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Quilty Love

A quilting creative blog

2020 Completed Quilty Projects

Hopscotch II – the scrappy red and blue one

Today I’m sharing my Hopscotch II test quilt. I don’t think I’ve shared this quilt anywhere yet.

Hopscotch II is a quick and easy fat quarter friendly quilt pattern. Pull some fat quarters from your stash for this big block based quilt.

I’m using a fat quarter bundle that I curated while visiting Stitch Supply Co.

Hopscotch II is available in the Quilty Love shop.

The fat quarter bundle I used for this Hopscotch II quilt is a mix of reds, blues and aquas. While this quilt turned out really soft and fresh looking, I do wish I had went with a darker background since some of the prints blend into the white too much. But as with anything, you learn from these things.

The accent fabric on this Hopscotch II is from my stash. The background is Essex Linen in white. That Essex Linen gives this quilt a little bit of texture and weight.

Some of the prints in this fabric bundle are so cute! Look at those strawberries! And the red print below it is such a fun one.

Beginner friendly quilt pattern

Hopscotch II is a really great beginner friendly quilt pattern. It uses basic squares and rectangles which makes it good for new quilters. Plus there are not many tricky seams to line up making it easier to sew together.

The quilt blocks are nice and big too.

Carolyn Friedlander Wide Back

This large throw size Hopscotch II quilt is backed with the widescreen wideback by Carolyn Friedlander for Robert Kaufman. I’ve used this wide back quite a bit as it’s a nice neutral fabric that works well with so many quilts.

I’m all about the widebacks! I just restocked my wideback stash with some new neutral options. I really don’t like piecing quilt backs so I’m always excited to see new modern wide back options. This widescreen is an older wide back and might be a little harder to find now.

Straight line grid quilting with a walking foot

I quilted up this large Hopscotch II quilt myself on my Janome MC6700p using a walking foot. I quilted a grid pattern. It’s been a while since I’ve quilted straight lines! I tend to quilt up everything using the wavy stitch so I haven’t done straight lines in a while.

This grid pattern is super easy to do! First quilt one inch straight lines vertically. Then quilt 1.5in straight lines horizontally. I kind of like the added interest of the grid pattern over just doing vertical lines.

Quilting with straight lines using a walking foot is one of the easiest ways to quilt yourself. Just be sure to use a walking foot! It really does make all the difference. Your machine might have come with one. If not, you can use any brand so long as it fits on your machine.

You can see the grid pattern on the backing of the quilt in the photo below. You can also see a toddler foot…ha. She’s always right in there with me whether I like it or not.

Picnic Quilt

This Hopscotch II quilt ended up feeling very summery. It looks like the perfect picnic quilt. If I could go back and use a darker background I probably would but that’s what quilting is all about. Trying things and learning from them.

Hopscotch II is available in the Quilt Love pattern shop.

The Looper Quilt

I have a fun Looper quilt to share today! I made this Looper quilt last year for the babes. It was one of those quilts that stopped me in my tracks when I saw it. Or more likely, stopped my scrolling…lol.

The Looper quilt pattern is a super modern curvy quilt pattern by Miss Make. As soon as I saw it, I had to make it!

This Looper quilt was inspired by The Cotton Bolt where I purchased this Looper quilt kit. (No longer available). I’ll link colors below though!

The Looper quilt pattern comes with options! It’s easy to adapt it to new designs. Instead of doing the cover design, I changed it up and made a double rainbow pattern. You may need additional fabric to make a different design like this.

Fabrics used in this Looper Quilt

I bought this kit from The Cotton Bolt but I don’t see it listed in their shop anymore. The exact colors and fabrics are:
Lipstick Confetti Cottons Solid
Rouge Confetti Cottons
Confetti Cottons Color Riley Fuchsia
Pure Solids Mediterraneo 
Riley Teal Confetti Cottons
Confetti Cottons Color Scrubs
Bleached Denim Confetti Cottons (I didn’t use this color)
Background: Spark by Ruby Star Society (Neon pink)

Sewing curves in quilt blocks

This Looper quilt pattern is the first time I’ve attempted curves! I really enjoyed making this quilt because it was a new challenge and just a completely different quilting experience.

