Lost in Love is Lost and Found

I downloaded this free pattern about 4 years ago and purchased the fabric to make the quilt a little while later. I placed the pattern and the fabric in the "to do" basket and it was promptly forgotten. It was just recently, Jan. 2018,  I decided to get it out of my old stash and make this quilt for Valentines Day. I didn't make the deadline for the sweetheart day, but I did finish it a few days afterward. It was lost for years, then found to be a cherished creation by me and a special friend.

The pattern and fabric are from  Riley Blake. His website has many free quilt patterns.  The fabric, designed by Jen Allyson, reminds me of years past and the modern love of fabric. This was a quilt I knew I wanted to keep for myself.

The name itself implies romance. Forget the roses that die within a week. What better way to spend Valentine's day wrapped up in this lovely quilt?  A quilt that will last years and years and can be passed down for generations. 

I'm not that great a picking out fabrics ( well let's say I'm a fan of not reinventing the wheel) so I was thrilled when I found a fat quarter bundle of coordinating fabrics for this quilt. 

I'm also not a fan of small squares and strips. You will rarely see me build a quilt of charm squares or smaller because I just don't like them.  I love big blocks, what can I say? 

Because I'm determined to make this quilt, I will follow the instructions to the tee. Yuck... too small for me. 

It's going together anyway, piece by piece. 

This is the finished base panel. 

Next is the preparation for each of the hearts to go in the white squares. On this original quilt, I used ultra heat and bond for each heart.

My Cricut Maker cut the hearts perfectly. Charlie even loved them.

Once the hearts were fused to each square, I used a blanket stitch to anchor each heart. 

The finished panel.

The border was added, the backing created, sandwiched with the batting, pinned and quilted.

The binding was next. I really love to bind quilts. I use a wave stitch to adhere the binding around the quilt.

Clips make it easy to adhere the binding.

Love this backing. I learned to make original and creative backings from the quilting gurus I follow on the internet and  Pinterest.

On some quilts, I will make a special label, but not all. This one gets the embroidered label.Someday, one of my family members will get this quilt. I hope they love it as much as I do.

One of the reasons this fabric caught  my eye is the snowflake pattern on the red fabric.

Here in upstate NY, Valentine's day is sometimes a cold and snowy day. This quilt is just perfect in every way as a valentine's gift for someone special. 

Lessons Learned:

1. If there is fabric you like and a pattern for the fabric, purchase it as soon as you can or it will be tedious to find the fabric available in the future to make the quilt.
2. Ultra Heat and Bond is to stiff for a quilt like this. On the next one, I'll use Heat and Bond Lite.
3. Because I'm not a fan of small pieces, I felt like I didn't take the necessary time and care on this quilt to perfectly match the seams. If I ever have to create a small piece quilt, I will pay more attention to matching the seams.

Do you have a favorite quilt? I'd love to see some pictures. Feel free to leave some love and pictures in the comments below.

Happy Valentine's Day almost 2 months late.