Romance as a Quilt

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Over the last couple weeks, I’ve been piecing yet another crazy quilt.  That in itself isn’t surprising.  What’s surprising is that it’s a Valentine’s Day quilt.  That means lots of pink.  Pink isn’t normally my color, but I ran across a great vintage-inspired Valentine’s Day print fabric at JoAnn’s, and when I did, I knew it needed to be part of a quilt.

Vintage Valentine Fabric

Once I’d found this print, I stopped by a few of my favorite local fabric stores and found some fabrics to go work with it.  As I mentioned, I don’t normally have a lot in pink.  Among the fabrics I found, were several from the Wilmington Prints line A Lady’s Diary.  To stay in this color palette, most of the fabrics I pulled were creamy neutrals or dusty rose/mauve tones.

ladies-diary

But even with my fabrics pulled, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to make, so I scoured Pinterest to find inspiration for a Valentine’s Day themed quilt. Of course, once I found something I loved, I forgot to repin it (and now I can’t find it). Figures, right? The rough idea was 3 columns, with the 1st, 3rd and 4th being pieced in the normal way, while the 2nd column was a solid piece of fabric with appliqued hearts running down it. I was a great idea.

So, I started piecing my project, but the more I pieced, the more I was afraid that appliqued hearts would be a little too “themey” for me. Even though the quilt blocks are all pink and red and girly, they didn’t necessarily have to be boxed into the Valentine’s Day corner. If I did something different, I could use the quilt whenever I wanted, not just for the holiday.I thought about it and thought about it, and finally came up with a solution.  I have lots of grama’s old lace.  Why not do something with it?  So, I pulled it out and found some lace I loved for the quilt. And there was plenty of it.  Now why my grama had 3+ yards of these lace, I’ll never know.  But I’m glad she did.  They really make the quilt for me.

Valentine Crazy Quilt

Even with the offset lace strip on the quilt, I wanted to keep the overall look simple. So, I decided to make the quilt more like the Halloween quilt in it’s simplistic lack of embellishment.

valentine quilt closeup

For the backing on this quilt, I picked out a 108″ backing fabric from Blackbird Designs for Moda. It’s from their At Water’s Edge collection in the begonia colorway.

Valentine Backing Fabric

For the quilting, I did a simple stitch in the ditch, along with a 1/4 inch to each side.  It looks a little dressier that way, and was still easy to do on my home machine.

valentine quilt quilting detail

Overall, I’m quite happy with how the quilt turned out.

valentine crazy quilt

It looks great on my couch.

valentine quilt on couch

And most importantly, it’s cat approved.

cat wants a quilt

Have you made yourself a Valentine’s Day Quilt?  What does yours look like? Do you decorate your house for Valentine’s Day? What special touches do you add?

Sharing over at:
Take at Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts
Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts

15 Comments

  1. WaggonsWest on February 3, 2014 at 8:10 am

    It looks great. I made a Valentine’s quilt, my mom asked to have it and then gave it to my niece for her wedding present. So now I have to make another one… some day.

    • Andrea on February 3, 2014 at 8:59 am

      I think I would be extremely annoyed if my mom did that. On the plus side, you should be able to get some good deals on Valentine’s Day prints soon.

  2. Lorna McMahon on February 5, 2014 at 2:43 pm

    Wow! I have never made a crazy quilt… Or a Valentine’s quilt. But that sweet quilt looks right at home draped across your couch back and with those lovely pillows! Beautiful job!

    • Andrea on February 5, 2014 at 5:19 pm

      Thanks so much Lorna!

  3. Jasmine on February 5, 2014 at 3:37 pm

    This quilt is beautiful, and it is perfect on your couch. I have always wanted to make a crazy quilt, and I love the look of the ones made in cotton fabric. Thanks for sharing.

    • Andrea on February 5, 2014 at 5:20 pm

      Thanks so much! And thanks for stopping by!

  4. Sarah @ Berry Barn Designs on February 5, 2014 at 7:17 pm

    That is beautiful! I especially love that you were able to use something treasured from your grandmother to make the quilt more personal – and yet something “old” manages to give it such a “new” modern design flare with the offset layout!

    • Andrea on February 5, 2014 at 7:58 pm

      Thank you so much Sarah!

  5. Carole on February 5, 2014 at 11:38 pm

    I like your idea of omitting the hearts so you are not so locked into the theme, and the lace is an excellent fit with a crazy quilt. Lovely reminder of your grandmother.
    Carole @ Fresh off the Frame via Let’s Bee Social

    • Andrea on February 6, 2014 at 11:42 am

      Thanks so much Carole! I’m glad you stopped by.

  6. Vivian on May 29, 2014 at 6:43 pm

    Awww, sweet! Love the fabric theme, you really found some great fabrics to team together. Love the trims you added too.

    Hadn’t thought about doing a V-Day quilt but ‘ya got me thinkin’……

    • Andrea on May 30, 2014 at 9:30 am

      I need to get around to adding a hanging strip on the back of this quilt so that I can switch it out with my Steampunk quilt next February. And I love the idea of having a Valentine’s quilt that isn’t covered in hearts. Ya know, just something subtle to celebrate the day.

  7. Valerie Reynolds on June 1, 2014 at 11:32 pm

    You are the queen of beautiful Crazy Themed quilts girl! Seriously, I love your style!

    • Andrea on June 2, 2014 at 8:27 am

      Thanks so much Valerie! I love the crazy quilting process. Not only is it a great way to use up scraps, which is how the first 2 started, but it can be such a beautiful way to express your feelings through the art of quilting.

  8. TBB Asks – Love Edition – Mouse in My Pocket on February 22, 2018 at 10:18 am

    […] have a Valentine quilt that I hang behind my couch for the season.  It even has a matching pillow that lives on the […]

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