Valentine Tic-Tac-Toe: Mini Quilt #5

January 30, 2015

What could be more fun than a mini quilt?  Eleven mini quilts!  This week I decided to make the fun and games of Mini Quilt Mania into a real game!  This mini is a quilted version of tic-tac-toe with a Valentine’s Day twist.

Tic-Tac-Toe Quilt Set

The game board section section of the set is comprised of a grid of red echoed with this fun pink print.  The background of white Kona Cotton really shows off the echoing heart spiral quilting.

Quilt Front

The backing of the quilt is also white Kona, which shows off the pink quilting thread.

Back Quilting and Binding

One quilt isn’t enough for this week, so I made ten more mini quilts to act as game pieces.

Tic-Tac-Toe Set Bag

The five X’s for this game are square blocks made from half-square-triangles that are paired with one another then stitched and cut again along the opposite diagonal.

Square Game Pieces

I replaced the standard O’s of the game with five heart shaped pieces.  The inner hearts are fused using Wonder Under before being machine blanket stitched around the edges.

Heart Game Pieces

All of the game pieces were “bagged out” (stitched together with right sides of the fabric facing one another and then turned right side out through a small opening in the stitching) with a piece of cotton batting.  I had never tried this technique with batting before, and I was a bit concerned about the bulk around the edges of the pieces.  Fortunately, a row of edge stitching around each piece allowed them to lay flat.  The added bonus was that the edge stitching closed up the openings used to turn the pieces right side out.  No hand slip stitching on this project!

Game Pieces in Bag

To keep the game pieces together, I whipped up a cute little drawstring bag in matching fabric.  It is fully lined in the light pink cotton.

Bag Closed

Quilt Stats

Title:  Valentine Tic-Tac-Toe

Size:  Quilted Game Board- 16.5″x16.5″   Hearts and Squares- 3″x3″   Storage Bag- 5″x7″

Techniques:  Machine Piecing, Fusibles, Machine Applique, Bagged-out shapes

Quilting:  Machine quilted.  Game board- Heart shaped spiral.  Heart Pieces- heart shaped ech0.  Square Pieces- diagonal orange-peel shapes

Fabrics:  100% Cotton fabrics including Kona Cotton in White, Marble Dot from Moda, a Suzy Ultman print for Robert Kaufman, and a Nancy Halvorsen design for Benartex

Batting:  Scraps of Warm and White and Warm and Natural

Thread:  Pieced using Gutermann Mara 100 in White and Magenta. Machine embroidery done with Mettler Cotton Machine quilting thread in Magenta.  Quilted with Connecting Threads Essential Thread in Magenta.

Binding:  Marble Dots from Moda, cut on the bias in 2″ strips.  Machine stitched to the front of the quilt, hand stitched to the back

What Was New:

Creating an interactive game in quilt form

Bagging out small quilt pieces with batting included

Quilt 5 / 50

Quilt 5 / 50

Goal #4 is Finished!

Goal #4 is Finished!

I am linking this quilt up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts, Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts, Let’s Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts, Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation, and Show Off Saturday at Sew Can She.  Please stop by to see everyone’s lovely work!

22 Comments

  • Reply
    Mini Quilt Mania 2015 | The (not so) Dramatic Life
    January 30, 2015 at 1:31 pm

    […] Valentine Tic-Tac-Toe: Mini Quilt #5 […]

  • Reply
    Jean Burke
    January 30, 2015 at 3:58 pm

    This is just adorable – the colors are perfect!! And the quilting, the bag…just terrific! Well done….Happy Valentine’s Day!!

  • Reply
    JanineMarie
    January 30, 2015 at 5:05 pm

    Aww, sweet! And thanks for the reminder that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.

  • Reply
    Marla
    January 30, 2015 at 6:02 pm

    I think my granddaughter needs one of these for Valentine’s Day. Love.

  • Reply
    Jasmine
    January 30, 2015 at 7:40 pm

    This is too cute! I love the spiral heart and the heart extra mini quilts.

  • Reply
    Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl
    January 30, 2015 at 10:55 pm

    What a clever idea! The spiral heart quilting on the mini is so well done.

  • Reply
    Maartje Quilt
    January 31, 2015 at 3:56 am

    So cute!!!! Thanks for sharing. I love it.

  • Reply
    LeeAnna Paylor
    January 31, 2015 at 7:43 am

    I love to make something for a holiday! Makes it special
    Leeanna at not afraid of color

  • Reply
    Carole @ From My Carolina Home
    January 31, 2015 at 8:21 am

    That was a lot of work! Just too stinkin’ cute!

  • Reply
    Carole @ Fresh off the Frame
    February 1, 2015 at 2:02 pm

    Super cute! I like everything about this project. Well done!!! 🙂

  • Reply
    Valerie
    February 1, 2015 at 2:31 pm

    This is adorable! And, I agree, a lot of work. I really admire your echo quilting- so even!

  • Reply
    Sarah from mila+cuatro
    February 1, 2015 at 6:00 pm

    What an awesome idea!

  • Reply
    T'onna @ USS Crafty
    February 3, 2015 at 2:17 am

    This is sooooo cute! I love the hearts!

    Navy Wifey Peters @ The Submarine Sunday Link Party

  • Reply
    Lea Anne
    February 3, 2015 at 7:34 am

    Such a cute idea, Love it!

  • Reply
    Jayne Willis
    February 3, 2015 at 10:07 am

    How cute! Right down to the heart quilting! Adorable and great idea!

  • Reply
    Emma
    February 4, 2015 at 5:44 am

    Love your mini! Its so cute 🙂 And useful when you have a friend over for coffee too – you can have a game 😉

  • Reply
    Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty
    February 4, 2015 at 6:46 am

    What a clever idea. Thanks for sharing! : )

  • Reply
    Lorna McMahon
    February 4, 2015 at 7:18 am

    Perfection! I love everything about this – the quilting, the game pieces, and the little drawstring bag. What a thoughtful and lovely gift this would make!

  • Reply
    Stephanie
    February 4, 2015 at 9:57 pm

    I saw your last mini quilt but I am only just cluing into the fact that you’re planning to make fifty of these … what an ambitious project, looking forward to seeing the next one!

  • Reply
    Barbora
    February 5, 2015 at 7:19 am

    What a great quilting idea with the heart on the mini! Thanks for sharing your wonderful pieces.

  • Reply
    Ana Mo Shoshin
    April 1, 2015 at 6:44 pm

    Great idea!

  • Reply
    Adrianne
    April 8, 2015 at 3:59 am

    How sweet!

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