NFL Quilt with the Snowball Block

My (step) grandson turned 14 last month and back in August, I asked my son what to get him for his birthday and he said "A football quilt". Music to my ears!!! So in a conversation with my grandson, since he knows I don't like football, I had to figure how to sneak in  asking what his favorite football teams were! But a good grandmother always knows how to work it in there!  He said Oregon Ducks, Dallas Cowboys, Texas Longhorns and New England Patriots.  So I got to work looking for the logo fabric for these teams.I search so many shops and would find one or two of the teams, but was hoping to find all four at the same shop.  I finally  found them all at Hancock Fabrics and bought 1/2 yard of each print.  Took my longer to find the fabric than it did to make the quilt! And I have enough of each fabric to make him something else...like a pillowcase or journal/notebook cover.
                                   

Dallas Cowboys

 

Texas Longhorns

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New England Patriots

Oregon Ducks

I used matching solids to make a "snowball" block and made 5 of each NFL print. The finished block is 12x12. 

 I used a dark green batik (his favorite color) for sashing and for some Americana influence (I am told football is all-time American!) I used a fabric with small American Flags for the cornerstones. I ran out of the green batik for sashing, so I had to just leave one side without the sashing, so that will be the side of the quilt that goes at the pillow end of the bed...and under his neck!  Quilt measures 68"x88".                            

I used a thin batting and a thin fleece for the back. Usually, I don't use a batting if I use fleece for the back, but in this case... my son said he wanted the quilt to be "warm" as the boy's room is on the end of the HVAC ducts so in the winter, his room doesn't get as warm as they would like, so he wants the quilt to be warm as possible, so I used batting this time. I did a meander stitch for the FMQ'ing. I used a medium green in the bobbin and matching threads to the block color on the top. I was very pleased with myself and my machine that the colors didn't show through on either side! Even when using white or black, those colors didn't show through on the back!  I used a solid, dark blue fabric for the binding. I was lost on what to put on the label...being for a 14 year old boy (I don't know them to well these days since mine is now 32!) and didn't want it to mushy, so I just put on the label "For the love of the game! Yea team!" and then my signature and year.

 

So I will be giving it to him next week. I hope he likes it!

 

A "snowball" block is a very quick and easy block to make.  It is a good block to use with large print fabrics. You want the large print to be seen, but need just a little something to make it stand out and not look so cluttered. 
Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew has a great tutorial on how to make snowball blocks...check it out by clicking HERE
   Want to read more at Fabric and Memories? CLICK HERE  ....keep on sewing those memories!