Memorial Day "Freedom" Quilt

Memorial Day (Monday) is a holiday in the U.S. for remembering and honoring men and women who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Volunteers help to decorate the graves of the fallen soldiers with flags and bouquets of flowers. In observation of Memorial Day, we are showing a quilt made by Denise Maas, which was exhibited at Quilt Arizona, the annual show of the Arizona Quilters Guild.

Freedom by Denise Maas, quilted by Terri Reiman

Denise writes that she participates in her church's quilting group, which is cleverly named RWYS, or "Reap What You Sew."  The 68 x 84 quilt pattern, by designer Tony Jacobson, is Unfurled Glory from the Love of Quilting Magazine's July-August 2012 issue.

Denise's group did this project as a "mystery quilt", meaning that each member sewed their quilt section by section without first seeing the entire pattern. The pattern therefore was revealed to them as they made progress on the quilt construction.

These light and dark ribbon blocks are especially lovely in depicting the 7 red stripes of the American flag; and  we really like the stars that longarm quilter Terri Reiman used in order to carry out the patriotic motif. We wish everyone a blessed Memorial Day as we remember those who gave their lives for freedom.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Quilt Arizona show.