Quilt Reveal: Crumpled Heart

 I finished another journal quilt this week. It is a quick project made with leftover strips of fabric from my blog hop project I will be showing you on Thursday.

When I made the Raggedy Heart quilt last week, I knew it didn't come close to approximating the inspiration, which was the artwork of Marcellina Akpojotor. She takes strips of Ankara fabric and glues them onto canvas. I translated that work onto a quilt and I think this looks closer to her artwork. Only the black, white and pink fabric is Ankara in my work.

It is a great technique that adds lots of texture to the quilt. Since the pieces aren't fused and keep moving, this technique requires some careful work to make sure that the fabric is where you want it to be and doesn't sewn around the presser foot. 

In keeping with the ragged edging I used last time, I used this trim around the quilt to finish it off.

15 Minutes to Stitch 2024

I still want to try to quilt every day this year. I haven't been updating this every week since I have been so busy working as well as making quilts for the challenges and recording and editing the videos to show them, but I have definitely been working every day.

15 minute days these weeks --21 out of 21 days

15 minute days this year -- 49 out of 49 days

Success rate  = 100%

Linked with: Life in Pieces 15 Minutes to Stitch

Quilt Reveal: Raggedy Heart

  

It's time for another Project Quilting Reveal! This week, the challenge is to:

PQ 15.3 Inside Out

For this week’s project, I want to see what’s normally hidden!

 

Make a project with exposed seams or a raw-edge finish. Take on a bag pattern or other project that is constructed inside out and then literally “birthed” as part of the process. Or use this as a theme and demonstrate your unique inside-out perspective.

Rule One: Some part of your project must thematically or literally be inside out.

I had decided before the challenge was announced that I would make a journal quilt if it was possible with the challenge requirements. A journal quilt is the size of a piece of paper. Even though I don't think the size of the previous projects were too big, I thought a smaller project might save me some time. I have another quilt I am making for the blog hop which I will show you on Thursday and I wanted to save time to make it.

I started out with a quilt sandwich. The top is a fabric I used for the Improv Portraits quilt. The batting and backing are leftovers from other Project Quilting quilts. I sketched out a heart on it using a heat erasable pen. 

I used strips of fabric that were trimmings from the blog hop quilt and cut some more to applique onto the heart shape I had made. 

After I finished sewing all the strips on, I trimmed them to make sure they combined to make the shape of a heart. This was scary to cut while the pieces are sewn on the quilt. Instead of using the shiny ribbon I had planned to use to cover up the raw edges on the outside, I tried a trimming of the fabric I had used to make the heart, and I really liked it, so I cut more that size to add as a border/binding.

Another quilter had made a raw edge border for the quilt and I loved that idea so the fabric is raw edge. I added the strips of fabric around the edge of the quilt using a heart embroidery stitch, then trimmed away the leftover batting and backing.

I think it looks good as is, and doesn't need any additional embellishment. I loved running my fingers through the ragged edges.

Here's a quote I found for it.

“You awaken your True spirit by way of the broken heart: ragged, vulnerable, fierce and finally compassionate. ”

                                        Jack Kornfield

I created a YouTube video for this quilt if you want to see the entire process. I resisted the urge to put suspense music while I was trimming the heart. It will be published Sunday Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. I am going to go ahead and publish this blog post now though, so that I can link it up right away to the challenge.

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