Rhonda Bracey: At Random

At our annual quilting retreat in July, I took along a heap of navy and red fabric scraps, plus some white fabric with the intention of making a couple of quilt tops. Well, I made them then, but only recently got around to quilting them and finishing them off. So, it’s taken a while to get them up on the blog, but better late than never. Both are available for purchase from my Etsy store: rhondamadeit.etsy.com

Red, white, and blue square-in-square quilt

All the blocks were made from various navy blue fabrics surrounded by white, expect for the two red and white blocks, which add a pop of colour. I added a quarter-inch border in bright red fabric to set off the predominantly blue and white colours, then added a wide navy border, with red binding to pull it all together.

I quilted most of the small squares with a ‘cathedral window’ (or ‘orange peel’) quilting motif, using a white thread. In the large border, I quilted with a large meandering stipple, using a navy thread.

The backing fabric is navy, with two red and white blocks for contrast. Dimensions: 44.5″ (H) x 39″ [115 x 99 cm]

Red, white, and blue crazy quilt

I had fun making this ‘improv’ quilt. All the blocks are made from navy blue and red fabric scraps that I stitched together, then slashed apart, then joined to other scraps to make my own ‘fabric’. I then cut my ‘made’ fabric into blocks, and surrounded each block with white fabric. I added a half-inch peeper in various red fabrics to set off the predominantly blue and white colours, then added a wide navy border, with red binding to pull it all together.

In keeping with the angular shapes of the ‘made’ fabric in the blocks and the red, white, and blue of many flags, I stitched stars in the blocks, and diamonds in the wide white sashing strips. The backing fabric is navy. Dimensions: 38″ (H) x 34″ [97 x 87 cm]