One of Those Days!

We've all had them, I'm sure.  Mine started when I started laying out the borders to to my Quilty 365 project.  How wide to cut, will I have enough room to put writing on them and what color order should I use?  Mostly fun questions and I knew what I wanted the finished quilt to look like. So I cut the borders and laid out the first of my circles and the doubts started.  My circles look a lot smaller when cut in half and the gap of plain fabric looks a lot larger.    I'm not a big fan of borders on quilts anyway.  I think that a lot of the time, they detract from the quilt and make the eye look at the border instead of the whole quilt...I do know that I'm in the minority on this.

before wide border

While I thought about the width of the border, I started by laying out my scallops on the inner portion carefully measuring the 1/4" seam allowance. I pinned into place and went to my machine putting my last spool of piecing thread on it.  I sewed about an inch when the thread fell off!  I turned the spool around and it happened again.  Somehow the thread was catching in the little slit.  Using a kitchen knife I was able to pry enough plastic off so I could sew with the thread.  Two scallops in, I noticed that each was growing when being sewed.  I had to unpin and realign each one.  About nine scallops in, I had to leave one out.  My circles are done with fusible interfacing and it seems to have pulled the fabric in enough that it makes the measurements off.  OK, fuse first, then sew....except that my new batch of cheap fusible interfacing is fussy about what fabrics it wants to fuse too and it doesn't like the border fabric.

projected border

These aren't even pinned yet but what do you think?  Too much yellow space?    

Linking with Em's Scrapbag, Love Laugh quiltl, and Oh Scrap                                        

A Finished Project

Finally, I have finished a project before its holiday!  Even better, February 2 is National Wear Red Day  supporting women's fight against heart disease and I have a red heart for it.  My basket of unfinished 3+ year old Christmas projects is so jealous!

new version

About 2013, I found the Pixelated Heart pattern from Blue Elephant Stitches.  I reduced her 3" squares to 1.5" squares (finished) and it is 13 squares by 13 squares. It fits my 16" sofa pillow perfectly. The backing on both pillows is linen done in the envelope style.  After one exploding commercially made zippered cover, I never use a zipper on a pillow.

  It was intended as a Valentine Day project but I enjoyed it so much that it has been on my couch ever since.  It's now looking somewhat shabby and worn.  Some of the background fabrics are cotton/poly shirtings and years of wear and cats napping have taken their toll.  Since I had a charm pack of Valentine fabric, I used it to make a new version.  I don't really want to live with cupids and hearts year around, so the new one will go into storage after the day and I need to make another pillow for the couch!

Original

Linking with Crazy Mom Quilts and Busy Hands Quilts for their Friday finishes