Even the cutting process was a fun change. The looper quilt uses templates to cut out those curved pieces.

That is my first Looper block above and it is WONKY. You can even see the pinched fabric in the dark blue fabric. But let me tell you, the other curved blocks turned out so much better. If I had had enough fabric I would have redone that first block because it did leave my quilt top pretty wonky. But instead, I left it in and just made it work.

Sewing curves really isn’t so bad once you get the hang of it. They actually are kind of fun. It’s very satisfying to press them out after sewing them.

Custom Looper design

I love the cover version of the Looper quilt. It’s such a fun classic design but I thought I would mix it up and make something different. I also wanted to extend my quilt into a rectangle shape so I added half blocks to each end of my rainbow. (I made this a while ago but I’m thinking I must have used more than 1/2 yard of each color. Just a heads up in case you want to make a similar design.)

The Looper quilt pattern allows for creating basically anything you can think of using just two different blocks. There are a lot of configurations with that curved block and the straight block. The pattern actually came with these adorable mini blocks that you can cut out and color and play around with.

Take a search through the Instagram hashtag to see how creative other quilters have gotten with the Looper quilt!

Since this was the first time making a quilt with curves, it turned out WONKY. And I’m not exaggerating…lol. You can see how it’s pulling all over the place in the photo above. I ended up with a ton of loos fabric that wouldn’t lay flat or straight.

I actually ended up tucking some of that loose fabric by folding it over onto itself and sewing it in place. Then I sent it off to an experienced long arm quilter with warnings…lol.

You can see in the photo below how it is tucked and top stitched on the light fabric. Upon inspection today, it looks like the quilter might have tucked and stitched in a few places too 🙂

Long Arm Quilting

I sent the Looper Quilt off to Knot and Thread with the hopes she could salvage this quilt top. I almost quilted this one myself because it as so wonky and I felt bad having someone else deal with it. In the end I decided to send it off and hope the professional quilting would elevate the end result.

Well, I’m convinced Kait can handle anything because I was blown away when I received it back. Not only were there no puckers, it actually look flat and pretty square! I was so happy to see how great it looked after quilting.

And check out the adorable quilting pantograph Knot and Thread used. It works so perfectly on this quilt with all of that negative space. Plus it’s the perfect quilting design for the toddler.

Backing and Binding

I kept this quilt classic looking with a matching backing and binding. I hope to use this on her bed when we get to that stage so I wanted to keep this quilt looking more modern and bed quilt looking.

I used the same Ruby Star Society Spark fabric as the backing and the binding for that streamlined look.

I am so happy with how this adorable Looper quilt turned out! It sure was a fun quilt to make, curves and all! Now that I have tried curves in a quilt, I’m looking forward to making more of them.

Materials Used:
Looper Quilt Pattern by Miss Make
Solid fabrics mostly by Riley Blake (listed up in the post)
Backing, background and binding: Spark by Ruby Star Society
Pieced on my Janome MC6700p
Quilted by Knot and Thread

Plus Side Quilt – Easy Beginner Modern Plus Quilt Pattern

Today I’m sharing the Plus Side Quilt. The Plus Side quilt pattern is an easy, beginner friendly, modern plus quilt and somehow it never made it up on the blog! This one is an old one! You can tell by the age of the baby..haha. And I made this plus quilt well before she even showed up.

Plus Side quilt is fast and easy and perfect for the beginner quilter. Piecing this plus quilt is simple and it’s a good introduction to doing corner square triangles.

The Plus Side quilt pattern requires fat eighths or fat quarters so it is very stash friendly.

Plus Side is available in the Quilty Love pattern shop.

I started this quilt so many houses ago…lol. I can still remember working on it way back in my studio space along the dining room. I don’t think it was quilted up until we were in our temporary apartment. And then it didn’t get photographed and turned into a quilt pattern until possibly our current house. This one dragged on for a few years and a few houses…lol.

