Crumb quilt FMQ (almost) done

A busy weekend and I was determined to get a few hours of sewing done. I figured that I could finish up the FMQ on my crumb quilt in less than 2 hours. So, when I snuck upstairs on Sunday afternoon I was ready to go.

All went well until I had to wind up a new bobbin and I realised that my thread was running a bit low - would I make it? I only had about 2 square feet to finish. It was touch and go...and...I ran out. With only a 4"x4" section unquilted I was out of pink veriagated thread. What to do? My solution - leave it.

I've trimmed the edges and I'm ready for the binding. I'll be glad to finish this one; I have many other projects waiting in queue.

I'm linking up to Amy's One Thing, One Week Challenge. Check it out.

Block Lotto blocks for February

This month's block is in honor of Valentine's day and is based on hearts in pink, orange, cream, and gray. As usual, the Block Lotto has inspired me to try a few things - I can't pass up a challenge especially when given such an open invitation to experiment. Plus, I love the color scheme!

I started by drafting a pattern for a pieced heart in a classic shape. I divided the block into rectangles. Four rectangles are quarter circles (actually they turned out to be ovals) - basically a modified drunkard's path. The other rectangles are either 1/2 triangles or plain. Originally I tried to do this using squares but I did not like the proportions - rectangles worked much better. I made two of these with different color variations and may make another.

I also made one using string blocks. I started with four small squares and two large ones - these I trimmed down to rectangles before pieceing them together. Once again, I found the rectangle components worked better than squares.






Using inspiration from my crumb quilt (which is slowly edging towards a finish), I made a few small crumb hearts which I surrounded with cream scraps.








I usually like to draft my own patterns, but sometimes I just get lazy and look for some help from another quilter. This time I found a 3" paper pieced heart by Carol Doak. I made 4 of them and then added some sashing between to make the finished 9" block.

I really enjoyed making these, but may have to leave my total at 5. We are allowed to make 9 but I have my round robin to start working on and a few UFOs that need my attention...