Scrappy Hearts Quilt

Since I began quilting, I have coveted the skill of scrappy quilts. The scattered pick of colors that are organized in a seemingly random manner that creates a mural of harmonious flow. They are amazing! Unfortunately, you have to be able to let go of control and see big picture instead of the individual blocks. This is super tough! Way tougher than it sounds.

 

 

In my attempt to clean out my stash and challenge my quilting skills, I decided it was time to make a Valentine’s quilt that I am proud of. I made one back in 2011 when my daughter was born but it brings back bad memories of machine issues and block size struggles. It’s time to try again.

 

I scoured through my stash and found all my pinks. I laid them out and broke them up into darks, mediums, and lights. I began cutting, but didn’t want to have more than two blocks of each color. It worked pretty well! I had a lot of blocks but still wanted a few more to make the quilt top a bit bigger. I carefully planned out what I needed: two more lights, two more mediums, and only one dark.

 

It worked out great! I finished my blocks and had a complete top. After sewing all the blocks on point and filling in the white triangles along the side, it felt like it needed just a touch more. One of the fabrics I had used to make some hearts seemed like a nice frame for the top. I added that, and made sure to have enough for the binding.

 

 

I actually selected a fabric in my stash that I had the most of to make the backing.  I love this butterfly fabric, and even made some face masks out of it for my daughter. After making the backing, I still had a little bit more left (yeah!). It can still make another appearance in a future quilt.

 

For the quilting, I made double layer hearts in each block and a basic meander on the border. This is another point of control release. I am always nervous about the quilting quality as I’m working on it, but when I’m all finished and have it trimmed and ready for binding, I feel so much better about it. I am so happy with how it turned out.

 

 

I finished with the binding and my tag for 2021 and it was all finished… the day AFTER Valentine’s Day.

 

 

 

Oh well, I almost made it. It will be ready for next year to adorn my wall and bring much-needed color into the house in January and February. It’s also a great lap size quilt for the couch so it might just end up there.  We’ll see.