But first . . .
In 1979 I made my one and only Olympic Wallhanging quilt and entered it in McCall's Needlework & Crafts first national contest inspired by the 1980 Winter and Summer Olympic Games.
The design had to be an original depicting the Olympic Games Theme, Sport or Symbol. I chose two winter and two summer sports and the Olympic torch intertwined with red rings embroidered with the location and year of all the Olympic games.
I used a 14" pizza pan for the circles.
The bright yellow background fabric is a cotton/poly blend which was about the only thing available back then.
I cut out a cardboard hexagon and marked the entire background using a lead pencil (erasing as I went along) and did some echo-quilting in the circles.
It won an honorable mention in the McCall's contest and 1st Place in the wall-hanging category at a small NJ quilt show at the Perkins Center for the Arts in Moorestown, NJ, in 1981 :)
I got to sew the binding on Potluck which I started last year. Barbie Vanderfleet-Martin quilted it for me and did a wonderful job!
I was on a quest to empty my scrap bins :)
The 4-patches, half-square triangles, and bricks are all 2" x 2".
I had plenty of leftover triangles (surprisingly the correct size) for two strips. I chose a rust-colored non-descript pattern for the binding as I didn't want it to overpower the rest of the quilt.
The back. Just using what I had on hand.
Do you recognize the one on the left? It's an oldie.
And the label.
I also finished quilting the center of this NJ Repro.
The quilting pattern is an Orange Peel which I had to adjust ever so slightly to fit each block.
So now I'm up to the borders. I'm still unsure as to what quilting design I want to use for the inner border (maybe a simple cable) and I'm leaning toward hanging diamonds for the large grapevine.
Have a great week!
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Copyright 2016, Barbara Schaffer
Your Olympic quilt is very creative. Well done.
ReplyDeleteWow, I remember that contest. I love your quilt and it does look familiar. Did they publish it? I love the pot luck quilt. I am making one with the same name with orphan blocks. I adore the NJ quilt. Oh how I wish I had more of that grape border too! You work is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYou've won the golden medal for your Olympic quilt ! I love all the details in it !
ReplyDeleteThe quilt with stars is amazing and your friend made a wonderful quilting !
Your Olympic quilt is charming and has a wonderful story. At least you know the gold will never tarnish! I love your Potluck. I'm working on a throw it all together quilt too. There's just so much to look at. I do recognize your backing fabric. I'm wondering if I still have some. The NJ Repro is filled with wonderful fabrics. Did you piece the alternating "plain" squares?
ReplyDeleteWow -what a great Olympic Quilt. Amazing job! Congrats and I'm so glad you shared it.
ReplyDeleteYour Potluck is such a great study of fabrics.
We have matching Star quilts from the NJ book - I love your version!
Always a treat to see your work - exquisite fabric choices too! Great Olympic quilt! Yes - I'm finding the Olympics is perfect for sitting and quilting too. Love the hand quilted detail with the orange peel design. Such a beautiful grape border fabric but I'm not sure what 'hanging diamonds' pattern looks like - looking forward to seeing it finished.
ReplyDelete