Heirloom Hearts Quilt - the Scrappy version

Written by Brittany Lloyd

Alright, my friends! This is the fourth and final blog post for the Heirloom Hearts quilt pattern release! All along, I knew that I had to make a scrappy version of this quilt, so here it is! This pattern is actually really great for using scraps. You can make your hearts scrappy by starting out with different rectangle fabrics. If you have any 1.5" strips laying around, you can also make the Chain portion scrappy. Or you can make the Background scrappy as well! I did a scrappy Chain and Background and it was a lot of fun! Scrap quilts are always a surprise because you never really know how they'll turn out until the very end. Here the fabrics that I used from my stash:

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I would say the Chain portion is easiest to pull off for that scrappy look. Once you have your 1.5" strips, then you're just strip piecing and cutting your units. Easy peasy. The Background fabric takes a little more time and thought. There is a checklist in the pattern that lets you know exactly how many pieces you need for each size cut. All and all, it's not complicated...just a little time consuming. :)

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I always get a little nervous at this stage in the process because I never really know if it's going to turn out how I hope it will. The thing that I've learned about scrappy quilts is that it's best to just go for it! I know it's easy to get in your head about how your progress is looking. But I've found that a scrappy quilt never really looks quite right until the very end. So just trust your gut and keep going!

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I decided to quilt this quilt myself using diagonal straight lines. I have a tutorial for this found here. I ended up quilting lines that are a little less than 1" apart. I really wanted to get the maximum amount of texture possible! It was pretty labor intensive... all in all, it probably took me 10-15 hours? I really do love the end result, though.

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For the binding, I wanted to add a little more framing and color to the quilt. I went with a purple that I had on hand...Art Gallery Fabrics Bewitched. It's literally the perfect shade of purple, IMO.

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For the backing, I had this sweet little bird fabric on hand. I remember when this fabric collection by Maureen Cracknell released a few years ago. This has always been a favorite of mine. :) It's called Lovebirds Amber by Art Gallery Fabrics.

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I know that scrappy quilts aren't for everyone, but it really does feel good to use up your stash. It's fun to look at this quilt and remember other projects that I used certain fabrics for. It's like a walk down memory lane. :)