Valentine Mini Quilt

Happy February, folks! First up, I finished my hearts Valentine mini quilt from my last post. I didn’t have time to make a big Valentines project this year, so this was just right.

A hodgepodge of activities going on around here, which will make for a bit of a hodgepodge of a post. But it’s fun stuff. And how life is, right?

The pattern is called Down Memory Lane by Aqua Paisley Studios.  I finished it with some simple, not perfect, crosshatch quilting and I’m happy with it.

The “memory lane” name is apt for this one as I used this quilt as a chance to include all of the reds from my 3 fabric lines in one quilt. It’s a fun little memento of those collections.

If you’re looking for other adorable heart-themed sewing projects, you can find over 35 Valentine’s Day Sewing and Quilting Projects here.

New Project in the Works

I’m also working on a project with this fabric pull and dang, it’s cute. I’m rewriting a previous pattern so I’m making a new sample using these prints. I’m excited to share soon. I’m trying to do a better job of sharing in-process photos of what I’m working on so that it doesn’t look like finished projects just suddenly appear out of thin air.

I used some of the same fabrics from my Valentine mini quilt including:  (left stack starting at the bottom) Vintage Keepsakes by Bev McCullough, May Belle by Pleasant Home, and Simple Goodness by Tasha Noel; middle stack is all Little Red in the Woods by Jill Howarth; far right stack is mostly Gretel prints at the top (available here) with a few Sunnyside Ave & Gingham Girls reds.*

Speaking of Gretel, how cute is this mini quilt made by Bev McCullough of Flamingo Toes using Gretel fabrics. And I love the way she paired it with the latest Blossom basic from Riley Blake as the background. (This may have inspired my own use of that fabric as the background of my Hearts mini. 😉 )

AND check out these darling outfits made by That’s Sew Kari for her daughter also using Gretel. Adorable! I really love seeing what other people do with my fabric designs.

You may remember that one of my goals this year is to tackle (and hopefully finish!) an old UFO (UnFinished Object) each month. I’m proud to say that I pulled one off! I had a baby quilt started from a few years ago made with Deena Rutter’s original Offshore collection.

When I saw that Deena had released a coordinating OffShore 2, I asked Riley Blake for a few of the prints to add to my project. These are from the Offshore 2 collection. I always love Deena’s designs and it was the perfect jump-start to a project I’ve had sitting on hold forever.

Here it is, before it headed off to Sew Shabby Quilting to get quilted. I’ll share it as soon as it’s done. It felt so fulfilling to finish up something that has been neglected! And I have to say, there’s something to be said for taking out a project that’s already underway – because so much of the planning and work is already done, it finishes fast. It was so satisfying!

If you’re looking for a jumpstart to your creativity, let me suggest pulling out an old project that you’ve got a good start on. Add a few new prints to get you excited to work on it again, and BAM! You’ll have a finish in no time!

Finally, I’ve joined the Marie Kondo craze (thanks, Netflix) and started to “KonMari” my house. I’m working a drawer or cupboard at a time (I already tackled the Tupperware bin a few weeks ago. Cut it down to half! *pats own back*) and I found this little collection as I cleaned out a drawer this week.  I thought you might enjoy a glimpse of the future Amy Smart through various stages of perms and 80’s accessories.

I also found this ancient relic. I’m going to keep it and take it to Antiques Roadshow one day. I expect it will be very valuable. Seeing this brought back memories of walking the aisles of Blockbuster on a Friday night – many times inevitably running into other friends or cute boys doing the same thing and we’d go hang out. I guess that was old school social media, and I didn’t realize how great it was!

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