If it looks familiar, that is because it showed up in this machine binding tutorial. I used this plus quilt as the sample quilt to write the binding blog post.

Check out that machine binding post if you are struggling with your binding! A lot of quilters have found it very helpful.

Plus Side quilt pattern

The Plus Side quilt pattern is written with beginner quilters in mind! This would make a really great first quilt. I actually tested it out on my sister who was a new quilter ;).

Plus Side is a fat eighth or fat quarter friendly quilt pattern. Mix and match fat eighths or fat quarters from your stash to make up this simple plus quilt.

I curated the fabrics in this quilt from my stash. They are mostly older cotton and steel fabrics. I see a few Carolyn Friedlander mixed in also.

Gender Neutral quilt

Plus Side is the perfect gender neutral quilt pattern. Great for boy quilt, girl quilt or as a baby quilt when you don’t yet know the gender. For this version of Plus side, I choose blues, aquas and a little yellow from my fabric stash.

Machine quilting

I quilted this Plus Side quilt myself using a walking foot on my smaller Janome machine. I straight line quilted diagonal lines in each direction to form a diamond grid quilted pattern.

The straight lines look like they are quilted about 1.5 inches apart.

Straight line quilting using a walking foot is a really great beginner friendly way to quilt your own quilts. A walking foot really does make all the difference so if your quilt didn’t come with one, it’s worth getting one! I just found myself a cheap singer brand walking foot for my Janome machine and preferred it over the Janome brand.

When looking for a walking foot, just be sure it has the same attachment as your machine.

Essex Linen background

The background of this Plus Side quilt is Robert Kaufman Essex Linen in the color black. I love how fabrics pop off this black Essex Linen. Plus that linen gives it so much texture. I work with Essex Linen in my quilts often because I love the extra texture and warmth it provides.

Linen does fray and has caused some problems for quilters. Check out this blog post for tips and tricks when sewing and quilting with linen.

I personally have not had any issues when quilting with linen but I always use a smaller stitch length as a pre-caution. I rarely pre-wash anything but it’s never a bad idea to pre-wash linen since it does shrink up more than quilting cotton.

Plus Side quilt sizes

The Plus Side quilt pattern includes instructions for a baby size, a throw size and a queen size quilt. This linen and Cotton and Steel version is the throw size.

Using sheets as a quilt backings

I used a Target bed sheet as the backing of this quilt. I love using sheets as backings and do it often. There are two reasons I love using sheets as quilt backings: Time and money.

You save time by not having to piece a quilt backing and it can be a lot cheaper to use a sheet as a backing over quilting fabric.

If you buy the sheet set in a larger size like full or queen then you can use both the fitted and flat sheet in two different quilts.

I’m a pretty fearless quilter so I’m willing to try any fabrics in my quilts. I’ve used sheets several times without issues. However, when looking for sheets to use, stick with a better quality cotton sheet.

Stick with good quality sheets that are 100% cotton

The sheet used in this quilt is a little silkier and not the best option. It might not even be 100% cotton. Stick with 100% cotton and it should wash up nice and soft just the same as your quilt top. Stick with a better quality sheet so it doesn’t pill with washes.

This very loved and very washed Fancy Fox quilt has a sheet backing and it has washed up so well! I really wish I had stocked up on that exact sheet because it hasn’t been available for a long time.

My favorite places to find sheets as quilt backings is Target. I also love using Ikea duvet covers! Just like sheets, you can get two backings from one duvet cover when you cut it apart.

Striped binding

I finished off this simple plus side quilt with a black and white striped binding. Black and white striped bindings are so classic! These stripes are a little tighter but lately I’ve preferred a striped biding with wider stripes.

Fast and easy beginner friendly plus quilt

If you are looking for a fast and easy quilt or even a first time quilt project, Plus Side is just that! Raid your stash for some fat eighths or fat quarters and sew up this modern plus quilt this week!

