wondering yet about that giveaway I eluded to on Saturday? Well here it is. Looking for a new home is not 1 but 2 Jovial charm packs. Loads of folks celebrate Christmas in July and I thought, why not? Whomever is the lucky winner will have plenty of time to create something fantastic to help celebrate the holidays.
For a chance to win, just tell me where your dream vacation place is, someplace you've always wanted to go. For a 2nd chance, become a follower and tell me that you did or if you already follow my adventures, mention it. That's it. 2 chances to win. Entries will remain open for 1 week, through midnight EST on July 8th. The winner will be announced on July 9th. If you are a No Reply Blogger, make sure you leave me your email address so that I can get in touch with you.
Remember to also visit my fellow bloggers today and see what other wonderful Red, White and Blue creations they've come up with. I'm sure it will be well worth it.
Quilts From My Crayon Box (You're already here!)
Elaine
After today there will be 14 more glorious days of blog hopping bliss. You won't want to miss a single stop on the tour, I promise.
After today there will be 14 more glorious days of blog hopping bliss. You won't want to miss a single stop on the tour, I promise.
215 of you added your own colorful comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 215 of 215Oooooooooooo! I love it! So gorgeous!
Love the photo of the kiddo's holding it too. Sweet. :)
Dream vacation??? Australia baby! Would love to meet some of my Aussie gal pals!
Signed up to be a follower of your adventures. Sorry for the delay in getting here. My power was out for a few days from the storms. Poo!
Hugs to you!
Jeg ville elske at besøge Grønland, men da jeg ikke kan gå og derfor bruger kørestol, er det nok ikke en mulighed. Har flere gange været i Malaga i Spanien og det er dejligt - vil gerne derned og nyde solen igen.
Jeg følger din blog og elsker det. Tak for at dele dine smukke ting.
My dream vacation is anywhere in Hawaii! Love your runner, thanks for sharing it with us!
Hi Michele,
Love love love this! Blackford's Beauty first caught my attention on quilterscache.com (my go-to site for free patterns). I just had to go dig it out of my files just now! This block is perfect for a Patriotic block, because it's named from during the U.S. Civil War: "The block was named for a ford ( river crossing ) near Sharpsburg , Maryland - The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Potomac River at this point to get back to the safety of Confederate ground - not knowing at that time they out numbered the Union Army there -- this was following the bloody slaughter at Antietam ,Sept. 17 1862 -- the following summer was the battle of Gettysburg where the south's spirit was broken --- " ---by Helen
http://www.quilterscache.com/B/Blackfordshistory.html
I'm already a follower!
My dream vacation would be to go to Spain. I speak Spanish fluently, and found out while in college that I have ancesters from Spain around the time of the Crusades. There in Spain, the Celtic meets the Arabic influence. I enjoy the architecture and geometric designs...great for quilting!
My dream vacation is ...Aruba.
I love beaches and am living in a landlocked state:)
I am now following your blog! Happy 4th!
Love your blocks. Sew glad I finally had access to a laptop so I could comment.
I love the fabric in block 5. Your helpers are adorable!
There are so many awesome places we have visited on vacations over the years, Acadia natl park, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Glacier Park, Alaska, Galapagos, Australia, New Zealand, Bahamas, Cozumel, Maui.
We have enjoyed them all, but continue to go back to South Kehei in Maui(to relax and watch whales & their babies) and on Royal Caaribbean cruises every year.
My dream vacation is anywhere I can go with my Honeyman and NOT have to take the kids, NOT have to cook, clean, or do the laundry! Oh, and sun and sand and a drink in my hand is nice, too! LOL I'm pretty easy going! :)
Let's see...my dream vacation would be taking a trip to Norway in June when it has many hours of daylight.
Oh, fabulous tablerunner! I love how changing the fabrics changes the look. There's so much mileage in a good design, isn't there. Thanks so much for sharing!
So many places I want to travel to. Australia is high on my list!
My dream vacation spot is Ireland. I would love to spend several weeks just rambling around the country side!
I am a follower!
My dream vacation- I guess my dream vacation would be to visit our son in PEI Canada but if not there, if I could go anywhere I wanted it would be Australia or Sweden or Mexico or Paris... Hmmm lots of wonderful places to travel in this world.
I have never made this lovely block but I have seen it made into a quilt- it is quite stunning. I love how your tablerunner turned out.
Thanks for sharing,
Regards from Western Canada,
Anna
such a great block - I'm going to have to try that one - and the table runner looks gorgeous - I'm sure it won't be a UFO for too long :)
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