Thursday, April 28, 2016

HEARTs


Here are the hearts made by my group on our first day together.  Isn't this going to be LOVEly?! :)

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

HEART Quilt to donate

This morning a fun group of women from church came over to have a quilting party.  We are planning to make two quilts this summer to donate in September.

Quilting with friends is just about my most favorite thing EVER!

Here's our first plan:
 

I'm really excited about this heart block.  I drew up this block after being inspired by this quilt and this quilt.

All the hearts will be made from medium to dark RED, BLUE, PURPLE or PINK fabrics with a low volume white/light background.  (***See note below.)



Cut  2       6 1/2" by 4 1/2" rectangles from the medium to dark red, blue, purple or pink fabric. 

Cut 2        4 1/2" squares from the light background fabric.

Cut 4        2 1/2" squares from the light background fabric.


Mark a diagonal line on the back of each of the light colored squares.

 
Place one of the 2 1/2" squares on a top corner of the darker fabric- right sides together.  Sew along the diagonal line you drew.  


Trim off the excess fabric. 
 
Important:  Open that first seam.  Then sew another 2 1/2" square on the other top corner. It will overlap the first square by just a little bit.


 
Cut off the excess.


 Repeat this same basic process on the bottom of the rectangle using a 4 1/2" square.

 Repeat everything with the other dark rectangle.  You are making two halves of your heart.  Make sure that when you sew the second bottom seam you are making a mirror image of the first.

 Again, make sure that your top seams are pressed open before you sew the bottom seam.  It will overlap.


 
Press and then sew the two heart halves together.  Right sides together of course.
Press again and you are done!
 
 
 
Make a million! :)  Today we were able to make 15-20.  Tomorrow I'll post a picture of them all together so we can start to get an idea of what they will look like all together in one BEAUTIFUL quilt.
 
(***SIDE NOTE:  While planning this group quilt, I thought a lot about how to make a quilt collaboration with women of different ages, different tastes, and different skill levels work.  I strongly feel that when you make quilts to donate you should put as much care into making it a thing of beauty as you can.  People need beauty in their lives.  A quilt should provide warmth, comfort and beauty.  Anyway, I think picking and sticking to a color scheme is key to making a group quilt turn out beautiful rather than a hodge podge. )