Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Hugs and Kisses



Welcome to my stop on the Hugs and Kisses Blog Hop. Thanks go to M.Samm for her unusually creative mind and Jane of Jane's Fabrics and Quilts http://janesfabrics.blogspot.ca/ for taking on Cheerleader duties.

          


For me this hop turned into a 3 for the cost of admittance.  1st I got to participate in this Valentine related hop, then I got to do the hot block this month in the blog world, the scrappy trip around the world and last but not least I forced myself to work on my machine quilting skills.

Let me begin with the fact that I love how my quilt turned out warts and all.  I had never done this block before.  I understood the need for the contrast on the diagonal but never read far enough into any of the various instructions to see how that was done. Some trial and error and ripping and I was able to figure it out.  My biggest problem was the contrast.  I wanted a valentine look and not all of my lights had enough contrast for the quilt.  I could see it in the block but lost it in  the quilt. I put those blocks in the middle cause I was done ripping.



Last fall I followed a month of postings at http://blog.petitdesignco.com/  called 31 days of walking foot quilting    it  really gave me some great things to think about.  This was the first thing I made since then that I thought would work for me as a trial.  After all this was for me.  I didn’t care if it wasn't a work of art. OK I’ll admit it, I hate to practice.  

The few problems I had with this quilts quilting were of my own making.  The biggest issue was that this quilt was too big for a starter/learning project. It measures in at about 52 inches square. 

 I chose to do a 4 inch heart in the center of the quilt and then to do 2 inch echoes.  Not a problem with the bottom half of the piece which is pretty much straight lines but I did have some issues at the top.  Swinging all of that bulk around and around I somehow lost the heart shape in places and got several good size wrinkles.  Apparently what I thought was lots of pinning wasn’t enough.   This was THE practice piece and I learned lots from it and I love it.
       
                              
                                        Love the back too.

So I live in NJ which was in the bottom of the northeast blizzard area.  The company let those of us who were driving into the snow leave early on Friday.  By the time I got home things were just starting to heat up.  Spent a lovely evening working of these projects.  I was in a fortunate part of the state we had somewhere in the range of 6 – 10 inches of the stuff and no power issues.  Things were back to normal by noon on Saturday.   The very best part of the snow was that I had a red quilt to take pictures of on it. What a terrific backdrop for this quilt.
      


Next up, I saw this great tutorial  http://www.sewhappy.me/quilt-blogs/bunny-bags-idea/  and I had to make it for my favorite 3 year old for Valentine’s day.  I know it was posted as an Easter Bag but to me it was a Valentines bag with a bunny on it.  To my very  logical mind, If it were an Easter bag there would have been Eggs not Hearts.  
  




On this piece I actually tried FMQ successfully, this is something else I won’t put the time into practicing.  The parts I quilted on this piece were only about 7 inches square.  I always loved these hearts in a quilt pattern and what better place to try them out.  Success.




Last but not least are a couple of shots of my first heart quilt.  It was from a beginners applique class for beginner quilters I took  at least 20 years ago.



Didn't understand the whole squaring up concept at the time.


Still  love it and hang it every year.

Now please go and visit any of today's hoppers that you may not have gotten to yet. Actually go and visit any of the hoppers you may have missed on Monday or Tuesday too.  Lots of great Hugs and Kisses to drool over.



Wednesday February 13th

84 comments:

  1. How cute is that bunny bag? I love it.
    And the quilt is great too.

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  2. The quilt is so sweet and thank you for the bunny bag link!

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  3. Beautiful quilt! Liked the valentine bunny!!

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  4. Wow love your quilt, great job - and I agree it looks fabulous against the snow. I am off to check out the bunny bag tutorial, it looks so cute I am sure your 3 year old will love it
    Judy

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  5. Your things turned out great, did not spot one wart!?! :) and we all have that quilt in our repertoire even if they weerent square... Still have my first wallhagming but quilt I made ions ago went by wayside, some of the fabrics fell apart ( they were dime store fabrics ). We love the effort we put in despite the outcome :)

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  6. You quilt turned out lovely! Love you cute Valentine's bunny tote! Thank you for sharing.

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  7. Your new red and white quilt looks lovely and warm against the snow. We had two feet of the white stuff locally. Good time to be inside and quilting. Your heart shaped echos work well on this quilt. The bunny is adorable and the free motion heart quilting is wonderful. Lots of love to your first applique quilt. Thanks for sharing ... :) Pat

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  8. Beautiful quilt! Wow! And the bag is just to sweet! Cute, cute!

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  9. Selina..that red and white on background of snow...is breathtaking..you know...I never get tired of seeing anything red and white..you soooo inspire me to make something in these colors....it is striking...your bunny is cute too

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  10. I don't call it practice. I call it learning and I want a finished project in the end! The snow made a great background for your beautiful quilt. I love that you still hang your first heart quilt every year!

