My Yoyo Quilt

Where do I even begin this post? I guess that would have to be senior year of high school, which was 5 years ago, sheesh.  It was Christmas break, probably snowing, and I was sitting in the big yellow chairs at my parent's house.  Along with passions for art and craftiness, I also have set this unattainable goal for myself to watch all the films nominated for best picture. Why? I don't know. I'm a crazy person, and Christmas break provided a great setting for movie marathoning. Who knew that the movie to inspire me to sew would be The Untouchables? 

The movie wasn't actually nominated for best picture, but it is a classic. Anyway, there is a scene in the movie where Elliot is in his daughter's bedroom with her and his wife. The movie is set in the 1930s, and being a lover of vintage things, I was enjoying the novelty of fashions and trends from that time.  I commented on the cutsie-ness on the daughter's bedding, and that's when my mom told me that it was made of yoyo's. My mom asked me if I wanted to make one and that she could teach me how. I wasn't much of a sewer at the time, but I wanted to be, and this was the perfect project to start off with. 

A still from the Untouchables. You can see her yoyo quilt to the left hanging on the headboard.

So the next time we were at Joanne's, we picked up a yoyo maker, and an assortment of brightly colored fat quarters and I was set.  From then until I left for college it was hard to find a time where I wasn't sewing yo-yos. I sewed at school, in the car, while watching tv, you name it. Click here to go through my yoyo picture tutorial. 

At the beginning of the summer I laid out the ones I had made in a quilt like formation, and counted them. At the time, it was my goal to have enough to make a bed spread for my first apartment. I counted about 800 yo-yos and saw that they wouldn't even cover up a twin bed. And that's when I realized how big this project was. All I had done lately was make yo-yos, and I knew I wasn't even half-way there. After starting college, sewing took a back seat for the next four years. I would sew a couple every now and then, but that's about it. 

After moving out West, my priority was getting our apartment in order. Which, along with many trips to Bed Bath & Beyond and IKEA, required some DIY projects of pillows, dressers, and coffee tables.  After those were finished, I got out my yo-yos for the first time since my college hiatus. 

I guesstimated that I had made about 1500. I had some extra fabric left over from other projects. I decided I would use up that fabric, and then I would start attaching them together. I was ready. It was the beginning of November 2013 when I started making chains of four (See Below).

I dedicated so much time to this sewing and it was taking for-ev-er. After about a week, I made a terrible decision to count how many I had left. I was only 12% done :(

About 15 weeks later, I had finished the chains of four (WOO!). Since they were all in these neat little  chains, I was finally able to get an official count. I counted 494 rows, which meant I had 1,976 yo-yos in total (My guesstimate of 1500 was only a little off :P).   I then started sewing them 2x4 rows, which I finished on Friday (cue celebration dance). 

The evolution of a yoyo quilt.

On Friday, after I sewed the last stitch in the 2x4's I laid them out on the floor. Since they are in these rows, I can get a much better idea what size quilt I can expect.  I was excited to see that it filled up a large twin quilt I had, which would also make a perfect full-size coverlet. 

  I can't wait for this quilt to be done! Thanks for tuning in to hear my yoyo story. I look forward to updating you all when  I reach my next quilting milestone.

Click Here to see the next update on my quilt!