Wednesday, October 28, 2015

2015 License Plate Quilt finished

My 2015 License Plate Quilt is done. I collected one license plate from each of the 50 US states and 8 plates from Canadian provinces that were participating in the Row By Row this summer. Plus I added 2 special plates to make a total of 60.




It measures 67" x 95".  
To learn HOW to make it see my previous post titled Beginning of 2015 License Plate Quilt.
Briefly here is a recap:
Make 60 Fussy Square blocks.
The Fussy Square 4" block template can be found HERE.
Cut selvages off lots of fabric 1 1/2" wide.
Lay selvages on side edges of Fussy Square blocks (overlap it 1/4") and topstitch along edge of selvage.
Trim even with the Fussy Square block.
Sew selvages along top and bottom too.
Trim this unit to 6 1/2" square.---Make 60.
For the license plates sew selvages on the top and bottom first then sides.
Trim this block to 6 1/2" x 10". --Make 60.
Sew 2 of each block into a larger 4 patch like this:
Sew the vertical seams first. Then join the 2 sections.
Make 28 of this unit.


Make 4 like this for the bottom row of the quilt.


Each "block" has 2 license plates and 2 Fussy Square blocks.
I put the blocks together in a random order BUT I did put the Halloween blocks with the license plate from MD--where I live--because I love Halloween.

And the plate from Las Vegas had to be near the Busy Strippin plate.
I had already used the AZ Desert Stripper plate in another block but that would have been fun to put with the Las Vegas plate too.


I was trying to decide if I wanted to use the medium batik or the light beach fabric as a border but instead chose the Kaffe Fasset fabric.

Sew the blocks together into 4 long rows first.
Each row has 7 block units plus one half block unit.
Sew these rows together and add a border.
I cut the border 3" wide.



The border fabric is Kaffe Fasset and I love how it echoes the Fussy Square blocks.
This ROW x ROW H2O plate was only sold at the Quilt Odyssey show in late July.
(Of course I was at my son's wedding and couldn't go but thanks to friends I got it.)

Everything is machine sewn, including the binding.
I sew the binding to the back of the quilt then flip it around to the front and use a decorative stitch to sew it down.

Next summer there will be another Row By Row Experience happening and the shops will have license plates again. I purchased these plates online, on the phone, through friends, family, and Facebook group swaps. 
Happy collecting and happy quilting!

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