Graduation Banner

I have a grandson (Bailey) who will be graduating from High School in May. There is a very good chance that he will be Valedictorian of his class.  Yes, he's a special person in my life! My stepson, Luke, has asked me to make Bailey a Graduation quilt or banner that they can give him and hang up at his graduation party in June.  We have decided a banner (wall hanging) would be more appropriate. 

I have been searching out options and ideas, and have come up with this banner.  It'll be around 30 x 40". This is all in the very early stages, so I'm sure this will morph into something else by the time it's all said and done.  My ideas almost always do!

Since we don't know if he will be valedictorian or not for awhile, my plan is to wait, and add his name and "Validictorian" to the banner at the end.  In white letters, his name at the top, curving between the football and the baseball and Valedictorian on the bottom, curving between the Academic Excellence torch and the basketball.  If he is not the valedictorian, I can use "Salutatorian"  if they have that in their school, or put the Class of 2018 on the bottom instead.  We'll play that by ear.

The football, baseball, basketball and Academics Torch will be appliqued on.  Not hard.  The Redbird symbol in the center will also be an exercise in applique.  I have a great gif of that, and I copied it into MS Word, and then enlarged it by 150%.  I traced it on white freezer paper, using my computer screen as a light box.  I may have to redo this, because what I really need is a reverse image so I can iron each section to fusible web which is always a mirrored image in the final result.  Either that, or flip and retrace each section as I go along.  The big white square in the center will be about 17" tall and wide, a 12" square set on point.  I want it to fill up as much of that space as possible.

Soo!  Another year, another project!  Whoooo hooooo!