I decided that I should post what has been distracting me from most of my large projects lately.  These mini quilts are addicting, quick to finish, and simple to wrap your head around.  They also make great eye candy gifts.  I’ve been making some of these in threes so that my mom, my grandmother and I all have one to match!

These were the last two finished, and made it to their new home not long after posing for the photographs below.  I LOVE the fabric that I found at the Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival to build the flag. It is called Marblehead Valor Wavy Stripe Red/White, by Fabri-Quilt.  This mini is my own design!

Which background do you like best?  Night or Day?

The wavy stripes provided the perfect movement and scale for my patriotic mini’s.  (I wish I had bought more, but I think I have enough left to make one of these mini’s for me too.) The flagpole is bias binding, and the star section was cut to match the stripes using a light box and a chalk marker.  All applique is attached with fusible web and blanket stitched to the background.
They are quilted in variegated Red, White, and Blue Floriani thread using a fireworks design that I had in my Library from Wasatch Quilting.

My latest approach to mini quilts has been to longarm the background before completing the embroidery or applique.  This allows me to have intricate quilt designs all the way up to the embroidery and applique features without any backstitching.  It also lets me easily incorporate 3D features.

I have found that I can digitize any font using my embroidery software, Embird.  Once all of the embroidery and applique is completed, I spray baste a facing over the back in decorative fabric, and sew it on at the same time as the binding.  It just covers up the side underside of the stitches.  Does this make sense, or do you need photographs?

If I make many more of these, I might have to start hanging them in my cubicle at work to give the place some color…

Happy Quilting