MSQ’s and Wendy Chow’s Solar Slice Quilts

This month, we’ve been sharing lots of fun photos of the process of making our Solar Slice sample over on our Instagram feed. In this post, we’re going to dig into all the details of our quilt and a beautiful modern service version of the quilt made by the featured designer herself, Wendy Chow!

Wendy’s pattern comes in two sizes, throw and baby. The throw is a very generous 77” x 80”, so it’s a great one for taller vets or people who just love having plenty of soft warmth to snuggle under.

Our sample was pieced by Lilo Whitener-Fey of Trace Creek Quilting, who wanted to use this quilt to really highlight the option of upcycling fabrics. This is a great pattern for incorporating old shirts or uniforms for an added personal touch. Lilo found all the fabrics used in the quilt at a local resale shop. The background was pieced from a sheet, the stars were made from shirts and jeans (pro tip! look for thinner denims), and the binding was made from the sleeves of the shirts.

We love to share the other mockups our web designer, Christine Boyd, makes, and this month’s options show just how versatile this pattern is and how many different ways you can incorporate a modern aesthetic into a service quilt.

Lilo also quilted our sample and chose the Herringbone #2 pattern to reflect all the star angles throughout the quilt. It’s also a great one for adding interest to negative space.

Christine added the final touch with our favorite big-stitch binding, another nod to the handmade feel that all the clothes fabrics add to this quilt.

This month, we were so excited to hear that Wendy also wanted to make her own new sample of Solar Slice especially for this project! Her beautiful quilt top embraces the brighter side of red, white, and blue, pulling in several red-orange prints and a range of aquas and blues. Isn’t it fabulous? I can’t imagine a young vet who wouldn’t be floored to receive this one.

If all this goodness has inspired you to jump in and create your own version, then head on over to Wendy’s store to grab your copy of the pattern. And don’t forget Wendy is donating 50% of the proceeds from the Solar Slice pattern for the month of October to Minority Veterans of America (Minority Vets), so grab your pattern this month to stretch your impact for some very worthy veterans. You can check out this post for lots more about Wendy’s collaboration with MSQ. Happy quilting!

Photos of the finished MSQ quilt were taken by Angela Armstrong of Todd Studios Photography. In-progress photos were taken by Lilo and Sarah Holst. Photos of Wendy’s Solar Slice quilt courtesy of Wendy Chow, The Weekend Quilter.