Love In The Time of Covid-19

I have my first finish of 2020, Love In The Time of Covid-19.

I used the pattern Piece & Love Quilt by The Cloth Parcel.  Well, I used the pattern mostly as inspiration because I changed the size and the construction method.  The pattern makes a quilt 70" x 80" or 70" x 92" while I wanted a smaller quilt to fit my kitchen hanging space.  The wooden quilt holder is 40" wide so I resized roughly proportionately.  

I used a charm pack of Braveheart fabric from Laundry Basket Quilts, actually parts of two charm packs because I didn't use the lightest prints.  I used the charm squares to make quarter triangle squares that finish at 3 inches to form the heart.  I used two tone-on-tone fabrics from my stash for the background, one a mini polka dot and the other a subtle paisley print.  The background stripes finish at 6 inches wide.  The finished quilt is 38" by 48".

 

The backing and binding also came from my stash so it was a pretty good use of stash fabrics.  I sent the finished top to my long-time quilting collaborator, Karen Thompson of Greenbriar Designs.  She used pale pink thread to quilt a pantograph pattern of a vine with hearts and curlicues.  I like the way it came out and the pale pink thread shows up just enough against both the off-white background and the darker pinks and reds and in the heart.  

The binding is a beige and tan mini hounds tooth print; it's one of my favorites for binding.  I like the way it finishes the edge against the lighter background fabric.  

My fabric choices resulted in quilt that is less "modern" in appearance than the original on the pattern but it fits very well with my decor.  You could get a similar, more traditional look with Laundry Basket's other red and pink line called Anna or a modern look with Just Red by Zen Chic or red and pink batiks.

As for the name, Love In The Time Of Covid-19, I chose it to commemorate this time.  I started the quilt in late January by making the blocks that would form the heart; at that time, we thought Covid-19 was a flu-like condition confined to China.  I took a break while I went on a vacation in Florida then started assembling the heart and adding the background in late February.  By the time I finished the top, Italy was in quarantine and New Jersey entered stay-at-home orders just as I mailed the top and backing to Karen in North Carolina.  My husband and I are in our 11th week of staying at home to "flatten the curve" and while neither of us, nor any other family members, have caught the virus (or have been asymptomatic if they have), over 100,000 Americans have died to date.  I hope it is over soon.