Island Batik is supporting Triathlon Gold this year. One of the supportive programs is to give each athlete their very own red, white and blue quilt.
Here is the quilt I made for my athlete, Mary Alex England.
All of the quilts for athletes are similar. We were given a pattern, designed by Kathleen of Kathleen McMusing, two strip packs of Freedom fabric (the same print we used for our Quilts of Valor Project), along with coordinating yardage, and a package of Hobbs cotton batting.
Twelve of us made quilts, and Jackie Kunkel embroidered labels for us to attach. This was a team effort. I’m just so glad I don’t have to do do the swimming, biking and running. (I did complete a triathlon once. It was great – everyone should do it once, just to know that you can. Now I know I can, so I don’t have to do it again.)
I used freezer paper foundation piecing, and I loved how much easier it made finishing the quilt. No tearing out papers and making a mess. I made enough mess with the scraps.
I used a swagged stars quilting pattern, with gold Madeira thread for the quilting. The gold thread really shows up on the back of the quilt.
Oscar wouldn’t let me take a photo of the back without him. He becomes very needy when taking his cowboy for a ride.
Quilt Specs
Dimensions – 53.24″ x 68.25″
Pattern – String Quilt by Kathleen McCormick
Fabric – Freedom by Island Batik
Batting – Hobbs Cotton
Thanks for reading! Oscar and I are headed to the studio to see what else is on our list.
Hi Jen! What a great idea and a beautiful quilt for Mary. All that hard work and effort, not to mention the training she has put in – it’s nice to be recognized by your hard work and effort as well. Of course, your model of sweet Oscar makes it a winning project all around. Enjoy your holiday weekend! ~smile~ Roseanne
It looks great and I love the golf as the quilting thread. Oscar is quite serious in his role as master of the back of the quilt.
beautiful quilt! i admire you for going the distance (pardon the joke) for the triathlon participants – it is a great gift that will give them a memory that will last a lifetime.
I love puns! Bad jokes are always welcome here.
It turned out great. I love this fabric collection.