I can’t share what I’m actually working on other than I’m still making HSTs (Half Square Triangles). The blocks are now complete and this week I’ll assemble the top & add a border.

So I thought I’d share a Quilt Of Valor Work in Progress (QOV WIP).

2016 – The Inspiration

In August 2016 I saw a QOV quilt on KatyQuilt Blog which was made using this Jelly Roll. I kept the printed post hanging behind my sewing machine.  I don’t remember when I actually bought the Jelly Roll. A Jelly Roll is a pre-cut bundle of 2-1/2′ x WOF (Width of Fabric which is between 40″ to 42″). This usually contains about 40 cut strips which includes multiple strips of the different designs in the same fabric line.

The quilt was simply multiple 16-patch blocks divided into reds & blues. It really wasn’t a pattern, just using the blocks in a pleasant layout.

2022 – The Beginning

Yes, I know I started in 2022. I’ve mostly been working on it between projects & Fabric Cafe tops.

The first step was to unwind the strips and iron them. Then I separated the reds, the creams with red highlights, the blues and the creams with blue highlights.

Strip Piecing

After pairing one red with one cream with red highlights, the two were stitched on the long side. This was repeated until all the reds were stitched in long pairs. The process was the same for the blue strips and cream with blue highlights.

I ironed the seams to the red or blue strip. This would help when matching seams to get my points to match.

More strip piecing was done by alternating red/cream + red/cream strips. As well as the blue/cream strips..

These strips were all cut into 2-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ units. Four same color units were combined by flipping every other strip. This created a block 4 squares by 4 squares for a total of 16 squares to a block with alternating colors.

Assembling More Blocks

On National Jelly Roll day, September 19, 2022, I did get a lot done. I continued making blocks through October, but then holiday & gift sewing took my time. Everything was boxed up to be worked on later.  Unfortunately the box was moved from one place to another and it wasn’t worked on during 2023 & 2024.

2025 – Moving On

Fast forward to March 2025 and more blocks were made.

In April 2025 I took the blocks I had made to our Thursday Quilting Group. We adjusted some blocks to avoid same blocks being next to each other.

The Jelly Roll actually left me with a few blocks short. My super quilty friends searched their stashes & come up with some scrap fabric that worked to make up the extra blocks needed.

2026 – Completion?

So I now have the blocks pinned to a sheet. My goal this year is to get the rows stitched and the entire top assembled. I need to add a border to make it the requured size for a Quilt of Valor, and, decide what to use. I’m thinking maybe a small red and a bit larger blue? Or just a blue border?

Click Here to go to Katy’s Blog and see how she finished her 16 Patch QOV. She used a wide cream border to make it the right size.

What’s under your needle this week?

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Hope you are making progress on whatever you are stitching this week!

Happy Stitching!

Quilt Mouse