USA Map Quilt Surprise

Monday, June 17, 2019

A few months ago, a local friend gave me a box of fabrics that she no longer wanted. When putting the box in my car, she pulled one fabric out (a USA map panel) and said, "I planned to make this for my son, but I'll never get around to it." I knew right at that moment that she would be getting that back!


Quilted USA map panel

Fast forward to last weekend, and I gifted her the finished map quilt for her son!


Included in the box of fabric with the Timeless Treasures map panel were several red, white, and blue prints. I did really like them, but just couldn't come up with a whimsical enough plan that went with the quilt.




USA map panel and coordinating fabrics

THEN I remembered I had a road panel in my stash that would make a really fun quilt back! I pulled it out and discovered it had red and blue in it too! It was meant to be!


Road map quilt panel

The only quandary was how to pair them together as a front and a back. The USA map was about 24" tall by WOF, and the road panel was about 32" tall.


Comparing quilt panel sizes

After a few calculations, I cut the flags off either side of the USA panel and framed it with a large red and a small white border.


Adding borders to USA panel quilt

I very carefully layered the panels together with Warm & Natural batting. Patience was key!

Matching up the quilt front and back

I pin basted the quilt to prepare for free motion quilting on my domestic (a Juki TL-2010Q).

Pin basting

I even had the perfect blue thread for the quilting! Aurifil 50wt #1320 - Bright Teal. I quilted a medium meander over the entire quilt.

Aurifil 50wt for the quilting

A quick trim...

Cutting away the extra batting

...and on to the binding. I used a bright blue Island Batik fabric to keep with the red, white, and blue theme. I machine sewed it on as usual (tutorial here).

Machine sewing binding

This was a quick finish and a fun one to cross off the to-do list!

USA map panel quilt
Red, white, and blue USA map panel quilt
Quilted USA panel
Medium meander free motion quilting

The finished quilt measures about 30" x 40" and is my 106th quilt finish for the year!

USA panel quilt
Double sided kid's quilt
Quilted road map play mat
Quilted road map play mat

I met up with my friend on Friday, and was able to surprise her with the finished quilt!

She sent me this photo that night. Her son was already playing with his cars on the roads!

Quilted road map play mat

Hopefully the quilt will be a fun playmat for him now, but will still hold his interest as he grows.

Now what other quick finishes do I have around here....



This post contains affiliate links. Clicking a link will NOT affect the purchase price.

12 comments:

  1. This is SO adorable! I love the idea of the road map side -- it's a quilt instead of the traditional rug!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cute. The panel looks so much better without the flags. That was so kind of you to return the pay it forward.

    ReplyDelete
  3. And how delighted she must be, to have that quilt for her little guy! I love how you come up with a plan and make it happen. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Super fun! I love that town print, perfect for cars and trucks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I can just imagine how delighted both mother and son must have been! You are so sweet!

    ReplyDelete
  6. How wonderful! I loved those panels and my son had one that I made up for him when he was young. I am sure she appreciated it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Surprises are the best and I'm sure your friend was very surprised! I love what you did with the front and back. Anything that can let a child use their imagination is always good and it looks like he's doing just that!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What an awesome quilt - you got so lucky the sizes worked so well!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a great gift to give a busy mother. Her son just loves this! You are a wonderful person for doing that. Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love how you really lifted that USA panel with the borders, and of course the car road mat is a failsafe favourite. :D Great quilt and a lovely return gift.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Laura, I love your US map quilt. The fabric is still available but listed as 'very lightweight' as opposed to quilting cotton listed as 'lightweight'. What do you think about the quality of this fabric? Thanks, Bernadine

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Bernadine! Both of the panels I used were regular quilting cotton fabric. I would not have used the term "very lightweight" with either of them! I was quite satisfied with the quality of them! Happy quilting!

      Delete

Thank you for visiting and for your comments! I try to reply to comments via email, so if you're expecting a response and don't hear from me, check if you're a no-reply blogger. Happy sewing!