I finished the Valentine’s Day wall-hanging I made for the Put a Little Love in Your Quilt Blog Hop last week. You can read more about it here. This wall-hanging was one of my goals for the 2018 Finish-A-Long and was posted here.
I hung it outside and it’s been greeting our guests ever since.
I wanted something that says “A Quilter Lives Here.”
I used a darker scrappy pink binding to frame out the hanging. It’s under a nice covered patio and is out of the sun. Hopefully, it’ll be protected enough to last a few seasons. Now, I will have to think of the next holiday and get something made to replace it, maybe something for St. Patrick’s Day or Easter or spring.
Last week I also baked a batch of cookies—heart shaped ones.
And decorated them all fancy. It was a large batch so we took them to a couple of community dinners to share. They were a hit and I should have made more.
I used my favorite sugar cookie recipe found here and decorator frosting to pipe the borders and some sayings from conversation heart candies. I only have 5 decorating tips and should look for more or bring my extras down with me next year.
This week, I finished Tu-Na Helper’s Mug Rug. You can read more about his mug rug and find the link to the free pattern here.
I chose some Chocolate Love by Audrey Jeanne Roberts for Studio e fabrics.
I also made a mug rug for me using the free paper pieced rose pattern found here. I reduced the size and then trimmed it to 5.5″ so it would be the same size as the cup one. The rose sewed up easily.
I quilted a diagonal crosshatch about 1/4″ apart. I used painter’s tape to mark my first diagonal lines in each direction and then my seam guide for the rest of the lines.
I made the center of the rose darker. The next couple of rows of petals were a bit lighter, and the last couple or rows of petals were the lightest.
I used three different fabrics for the rose but could have used more as the petals are lost by all the quilting.
I used a 1 1/8″ strip to bind them. It didn’t need a bulky double binding. Each mug rug finishes at 5.5 inches.
I gave Tu-Na Helper his Mug Rug this morning for Valentine’s Day
and he gave me…
a dozen long-stemmed roses!
* Update: That’s not all he gave me! I posted Tu-Na Quilts: The Rest of the Story here.*
What I Learned Today:
- I sew slowly. I was at a class this afternoon and am the furthest behind with that project.
- Being slow isn’t all bad. I didn’t have to rip out as much as some of the others.
- My seam ripper is rather dull. It’s time to get a new one.
- Completing the Valentine Wall Hanging was Goal #10 on my post Tu-Na Quilts: My Three Month Plan for the 2018 Finish-A-Long.
- I’ve still got 9 other goals to complete.
- I might have to speed up the sewing to get more of my goals completed.
Question: What do you do special for Valentine’s Day? When the kids were little, I would make and decorate each of them a giant heart-shape cookie.
Thanks for stopping by and do come again.
Karen, Tu-Na Quilts
Linking to:
Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter
Let’s Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts
Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication
Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Show Off Saturday at Sew Can She
Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats 
You have been busy. If you’ve been sewing things not on your list of goals, you are still sewing. The cookies looked good too. From the sounds of it, you are very busy in Arizona!!. Slow is not a bad thing. Enjoying the process is the important part.
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How lovely to have a quilt to greet people by your front door. I look forward to seeing what you choose to make next. I hope the helper liked his mug rug (it looks great) and the flowers are gorgeous. Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Your little quilt makes your front door look so cheerful and welcoming! Your little mug rugs are so cute — I love your little rose! Tuna Helper is a good guy, I think you should keep him! I’m slow at sewing too. I took a class and was one of the few who didn’t get a block done. It was a humbling experience. Haha.
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You are one talented lady with a lot of energy! Happy Valentines Day!
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Wow, You don’t seem like a slow sewer to me! I love all you have done. The wall hanging is so pretty with the tulips, as is your rose.
Glad you had a Happy ❤️ Day with your cookies and lovely rose bouquet from Tu-Na helper!
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Your heart wall hanging is just lovely. It makes a happy greeting to all your visitors. And the mug rugs are so cute. What a nice gift of the roses by your husband. We don’t do anything for Valentine’s Day. It has never been high on our priorities list. My birthday is at the end of January, and our daughter’s is Feb. 8th, so we have enough celebrating with that,
That’s a nice tradition to have with your family. I’m sure it brings back lots of good memories for all.
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What a great post. You’ve been creating some awesome stuff.
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You celebrated Valentine’s Day very well. Great projects and the wall hanging outside must make visitors smile.
We don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. We just surprise each other with things throughout the year. I like it better because I never know when a treat is going to show up.
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I’m always the slowest one in class. It bugs me to be that slow, but it’s how I process stuff so I’ve learned to live with it. And as you say, often you get the benefit of other’s mistakes so there’s that. Your wall hanging is so cute, and looks perfect by the door. The mug rugs are adorable! So glad you had a happy Valentine’s. You are one lucky girl, with flowers, chocolate and a song! You are indeed loved. Thanks for linking up and helping me make my Wait Loss Wednesday link up pink and pretty!
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I love how you have your mini hanging outside your door! I’m working on minis for my front door and have no ideas of what to do between now and 4th of July, so I will be watching what you come up with. Those cookies look tasty!
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This is perfect for greeting those at the door – very pretty!
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Some many great finishes. I like the idea of a small quilt by the door. Hum, maybe I should do something like that in our front entrance way — it’s very protected too. Hubby and I don’t get wild about Valentine’s Day any more. But when he sang in Barbershop quartets he’d bring his quartet by and sing to me. Once it was during a quilt guild meeting. Needless to say it was a big hit. Enjoy your flowers, they are lovely. Hum, maybe a quilt should come from that inspiration.
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What wonderful mug rugs. I especially liked the floral one. I think the flower looks fine, even without more layers of color. The roses are gorgeous, too. I like your door greeting! That is a cute little inspiration. The cookies look wonderful! I imagine you could have made twice as many and still said you should have made more. People love home made cookies!
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