This Week's String Therapy? Hugs & Kisses Make It All Better...

 

Hi, all!

It's time for this week's therapy session, and I'm definitely feeling the need for a little love this week.  So it's fitting that this Sunday is also Valentine's Day!  What better day to do a little string therapy based on hugs and kisses?

A few months ago, I saw a couple of quilts on Instagram that caught my eye, and I added them to my folder of possibles for String Therapy.  Both were similar in style, with one looking a little more contemporary as far as coloring.  

When I got ready to make this quilt, I looked at all those little string blocks and realized that I would run out of willpower to make them long before I had enough for a whole quilt!  But I went to my magic drawer to get papers to make the string blocks (old phone books make great foundation papers) and lo and behold, look what I found!

A whole pile of string blocks I made a long time ago, then tucked away into the drawer when I got bored with them.  Amazing the things we hide away, isn't it?  There were twenty-five blocks altogether, not enough to make a traditional string quilt, but I had a plan....

I took those blocks and cut them into quarters.  As you can see, that gave me a stack of 50 small blocks with a white diagonal piece in the center, and one stack of 50 blocks with no white diagonal.  Forming a plan, I cut some centers and sashing and played with layouts.

First, using the blocks with the white strips, I created an "X" block (or a kiss)....

...and then, using the pieces with no white strip, I created "O" blocks (hugs).

Here you can see one of each type of block.  I chose 1.5" white sashing strips for the "X" blocks, and a dark green for the sashing of the "O" blocks.  I had a variety of 1.5" squares in my scrap drawer, and pulled 25 different greens for the center cornerstone.  NOTE:  You can make this without the cornerstone, but I find that it is much easier to make your blocks line up perfectly with that cornerstone, and it allows you to cut all your sashing pieces the same size.

Once I finished making the 25 blocks, I dug a great black and taupe print out of my stash, along with 36 2.5" squares in shades of green.  I cut the sashing the 2.5" wide by the same length as my block.  It required 60 pieces for this quilt.

The layout is simple - just alternate the blocks (although I did find that I had to start with an "O" block to make it all work out even!) placing sashing and cornerstones between the blocks.  Once again, the cornerstones keep the rows and columns perfectly aligned!

I added a 5" border to make this quilt end up 60" square, my favorite lap size.

And after a quick ride on the long arm frame, here's the finished quilt!

"X" blocks, quilted with a large soft loopy meander...

...alternated with "O" blocks to share a quilt full of....

...lots of LOVE!

Go check in your drawers and drag out those string blocks you started making ages ago, or grab your strings and make a bunch now!  

So keep in mind on this Valentine's Day that some hugs and kisses make everything better - if not in person, then in a quilt that you can wrap around yourself or someone else - and share the love!

Hugs!

Sarah