Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Tulips are one of my favorite flowers.  In fact, when I think of spring - tulips always come first to mind.  Although they are short lived, they usher in warmer temperatures and the beginning of our growing season.  After a long cold winter their pops of colors of reds, yellows, oranges, purples and pinks are like a party.

I've enjoyed hanging quilts on my front porch to share with passersby.  During a shop hop this past summer I came across this pattern, "Totally Tulips" from Missouri Star Quilt Co.  I knew this would look great hanging on my porch to welcome spring.  Since I used parts of the pattern but added my own size and a different border I'm calling my version "Tiptoe Through the Tulips".  As a child I remember a little song from Tiny Tim - "Tiptoe Through the Tulips".  Such a catchy and fun little tune and I've never forgotten it.  This quilt makes me smile. 

My finished size is 72" by 58".

March is an exciting and busy month with National Quilting and Crafting Month, the time change, and Easter is around the corner.  The days are longer and the sun is shining with temperatures rising and melting our snowbanks.  I'll be busy busting through my fabric stash for a couple more months before summer, so come tiptoe through the tulips with me!

All you need is LOVE

 I've enjoyed displaying quilts on my front porch during this past year.  So I decided to up my game and and embrace more holidays by making more quilts for my porch.

During the frigid cold of February we celebrate Valentine's Day.  What better way to get a warm fuzzy feeling inside but with the celebration of love.  One of my favorite things about Valentine's Day is the corny messages.  As a kid in school Valentine's was a pretty big deal.  We would make mail boxes/envelopes to receive Valentine's from fellow students.  I loved signing my valentines and sealing them in their envelopes to distribute.  I'd save the Valentine's I received for months reading them over and over.

To help warm the February chill outside I made a heart quilt to display on my front porch.  I call this quilt "All you need is LOVE".  And yes I'm a huge Beatles fan.  The idea for this quilt came from a Pinterest post by Wendy Williams.  Since I've been focusing on using up my stash, the strip quilting technique was a great way to help bust through some of my stash.  

Construction of this quilt was like doing a crazy quilt block but on a larger scale - scrappy and spontaneous.  I made a crazy quilt, without the embroidery, several years ago.  To start this heart quilt I made a pattern by drawing a large heart on a piece of paper, then cut it in half down the center. I started building each half of the heart in reds, strip by strip, until it was built to the size of my pattern.  Adding a couple lighter fabric strips in the heart helped give a rounded movement.  

After  trimming the heart to match my paper pattern it was time to start adding strips in whites to achieve the finished size of 52" by 50".   I sewed the two halves together and trimmed around the outside border to square it up.  The smaller hearts around the large quilt were machine appliquéd and added to the movement.

This was such a fun project. I love the fun whimsical look of this quilt.  As people drive by my house I'm hoping they'll get a message of love.  Hope your Valentine's Day was filled with love.

With the beginning of Spring just a few weeks away - I'm working on a new quilt to hang on my porch to welcome spring.  Make sure you check me out in a couple weeks.  Back to my studio.