UFO Shot Down!! Wagon Wheels West 2 is finished at long, long last. :D

I can't believe this quilt is finally finished. Complete with label!

78" x 98"

It is a twin of one I made for my father, except that this one has the Hobbs Tuscany Wool for batting.

They are an execution of Charlotte O'Leary's "Wagon Wheels" in the same fabrics she used. They were both started late in 2008 after a serious Internet search for the fabrics from shops around the country. The line was already 2 or 3 years old at that time, so it was a little tough to find everything.

I made the quilts as a family heirloom tribute to a straight line-up on our family tree of remarkable people who made the Western pioner trek across the United States in wagon trains and handcart companies. The reproduction fabrics cover the range of those migrations, from 1846 to the 1890s. The flag fabric is easy to pin-point, as the US flag had 30 stars from 1848-1851.

Patty Butcher, my fantabulous local longarmer back in Niceville, did all the quilting except the names that I wanted to add myself in the triple inner borders. She was a real trooper, working with my covered wagon and handcart motifs that I wanted in the center of each wheel block.

To put in the names, I found a font I like, blew it up humongous, and traced them straight off my laptop onto Golden Threads paper. . .

. . . which I pinned around the border and free-motion quilted right through. Worked like a charm!

The names on mine are a bit different from the ones on my dad's, reflecting the branches from my mother's side.  All 16 of my great-great grandparents!

Every one of them made that journey.

Margaret Nebraska Imlay was even born en route on the plains of Nebraska. Can you imagine??? At least it was June, and not January!  I actually have 17 names on mine, because Margaret's mother, born Anna Eliza Coward, was no coward. That's for certain.

As I noted on the label: Here’s to the faith, the grit, the sheer determination these men and women proved themselves with as they went west to find their Zion.

P.S. - Linda made me remember part of these quilts' story, so I'm pasting in my reply:

 You know - I saw the quilt online and instantly got that idea for the names. Once I worked up the broken wheel blocks, though, I *hated* the project!  lol  They were not my colors or style and just made me feel bleh to work with. So they went boxed away for a year or so. Then I felt guilty, pulled them out, cut the sashing, and laid them all out on the floor. And magic happened, you know? They just looked so great together. I'm really glad I set them to marinate for a while rather than giving them away!

~*~*~*~*~

Thanks to these great hosts for superb inspirational link-ups! You should check these places out for more cool projects folks have finished. :D

* Link A Finish Friday at Richard's * *

.