Simple Heart Quilt Blocks to Piece and a Lovely Sale on Heart Quilting Designs
Hi ,
January has come with cold weather and a possible chance of snow on Saturday.
This is a big deal for my area of NC and I know what I'll be doing if we get snowed in - piecing heart blocks!
But first, I wanted to let you know about an awesome sale on the Eleanor Standing Sewing Table through January. Save $400 on this sewing table which features an electric lift that can raise it from seated to standing.
I've just recently set up this sewing station in 16 square feet and just love it! My Eversewn Celine sewing machine fits perfectly into the flatbed area with the Celene's extension bed attached.
When my back tells me it's time to stand and
sew, I hit a button and the Eleanor shifts to standing height. Then I just push back my sewing chair, and stand and sew using the start / stop button on my machine.
Feet and bobbins and thread are stashed nearby in the Kiwi Storage Cabinet, which I can also use for pressing and trimming. I honestly think this is my most Goldilocks sewing setup ever - it's just right!
This is one of my favorite quilt blocks because you make 2 at a time in contrasting colors. It's fast, easy, and full of love.
Keep in mind, the video below shares instructions for piecing 3-inch quilt blocks. You'll need to use the written instructions below the video to make 8 inch quilt blocks:
Cut the following pieces to make 8-inch - 2 at a Time Heart Blocks
Cut these squares
for both Fabric A and Fabric B:
Cut 1 - 5 1/2-inch square
Cut 3 - 5-inch squares
Stack the Fabric A and Fabric B 5 1/2-inch squares and the 2 Fabric A and Fabric B 5-inch squares right sides together and follow the instructions in this quilting tutorial to make 2 at a Time Half Square Triangles.
Press the pieced units flat, and trim only the 4 smaller HSTs to measure 4 1/2 inches square. Set these aside for
now.
Don't trim the bigger half square triangles. Top one HST with a Fabric A 5-inch square and top one HST with a Fabric B 5-inch square. Mark another diagonal line, making sure it runs in the opposite direction as the diagonal seam on the HST below. Just in case you'd like to see these
steps, Click Here to find our Quarter Square Triangle Tutorial.
Cut along the marked line to create a total of 4 Quarter Square Triangles (QST). Trim these to measure 4 1/2 inches square and your units are ready for piecing!
Arrange two QST so the small triangle faces down and match it with two HST with the same color
lining up in the middle.
You'll have two opposing color heart blocks - so if you piece yours like mine, you'll have one with red on the outside and a white heart, and one with white on the outside and a red heart:
Piece the units together in sets of 2, then piece the two halves together to finish your 8-inch Heart Quilt Blocks.
I hope you'll piece up lots of these quilt blocks for Valentine's Day and we'd love to see the quilt you make with them.
Heart Quilting Design Sale
To add a little more love to your quilts, we've just launched a Heart Quilting Sale until February 15th on all of our heart themed quilting designs and workshop.
Whether you're quilting on a home sewing machine in a table or a longarm on a frame, you've gotta try quilting with paper stencils. This doesn't require any additional accessories because you stitch through the paper stencil and quilt at the same time.
I love quilting with these paper stencils because they are fast and help me efficiently quilt edge-to-edge across my quilt. Yes, it does add an extra step of tearing the paper away, so if that's not your thing, you may want to try pantographs:
Pantograph designs require your machine (home sewing machine or longarm) to be on a quilting frame with a back table to support the design. The pantograph design is taped to the back table, then you use a laser light to trace the design. For home sewing machines, you'll need this Gracie Laser Light.
Quilting a quilt with either the stencils or pantographs will leave your quilt feeling soft and cuddly. These are designed on a soft, bed quilting scale.
Are you looking for more of a challenge this winter? You can also join me
for the Heart & Feather Wholecloth Workshopand make this beautiful quilt:
This workshop covers all the steps to wholecloth quilting from marking your quilt top, trapunto, and dense filler quilting to make the motifs stand out.
This is definitely NOT a bed quilting scale. Wholecloth quilts like this are meant for decoration and delight.
Last but not least, our Love Stitch n' Paint Embroidery design is on sale for $5.00. If you have an embroidery machine with hoops to fit a 5 x 7 inch design, this will stitch out beautifully every time. I'd love to see the creative ways you paint this little embroidery
design:
Would you like more heart machine quilting designs? Reply to this email and let me know what you'd love to see.
I hope you enjoy piecing your 8-inch Heart Quilt Blocks and our lovely sale on heart quilting designs. I know what I'll be doing for the rest of the day - piecing heart blocks on my new sewing setup in the Eleanor sewing table. It's so nice to be able to sit or stand, and take great care of my body while allowing the creativity to flow.
