Scrappy Block Valentine Quilt

 

Just in time for Valentines Day, I was able to finish this beauty.  After completing a couple red and pink valentines inspired quilts, I had a lot of red and pink scraps left. Rather than tuck them away in storage, I decided I’d rather make a fun scrappy quilt with them.

 

 

My original thought was to make squares with the two different colors. I already had my piles of 2 ½ inch squares and a cute white with hearts on it for the center of each block. After completing a fair number of blocks, I realized I had a lot more squares than I first thought.

 

 

I decided to expand each block by adding scraps of the opposite color to make the block two squares instead of one, but in different colors. If the inner square is pink, the outer square is red and vice versa.

 

 

One benefit to this approach is that it adds a new level of interest and complexity. The downfall is that it made the quilt that much more busy.

 

 

I think the “more busy” is a fun thing and it works great in this quilt. It’s what scrappy quilts should be, right?

 

 

I found a great sale fabric piece at my LQS for the backing, and did a simple meander all over except on the white center blocks. The chaos of this quilt is powerful enough without an overbearing quilting pattern.

 

 

I used the excess backing to complete the binding, and added my new 2022 label. I always struggle with what year to designate a quilt. If the top is made in one year, but the quilting and completion is done another year, which is the “finish” year? 

 

 

I went with complete finish in 2022 for this one since I really did finish it in January but haven’t had time to get it on the blog.

 

 This was a fun way to use up a lot of scraps. When you start doing the math and realizing how many squares you just sewed together, it’s mind-blowing. Of course, then I look in my scrap bin and see hundreds more squares. Ack! Time to get to work on another scrap buster.