Quarantine UFO Series #14, Watermelon Quilt

Long ago in 2012, I made a GumDrops quilt using a fabric line called Swanky by Chez Moi. It was such vibrant colors with swirls and curves. I bought a large cut for the backing and when finished, I had a lot left.

 

I couldn’t figure out how to color classify it for scraps and decided it really needed to be its own project. My mom had this really neat striped green fabric that reminded me of watermelon rind.

 

An idea was born! I made placemats with it and was so happy with how they turned out that I kept going an made a bunch more watermelon slices. My thought was to make a table runner to match the placemats.

 

 And that’s where it stopped. I had run out of the tan linen fabric and was distracted by other projects. Next thing I know it’s been 8 years and the watermelon slices were in the bottom of a bin.

I pulled them out and ordered some more linen fabric from Hancocks. I decided to make a quilt top rather than a table runner and place them in a pinwheel pattern. I was happy with the idea until I got everything put together and noticed the new fabric was a much lighter color than the original (no surprise considering how much time had passed).

I pieced leftover fabric together for the backing and used a woodgrain style quilting on the tan part. 

 

Kind of like a wooden picnic table. I think the quilting made all the difference in the world! It added texture and took away from the color changes in the fabric.

 

The watermelon slices needed something too so I decided to make teardrops that look like oversized watermelon seeds.

 

I finished it off with a coral-pink binding and now have another amazing UFO finish! 

 

I’m actually getting to the bottom of my UFO pile and have been shifting to my “Ideas” pile, aka the techniques and patterns I’ve always wanted to try but haven’t gotten around to it.

Fortunately, I still have a lot of fabric to work with… so that shouldn’t be a problem.

Scrappy Red Valentine Blocks Quilt

Back in February I was on a scrappy kick. I was trying to weed through all my scraps and get some order among them. I started with the pink… and ended up making the pink scrappy hearts quilt. It was my first attempt at a scrappy project without the guidance of a fabric pack, and I was super happy with the results.

 

 

While pulling fabric for the scrappy hearts, I debated whether I wanted to include some of the red valentines fabrics that I had in my stash and scrap piles. I didn’t like mixing it together though (baby steps into the scrappy world), so I set them aside with the intention of making another scrappy quilt with reds.

 

 

I knew I didn’t want to make another hearts pattern, but I wanted to display the heart fabrics. I had so many of them too, so I was confident I could a true scrappy look.\

 

 

I started by cutting everything to 2 ½ inch squares. Then, I divided them into “light” reds and “dark” reds. Finally, I started pairing them up and making 2-block pieces. Before I got through all of them, I really started brainstorming what pattern I wanted to use and remembered seeing the reverse blocks with a center point. I had this super fun white fabric with hearts on it and thought it would be perfect in the center of the red fabrics.

 

 

Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough of that fabric to do all the light blocks so I decided to just use some Kona Snow. It matches nicely and really pulls the blocks together nicely.

 

 

Once I had all the blocks together for the quilt top, it felt like it still needed something to tie it all together. I went shopping in my mom’s stash and she had a mottled red fabric that matched one I used in the blocks. Perfect! I put a border on and was super happy with the end result.

 

 

Now, for some reason I had a huge piece of this red striped fabric. I decided it would work great for the backing. Saved me a trip to the store, and I was able to pull out of my stash! Bonus! I had to piece it together a little, but it worked nicely.

 

 

I just did a basic meander for the quilting and added a heart here and there. The thread is a variegated black-to-red Guterman all cotton thread. I used the same mottled red fabric for the binding and this beauty was done.

 

 

Another scrappy project that turned out really nice. Once again, I managed to finish this valentines quilt a few days after valentines day. Oh well, I have it ready now for next year. I can’t wait to display both of my new valentines quilts next winter.

 

 

I’m hoping to get a jump on some patriotic quilts for this summer. Fingers crossed that I can get them done before the end of June for display.

Primary Pinwheels Orphan Block Taggy Blanket

After finishing the Sailboat Orphan Block Taggy Blanket, I thought… why stop there?!? I still have more blocks that are from baby quilts and some fun minky fabrics.  Let’s make a few more.

 

 

This time, however, I have 2 blocks and plenty of primary color fabric for borders and backings. I pulled from my stash and found a nice red that had a plus sign pattern. Perfect for a bright, fun taggy blanket.

 

 

For the back, I had a bright green minky fabric with bubbles that matched perfectly. Because of the way it was cut from the last project, however, I couldn’t do the whole back without seams.

 

 

I decided, instead, that it would be a good way to incorporate some interesting star fabric. A simple four-patch on the back and it was ready for assembly.

 

 

The ribbons were a little trickier. For some odd reason, I don’t have a lot of ribbons in primary colors. I was surprised, but I found enough to make it work, and found some size variation as well.  That’s a good thing; help mix it up a bit.

 

 

Once the ribbons were attached, I sewed the panels together and finished with a quarter-inch binding stitch around the edge. All of this was done for both, and it made the work go quickly and smoothly.

 

Another project finished, phew. I’m glad I have been able to clean out a bunch of my old blocks. I always feel so sad for the leftovers. Stuck in a box with no use. Now they have been incorporated into a fun taggy blanket that hopefully some child will enjoy one day.