How to Make a Yo-Yo (Quilt, That Is) - Saturday Snapshots

When I inherited a yo-yo quilt from my mom, I knew it needed repair; but I had no idea it was in such bad shape! It's a bigger project than I realized. So lately I've been spending random moments working on fixing it. This project has given me a new appreciation for just how much time my mom devoted to the quilt's construction. Out of curiosity, I decided to create just one individual yo-yo from scratch to get an idea of what was involved and document the steps. Here they are. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

I used a DVD as my template. It's about 4¾ inches in diameter. The resulting yo-yo has a 2-inch diameter (approximately).

Gather the edges of the circle, turning the raw edge under about 1/4 inch as you go along. Bigger stitches are better. I think mine are too small. Use a heavy thread like quilting thread.

Pull the stitches tight, then take a couple of locking stitches and tie a knot to secure the thread. 

Once you've made about a million yo-yos, tack them together to form the quilt. (These stitches will be on the back side of the quilt and won't show, so they don't have to be perfect.) 

Here's my mom's yo-yo quilt.

I'll probably sew this quilt to a backing (gotta figure that out!) to make it more stable. By the way, there are lots of tutorial videos on YouTube showing people making yo-yos, in case you'd like to give this a try. 

I doubt if I'll ever make a yo-yo quilt from scratch, but I have a sentimental attachment to this one. Not only did my mom sew it by hand, my niece Kristin also contributed her stitches. Now I've become a part of it too.

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below. 

Baby Quilts - Saturday Snapshots

Baby quilts are so much fun to make! Since they're small, the construction goes quickly. Not so much delayed gratification! They're also a good way to try out quilt patterns without making a big commitment. While I'm creating, it's fun to think of the child who will be snuggling under the quilt. I put a lot of love into every stitch.

I've made several quilts for my granddaughter
but this is my favorite. The quilt square pattern is 
Nine Patch, and the hearts and name are appliqued.

This is a flannel ragged-edged quilt.
It gets softer with every washing.

Baby quilts don't have to be made of pastel colors.
These coordinated fabrics came together in a package.
Just right for my grand nephew!
This pattern is called X's and O's.

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Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below. 

Quilts - Saturday Snapshots

I enjoy several hobbies, but my favorite pastime in recent years has been quilting. So today I'm sharing a couple of my creations. I've given away most of the quilts I've made, but a few are still draped over the backs of chairs or folded at the foot of beds here at home.

The quilts shown here were mostly made from scraps - leftovers from other projects. I love the jewel tones in both quilts. By the way, if you also like reading, you might enjoy my recent post about The Friendship Star Quilt (HERE), a novel by Patricia Kiyono and Stephanie Michels.

This pattern is called Log Cabin. The squares can be arranged in several 
different ways and different color combinations can be used, all of which change
the look of the finished quilt. The central square of each block is usually 
orange, yellow or red and represents the hearth in a log cabin. 

 

Here are four squares from the lower left-hand corner of the quilt above.
To create a square, you start at the central yellow piece and then
add strips one at a time all around, squaring off the edges as you go.
Since each square is made up of two color families, I drew the layout of
the squares before I started so I wouldn't get lost when assembling them.

This is called a string quilt. 

Each square consists of a bunch of odd-sized strips of fabric
sewn diagonally across a backing square (a "foundation") 
with a black diagonal strip across the middle. When joined together,
the resulting squares look like they're framed in black.

Creativity can be messy (at least the way I do it!)
The white dots on each square are stick-on labels that
I use to keep track of which square goes where.

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below.