HEARTs

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

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. )

 

Finished: Scrappy Trip Around the World!

 

I LOVE this quilt!  This is my quilt of choice for snuggling on the couch right now. 

 

I posted way back when that I was a late joiner to the Scrappy Trip Around the World craze.  And now, several months later, its finally done!  Better late than never.  And this one was definitely worth the wait.

 

Scrap quilts are my favorite.  I've said it before and I'll say it many times more.  

 

I decided to quilt it with an orange peel pattern (inspired by Nettie-  again! and by Camille)  and I LOVE how that turned out.  It was super easy yet looks fancy.  Here's a great tutorial for that quilting techniquehttp://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/2012/03/orange-peel-quilting-on-a-grid.html

: 

 

This picture below of the main backing fabric shows the orange peel pattern pretty well.  (I don't think I'll ever stop loving illustrations of vintage children.  Adorable!)

 

 Aqua binding and a scrappy backing.  This was my first time to piece a back.  I've never been in love with that idea before.  But frugality won this time, and I decided to see if I could just use some of the bigger pieces in my stash.  I'm very happy with how it turned out and might have to do it again.   

 

 

 

 

Bunny Winner

Congrats and thanks to Kelly O. for helping me out with my giveaway and winning a little bunny of her own! 

Bunny Giveaway!

In the spirit of Spring and Easter I decided to have a Bunny giveaway!  I would love to share one with one of my few readers. :)  The winner will get to pick either a pink bunny or a linen one. See this post for more about my Bunnies.

So here's how I think this will work: 

1.  This giveaway is only open to US readers.  Sorry!  Those shipping costs can get scary.

2.  Go check out my etsy shop PolkaDotsEtc. and then either like or share it on Facebook or on your own blog.  Please tag me (Erica Ernstrom) on Facebook so that I can see that you shared, if you decided on that method.  Leave a comment here and let me know which way you shared and which bunny you prefer. 

3.  This giveaway is open until Friday, April 4 at MIDNIGHT. 



P.S.  For the sake of full disclosure, yes, I am asking for help in promoting my etsy shop here.  I hope you don't mind too much. :) 

Mixed Berries Baby Quilt

This quilt was made after sitting down and playing with my stash one day.  The lime green was new and the blue floral I used for the backing was new.  Everything else was fat quarters saved for a rainy day or leftovers from another project. (specifically this one) 

This quilt was so fun to make because the colors just made me happy. 

Come to think of it, why would I want to use the little bit of precious time at my sewing machine working on something that looked depressing or drab?  I'm at a point in my life, maybe because I'm heavily influenced by little children all the time, where I want to be surrounded by things that are bright and happy.  Forget somber.  Forget avant guarde (whatever that means.  ha!  or however you spell it!).  I just want fun and happy. 

Bunnies!

This bunny was born right before Christmas as I was fiddling around making some handmade gifts.  He is simple and cute and sometime around February, I realized he is perfect for Easter. 

 

 I think my kids might see something similar to this on Easter morning.

His little heart shaped tail might be my favorite detail.  :)

I also love his gingham or polkadotted ears.  Maybe someday I'll figure out how to make a pattern for him.  For now, I have a few for sale in my new etsy shop. 



Meeting a new Quilt Friend

This past month I had the extreme pleasure of meeting Nettie of aquiltisnice.blogspot.com. 

 

I was putting together a little party to try to convert a few friends to the ways of quilting, and on a whim thought I might send an email to Nettie, introduce myself and ask her to come do a trunk show for us.  When she responded positively, I was absolutely giddy with excitement.  

 

Nettie has been a huge quilting inspiration to me over the past few years.  I love her colorful, modern, scrappy style.  Seeing her quilts in person was so much fun.  Nettie did a wonderful job of presenting her quilts in a way that got us all, new quilters and old, excited to get sewing!  One of the things I love about her, is that she is a stay at home mom (of 4) just like me, and she quilts as an outlet for her creativity and her sanity.  I'm not sure she used those exact words, but I felt like I found someone in her that understood my passion for quilting.   

 

What was equally as exciting as seeing her impressive collection of quilt masterpieces was finding out that Nettie is as cute and sweet as can be.  It is a little bit of a drive from my side of Houston to hers, but it makes me very happy to know that I have a new local, experienced quilting buddy.   I hope to be able to meet up with her again soon!

 

These pictures do not do her or her quilts justice.  My silly camera battery died before the very end, and I didn't get a good picture of her standing next to her enormous piles of quilts.  For more Nettie goodness head over to her blog. 

 

Making Waves Quilt

 This blue and white quilt was made a year and a half ago for my oldest son.  I have been on a blue and white kick for a while now.   

 

 

My original thought was to make a blue and white quilt that looked sort of like ocean waves.  Once I got started though, I knew it needed something.  My son really liked the addition of the orange fish. 

  

The binding is a solid navy and the backing reminded me of waves. 

Munchkin #3 likes it too.  Or at least she likes the camera.  :)

 

Little Boy Blue Baby Quilt

This quilt is old news around here.  My baby that this was made for turned two last Monday.  I have decided that for me, the simpler, the better for baby quilts.  This is one of my favorites and it is so simple!  About 10 different blue fabrics + one yellow fabric to make things interesting + white + one block (equilateral triangles in this case) = the perfect baby boy quilt. 

 

 That's my third little munchkin peeking at the camera up there.  She loves to help. 

 I was worried that the backing and binding (a teeny blue gingham) were going to be too boring, but once it was on I loved it for a baby quilt.  The front is the star of the show. 

Girlie I-Spy Sqare in a Square/ Economy Block Quilt

 I started this quilt over three years ago when I was pregnant with my second daughter.  The economy block that is all the rage right now is just perfect for an I-spy type quilt.  I made all the center blocks square in a square blocks and then let it sit.  I got busy with three and then four kids and put any quilting that required much thought on the back burner.  I really love this quilt though.  I finally finished it and had it quilted this last fall. 

 

  I have a really hard time making quilts smaller than twin size.  I guess I am just too darn practical.  If a quilt can't fit on a bed and keep someone warm at night, I almost feel like its a waste of time and materials. One of the reasons why I love quilting so much is because it is both creative and practical. So when I got tired of making the economy blocks, I put it on the back burner until I could figure out how I wanted to finish it. 

 The fabrics are all scrappy.  I LOVE love LOVE scrappy quilts, but I'm getting tired of my scraps.  Sometimes I daydream about how fun it would be to use other peoples stashes/ scraps.  Well, that and having a million bucks to spend on fabric. :)

 My mom quilted this for me and did a beautiful job!  I love it.  Can you see the flowers in the center white squares?  So fun.   

The back is polka dotted- my favorite!  And the binding is scrappy pinks.