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  11. your TAL is great and looks amazing on all that snow.

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  12. Beautiful and such great inspiration

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  13. Your heart quilt is beautiful! Jane

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  14. Wonderful projects! Glad you weren't blasted too badly with the snow.;)

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  15. Wow, wow, and a million other wows! Great projects -- love the quilt, love the bunny, love it all! :)

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  16. Great projects - I especially like your scrappy trip around the world!
    Thanks for sharing!

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  17. I made that same heart quilt 20+ years ago!!! Talk about deja vu!

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  18. I really like your quilt. Love the idea of a big quilt for Valentine's Day. The bag is very cute to. I have one of those heart wall hangings too.

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  19. I totally understand the battle you had! And GOOD FOR YOU for WINNING! Your Quilt turned out Fantastic! Your little bags is adorable as well! Hugs and Happy Heart Day!!!

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  20. Great ideas! I love the little bunny bag & totally agree that it should be for Valentine's Day with all those hearts on it. I also have a little quilt with hearts on from the beginning years! Thanks for sharing.

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  21. Totally in agreement about the bunny...if it was an Easter bag...those hearts would have been eggs! :) I wonder if I have time to make one before tomorrow for a certain bunny lover I know? hmmmm

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  22. Thanks for sharing your projects.

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  23. You've had quite the journey into learning to quilt! But from the picture, your walking foot quilting looks great! And the cute little bag--adorable! Good luck on your continuing learning of quilting!

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  24. Ooo!! I love the giant heart echoes!!! (wondering for reference as I'm about to quilt a largish one with plenty of positioning movement that will happen - about how close did you pin?) And How. Cute. Can. You. Get. with that bunny valentine bag? :D

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  25. Very pretty quilt. Love the bag too. Thanks for sharing.

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  26. beautiful quilting. I'm impress..such a hard work to do you did it very well beautiful. Your bunny is very funy i'm sure your little one will be please. thank's for sharing and have a beautiful valentin's day

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  27. I tried some of those little hearts in FMQ. It just didn't happen for me! I just couldn't wrap my brain around the motion! Yours look fantastic!

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  28. Just a beautiful red, whit, pink quilt . Congrats on placing top two!

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  29. All so lovely and congratulations on being selected for the "hall of fame". Judy C in NC

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  30. Beautiful quilt, and on the snowy background it just warms your heart. Congrats on pick of the day! Well deserved. Thanks for the info on finding the tutorial for the bunny bags too. I love looking at my older quilts and seeing that my quilting really has improved. :-)

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  31. How beautiful! I'm not surprised you were one of the top picks today! Your other projects are also adorable!

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  32. Beautiful picture of your quilt in the snow! Love the little bunny bag!

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  33. I think your quilt is very pretty and I love the quilting with the heart design. You did a great job with it. The little bags are adorable. All little girls would love one of these. Thank you for sharing.

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  34. Rosemary B here: WOW
    Your quilt turned out perfect. I mean it. I love the color changes. I love how they went together.
    I now what you mean though, we are our greatest critic to details... what it should have been. No, I think your project turned out marvelous.
    I live in Western part of Northern Virginia and we got three lousy inches of snow. I was pretty disappointed
    I love the bag, YES indeed it is a great valentines bag. Easter? well, you would have to change up some of the colors.
    This is very very very cute though and I think more versatile for the 3 year old fashion to be used all year!
    Thanks for sharing your stuff

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  35. The red and white quilt is beautiful and yes the bunny too.
    Thanks for sharing!

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  36. Your quilt is stunning Selina - if you didn't tell us it wasn't perfect we wouldn't know it! And I think I've fallen in love with that bunny! blessings, marlene

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  37. That is a great scrappy trip!!! Very pretty in those colors too.

    I think your first heart quilt looks so pretty too.

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  38. You did some wonderful work.....I love the last quilt

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  39. Your quilt and bunny bag are beautiful, as are those FMQ hearts. Very nice Valentine projects!

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  40. Your projects are great. There is no bad quilt in my dictionary....just design elements. The little bunny bag is so cute. Thanks for sharing.

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  41. Lovely quilt and that bunny bag is just darling.

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  42. You are quite right. It does make a great Valentine Bag too. I love the heart quilting.

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  43. Thanks so much! What a nice quilt and bag. Thanks for sharing.

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  44. Love the simple holiday look of the scrappy quilt! What an easy way to to make a big statement. I agree with your bunny bag assessment--she should've been surrounded by eggs for Easter, but she's definitely someone's Valentine with those cute hearts. Thanks for sharing!

