The Heart Block

A week ago, my friend Louise/@imfeelincrafty was texting me photos as she created her scrappy little heart blocks, and at some point, just sent me the pattern to try. I jumped right on it, pulling scraps and starting in on paper-piecing. It's such fun working on a little project like this, and when it's scrappy, even better!

I had actually printed the pattern one night and began piecing the next morning, and somehow in that span, I guess I forgot that not only was Louise's heart strip-pieced, but so was the background - duh! Which is why the background for my heart block is pieced with chunks of fabric, rather than strips. Still scraps but not quite the same. Not to say I don't like it!!

Once the block was done, it came to me it would be a fun potholder! So I layered with batt and insul-bright, and rummaged for a variety of threads.

I did some dense organic straight-line quilting (so fun!), cut it into a circle, and bound it in orange so it didn't seem toooo seasonal. Then I sent it right off to Louise to use and enjoy. Perfect, amiright?

Click here for Louise's free pattern, in case you'd like to make your own scrappy heart block. 

#iheartyou

It was not my intent to start in on a new quilt right at the beginning of 2019. I have two large quilts in the quilting phase that I carried on from last year, and they were/are my priority. But then.... I saw the announcement of the #iheartyousewalong, and my mind was changed. I'd made the scrappy Strawberry Love quilt for my eldest granddaughter a while back, and the I Heart You quilt seemed perfect for my newest little grandgirl.

The pattern is by Meghan/Then Came June and Lindsey/Pen + Paper Designs, part of their Modern Holiday Quilt Collection. Though the original pattern is absolutely darling, I'm opting to use Lindsey's Patchwork Pattern Hack, digging into my scraps for mostly pinks + some low-volume neutrals for some scrappy little hearts. Kona White and Cotton + Steel Sprinkle in Stardust are my other key fabrics.



Anyone else joining in a new sew-along to start the year? Along with finishing up those wips from 2018, I think this little something new adds some enthusiasm to my sewing agenda.

Pixelated Heart

New arrivals in our extended family means baby quilts are definitely in order, and admittedly, I've gotten a very late start. But with this pixelated heart quilt, one can be on its way.

The pattern is from Blue Elephant Stitches, and since I had alot of 2 1/2" squares already cut, I used them rather than the suggested 3" squares. To up-size the quilt just a bit, I added two extra 'background' rows on the left and the bottom.

I used my everyday Aurifil 50wt 2021 (natural white) to quilt a grid, sewing on the right side of each column and the bottom of each row, just to add to the 'offset'.

My original idea was to grow the quilt even more with a 2" finished binding pieced of several of the low-volume fabrics. Which worked great - but as I was sewing it on, I realized it reminded me of the satin edge on a baby blanket - and I liked that alot.

The finished quilt measures 36" x 38" and is super sweet, exactly as I was hoping it should be.

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday!