15 Minutes to Stitch Week Five

 Look at me, posting on time.  This week was a week off from Project Quilting challenge.  The challenge for this upcoming week, is Year of the Horse, which makes me happy. I was hoping that they would do that. I made a horse quilt last year, and even though I was afraid it wouldn't turn out right, tracing a pattern does let me make a horse that looks like a horse.

In this time off, I continued to work on the recently started quilts.  That is the Lupine and Laughter mystery quilt. I had one block done, but I still needed to finish the half rectangle triangles to make the star block.  I also decided to make another couple of blocks to make a 4x4 setting. These quilts look better with repetition, and although a 4x4 setting doesn't create a lot of repetition, it is better than a smaller setting.

I also finished the quilt top for the Valentine's mystery hosted by Kathleen Tracy.  I still need to applique the heart. Her small quilts are fun to make and although I usually resist making them, I usually also regret not making them.

• 15 minute days/Jan = 31/31 days
• 15 minute days/2026 = 31/31days
• Success rate = 100%

Linked with Kate's Life in Pieces 15 Minutes to Stitch.

Quilt Reveal: Heart Quilt

When I learned that you could make a heart with squares and rectangles instead of triangles, and saw the sweet quilts that were made that way, I wanted to make that quilt.  But every February, when I saw a quilt that was made that way, I resisted.  I already have enough heart quilts. I need to work on some other holiday quilt, if I make a holiday quilt at all.

But then this month, I came across a quilt tutorial from Sew Can She. I was about to resist again, but then Project Quilting made it their challenge to make something with a heart on it. I can make this quilt and break out of my cycle of desire and resistance. How long can it take? One week max.

So I made it, adapting the pattern to make a small quilt. It took less than a week.

February 2, 2020. 02/02/2020 was the first global palindrome day in 909 years. The next will come in 101 years on 12/12/2121 and after that there will not be another until 03/03/3030. It was the 33rd day of the year and there are 333 days left.  The date is so special, wouldn't it be nice to have a quilt with a finish date of February 2, 2020 on it?  I started this quilt on that date, knowing there was no way possible I could finish it that day. I figure I can use that as a start date. Who said you can't put a start date on the quilt?

I decided to make a quilt with 20 blocks on it. I made the 20 blocks. I made the setting blocks. Then I realized there isn't a way to make a quilt on point with 20 blocks (If it is possible, please let me know how).  This meant I had to make the quilt with a straight setting.

While you are still close enough to the picture above, did you notice how perfectly the quilt sits on the batting scrap? The batting scrap is just exactly the right size.

Unfortunately, I had already chosen a border fabric when I took that picture. To finish it within a week, I birthed the quilt. I carefully cut the backing in two and pressed down the edges so that I could piece it like a pillow without having to sew any edges. The quilting would seal in the space where the pillow would be inserted.

However,  I made a mistake with the layers. I had the top on top so I could see the edges, the backing under it, right sides together, and the batting at the bottom. This meant that when I sewed it together, the top was upside down on the top and the batting was at the bottom. I had no access to the backing.  It is good that I had to piece the batting, because I had to cut into it to turn the quilt.  I was afraid that I would have to rip out sewing the edges, but once I had access to the back, I was able to turn it again to make everything be in the right  position.

I lightly quilted it so it would retain the sweet, minimal look.

Since the Project Quilting challenge is Put a Heart on It, let me show you the quilt on point so you can see the hearts! See, there are 20 hearts to represent 2020!

Valentine Art Quilt For Swap

A while ago, I showed you the quilt I received for the art quilt swap that was organized by one of my Facebook groups, Stitching with Fibers, Paper and More. Today, I thought I would show you the quilt I made for my swap partner.

I made two so I could choose the best one for my partner. It would also show that I did give my partner a quilt that I would be happy to get myself.  I tend to worry that the quilt I like may not be a quilt the recipient will like. Making two quilts helped, because one of those was mine, so I could make it to please myself, and the other one just used the same techniques.

I started out with a variety of fabric and paper scraps.  I have been focusing on the blue/green turquoise/aqua color scheme from Ringo Lake and decided to keep with that, but most of these scraps aren't from Ringo Lake. There are lots of upholstery scraps, paper and fabric scraps. I decided to do raw edge to make it more artsy and less traditional.

I added a border fabric on two sides.

The stitching that holds them down also double as quilting lines. I added the heart stitching around some of the edges to secure the edges.

The heart is a separate quilt (three layers and batting) that was appliqued on. I glued on paper hearts in case there wasn't enough paper. One of the rules of the quilt is to use 25% materials that you are not familiar with, and there are only a few squares of paper, so I thought adding more would bring it closer to 25%, although the upholstery and other fabrics should also count in the "fabrics I'm not familiar with" category.

Here are the two quilts. Neither of these stand out better than the other one to me. I mailed the one on the left because I thought it had a neater looking heart, and because it was skinnier and fit the envelope better.

They both have different hanging techniques. That was also one of the guidelines for the swap. I usually use applique pins for quilts this small.

I made a mistake in the mailing address so my partner did not receive the original quilt. I mailed her the other one last week to replace the lost one, and the tracking number shows she received this on Saturday, so I can finally show these to you.

Linked to:
Ad Hoc Improv Quilter Share Your Improv #30

Quilt Reveal: Three Hearts Quilt

I have finished quilting and binding the three hearts quilt.  Please check my previous posts for details about this quilt.

The fabric I had separated as "use me" in my stash was the one I used for the binding and the simple label. I really like the backing fabric as well.

This is what it looks like before washing. I used two different fabrics for the background, and just like in the book, the one white looks a lot darker than the other when looking at it on the quilt. In real life, the whites are both very similar to each other.

This is what it looks like after washing. The pencil markings came off great, but there was one spot I used the eraser to erase (old habits die hard), and that little blue stain is still on the quilt.  I did play around with the photo program to try to get the colors to look truer in all of these photos. The quilt finishes at 13" x 17".

I like it. I think it will be a great addition to my quilt wall collection.