Materials Used:
Quilt Pattern: Plus Side quilt
Fabrics: Cotton and Steel, Carolyn Friedlander and other misc fabrics from my stash
Binding: Timeless Treasures stripe
Backing: Target sheet
Batting: Warm and White
Spray baste: 505
Pieced and quilted on a Janome 4120QDC

Baby Scrappy Hearts Quilt

Today I’m sharing this adorable little Baby Scrappy Hearts quilt. I made this heart quilt last year but somehow it never made it up on the blog.

Scrappy Hearts is last years heart quilt pattern. The name of the quilt says it all, it’s scrappy! Scrappy friendly, stash friendly, fat quarter friendly.

This baby sized Scrappy Hearts quilt is made up using my friend Anna’s Driftless fabric line for Robert Kaufman.

Driftless fabric line by Robert Kaufman

I wanted to use something other than pinks and reds for this little heart baby quilt so I used the Driftless fabric line for Robert Kaufman. This line has such pretty blues with a sprinkling of corals.

Easy heart quilt pattern

Scrappy Hearts is a pretty quick and easy heart quilt pattern. It uses simple squares and half square triangles.

My quilt patterns usually have you making your half square triangles a little big so you can trim to size. I find that method so much more precise. I’ve always been terrible at making half square triangles perfectly to size. Plus I find trimming half square triangles satisfying and even a little therapeutic 🙂

Scrappy friendly heart quilt pattern

Because Scrappy Hearts is made up using squares, it is the perfect scrappy quilt pattern! While I didn’t use scraps for this version, you can swap out all of those squares for squares cut from your scrap stash.

The original Scrappy Hearts quilt is made from my pink scraps and pink fabric stash.

Essex Linen flax background

The background of this baby Scrappy Hearts quilt is Essex Linen in the color flax. The Driftless fabric line is all linen from the Robert Kaufman lines. So adding in a linen background kept the texture all the same.

I love quilting with linen and really love the extra texture it adds. I’ve pretty much only used Robert Kaufman Essex Linens in my quilts so I don’t have much experience sewing with other options.

Quilting with Essex Linen

Linen will shrink quite a bit more than a regular quilting cotton. I always use a smaller stitch length like 1.8 when quilting with linen. Pre-washing is never a bad idea but I will admit that I never pre-wash myself.

You can expect to loose a few inches on each side of your linen quilt when you wash it for the first time. I remember how surprised I was the first time I washed a linen quilt. It shrunk a lot!

What I really love about linen quilts is how warm they are! That surprised me too. We reach for the linen quilts way more than the cotton ones over here because they are warmer. Plus they get softer with each wash.

Wavy Stitch machine quilting

Is anyone surprised that I quilted wavy stitches on this baby Scrappy Hearts quilt…lol. If I quilt a quilt myself, 9.5 times out of 10 it will be this wavy stitch quilting.

It’s the same technique as the zig zag stitch in this tutorial but uses a wavy stitch instead of a multi stitch zig zag stitch.

The quilted lines are spaced 3/4 inch apart.

I keep using that wavy stitch because look at the beautiful texture it creates! The texture holds up through washes much better than straight line quilting so it’s become my go-to.

Scrappy Hearts Quilt Pattern

Scrappy Hearts is available in the Quilty Love shop. The quilt pattern includes instructions for a Baby size, a throw size and a twin size. It is scrappy friendly, stash friendly and fat quarter friendly.

I would call this one a beginner or ambitious beginner quilt pattern.

The original Scrappy Hearts quilt shown below is on the blog here.

Materials Used:

Quilt Pattern: Scrappy Hearts quilt pattern by Quilty Love
Heart fabrics: Driftless fabric by Noodlehead for Robert Kaufman
Background: Essex Linen in the color Flax
Binding: Driftless Emerald Gem
Backing: Carolyn Friedlander Doe
Batting: Quilters Dream Select
Pieced and Quilted on my Janome MC6700p
Spray basted using 505