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  45. Hi!!! Very sweet!!! Love your quilt out in the snow!!! I really love your first heart quilt!!! Very pretty!! Thank You

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  46. What a beautiful picture of your quilt on the snow! I tend not to practice my FMQ either, but jump into projects. I learned a long time ago that walking foot quilting is best used for straight lines. LOL! Live & learn! Great job on all of your sweet projects!

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  47. Happy Valentine's Day!! Beautiful quilt and love the bunny Bag..

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  48. Wow! I just want to play with your fabrics! Yummy! Butreally I love what you did with them! I sooo would like to try this. Congratulations on top two. It is just beautiful.

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  49. Lovely, red & white are my favorite!!
    Gmama Jane

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  50. What a gorgeous quilt! You did a wonderful job. How cute is the bunny bag. I'm with you, hearts mean Valentines and eggs are for Easter, hehe. Thanks for sharing all your projects with us, awesome job!

    usairdoll(at)gmail(dot)com

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  51. Love them all. The bunny bag is adorable and the quilt lovely. Congrats on being one of the chosen.

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  52. I love your scrappy trip projects...no warts at all on that cutie! Love the photos of the snow too!

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  53. I love your TAL, the colors are beautiful. The Valentine bunny is super cute too!

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  54. Hmm, I haven't fallen into the Scrappy trip thing but you sure make it look good love your quilting on it and the FMQ hearts are perfect!

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  55. What a neat idea to do the Scrappy Trip with the reds and it looks so neat in the snow! Wonderful projects!

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  56. From one Jersey Girl to another. . . . your projects are terrific.

    I did a Scrappy Trips a couple of years ago. . . haven't gotten the borders on yet so it might be time to find it & finish it.

    Have a great day.

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  57. I like your scrappy Trip - happy and cheerful. I commend you on your quilting - I can't quilt on my DSM except for straight lines! Love your Bunny Bag - so adorable!!! That little girl will be so happy!!! Don't you hate it when you get the hour glass effect? Frustrating, but it doesn't take away from the beauty of the quilt. Thanks for sharing all your creativity with us and keep up the good work on your quilting!!

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  58. Oh my goodness. I love everthing you made. espeicially the quilt. I also adore that lil bunny bag. You do fabulous work. conn_and_vans_mom(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  59. Beautiful - absolutely gorgeous, and the quilting is amazing. I love the echoed heart. And your photo is stunning in the snow!

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  60. Your Scrappy Trip-Along turned out really nicely. Isn't it great when you can accomplish three things simultaneously? Good for you for trying FMQing on this! Keep at it. You'll be better every single time. I bet you can appreciate why I'm putting off pin-basting and quilting a 92" X 101" monstrosity that I have up next on my to-do list!

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  61. Isn't it wonderful to look at 'old' projects and see just how much we've learned over the years? Loved all the reds/pinks in your quilt. What luck to have had all that glorious snow for pictures! (I know it sounds crazy but I love snow if it isn't damaging.) You're absolutely right about the bunny bag - at Easter you can make another and put on the Easter eggs!! lol Happy V Day!

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  62. A colcha contribuiu para o cenário,eu adorei.E sim dá para ver com clareza o coração ecoando.Beijos.

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  63. Loved your beautiful quilt, perfection is not something we should be about, it is more the process...that makes it all worthwhile. I live by that, and it makes me happy...thanks for hopping along with us!

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  64. Wonderful! You did a great job! Thanks for sharing your colorful talents!

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  65. I love your beautiful quilt, and the background made for a fabulous picture. Your little valentine basket with the bunny will be loved by that little 3-year-old, I am sure. Lovely work.

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  66. Your quilts are beautiful and your quilting looks wonderful from where I am at...Happy Valentine's Day.

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  67. Selina...I luv red and white, your quilt is sEw beautiful. Luv how you made the Easter bag into a Valentine bag. It's darling. I am hoping to make a few of the Easter bags....I hope I find the time. Thanks for the inspiration! Happy stitching, Pauline

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  68. Your quilt is lovely! Thanks for sharing.

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  69. Your red and white quilt is beautiful! The Valentine bunny is a cutie.

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  70. I enjoyed your blog story. The bunny bag is just to darn cute. Thanks for being in the fun hop.

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  71. Your quilt is wonderful. I'm glad that you still hang your quilt from 20 years ago. It's nice. And, I love your bunny bag. I agree that it's for Valentine's Day. You did a great job of inspiring me, and I'm sure, many, many others. Thanks.

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  72. what a beautiful quilt, and well done you for trying something new! I am in love with the bunny bag, got to go and find the post!

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  73. What wonderful projects. I love how the quilt turned out and the picture of it in the snow. Thanks for sharing your creations with us! :-)

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  74. Your quilt contrasts so nicely with all that white snow. It sounds like you had fun working on it in spite of the ripping and learned a few things along the way too. THX for sharing your projects with us.

    I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

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