Little Love Notes

I finished! I had mentioned a little while ago I had several projects in the works and this little charmer was one of them. I saw Jenny Doan's You Tube video and simply had to make one. Too cute and I already had the fabric. I used some scraps I had laying around so my finished quilt is 30" square. I seem to like things square. Anyway I can't wait to display this next Valentines day.

Thanks for reading♥ Olivia

Chevron yoga mat

Wow it may seem that I am finishing things quickly but some of these projects have been in the works for a while so I am not really that fast. Besides I like to take time and make things that are quality not quantity. Today I have finished my chevrons quilt (which I had intended for it to be a yoga/stretching mat) the final dimensions are 23½" x 51". I wanted this to actually be longer but since I was using scraps I went as far as they would take me. I am also thinking now that nicer weather has come our way this would be a nice sunbathing blanket perhaps the perfect fit for a lawn chair or chaise out on the patio.

Without further ado here is my quilt... these first pictures are before washing the quilt.

 I did a close up to show the detail of my machine binding I did.

 This shows the back, I used more of the scraps here.

These next photos are after I washed my quilt, it adds such a charming look to the finished product.

 here's the back again. I almost love it more than the front.

What do you do with your scraps? What kind of scrappy patterns are your favorites?
Thanks for reading♥ Olivia

Chevron Quilt Block

I've been working on several projects all at once. I have in the works a baby quilt for a friend who will be a new grandmother to a little boy, I have a good portion completed but I am waiting until after the shower to reveal it here. Also I have other ideas and I want to work on and keep track of. So I thought what better place to keep track then my blog.

First off I've been seeing so many great ideas posted out there on the web, what an inspiration for everyone in the quilting community I love the sharing of ideas and patterns. I've spotted some neat paper piecing blocks I want to try next. Solstice Stars, and others from Fresh Lemon Quilts and these cute cakes found at Porch Swing Quilts.

Currently I am playing around with half-sq triangles (HST) I had quite a few extra HST already cut from a previously finished project and originally thought I was going to make something else with them (or I would have never cut extra triangles), so to get rid of them I decided to make chevrons! I had some black on hand because I think I always have black, white and ecru on hand, and decided to pair it with the scrappy triangles.

To make one chevron block I lay out my HST as shown below.

Originally I thought to try this next layout for the blocks thinking it would be great to make in columns and have the colors staggered by placing a half chevron to the top of the next row. Thus creating "staggered chevrons".

Once you have a few basic blocks put together it's always fun to play with the layout, even on a super simple design such as this. It's amazing all the different combinations you can create. I think this is always a great place for beginners to start because you can create something really cool without it being complicated.

Next I just laid them out in classic chevron design.

Then I inverted one of the chevrons. This could also make for an interesting graphic design.

I hope this inspired you to try something simple but different.
Thanks for reading♥