Hi , 

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and hearts are on my mind and all over my sewing machine today. A few years ago I shared a mini series featuring these 6 heart-themed quilting designs:

Click Here to find this video series. The best thing about these quilting tutorials is you get to see each of the designs quilted with push quilting (sewing machine in a sewing table) and frame quilting with my longarm machine on a frame.

Each of these heart designs is quilted by memorizing the simple rules like:

• Quilt a wiggly line
• Come to sharp points
• Occasionally stitch heart shapes
• Don't cross or overlap the line of quilting, except to make hearts.

These rules are just like the little rules that connect letters together in cursive writing. Once you practice a bit and memorize the steps, you can quilt / write anything, anywhere, and any size you like!

The rules for the design above create a design I call Heartburn, which looks like a mixture of flames and heart shapes. See how to quilt Heartburn both with push quilting (machine in a table) and frame quilting in this video:

So now that you know the steps to quilt Heartburn, and have seen it quilted, are you ready to quilt it yourself on a real quilt? Maybe. Give this design a try today in a small practice quilt sandwich and see if the rules make sense to you. 

If you're able to fill a small square like the one above, chances are you'll be able to quilt the design on a larger scale too. The key is practice and spending a little time getting to know these designs so you can quilt them anywhere on your quilts.

Last Days for the Eleanor Standing Sewing Table Sale

Quick reminder on a great 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!

Click Here to check out the Eleanor while it's on sale for $799.

Lovely Sale Through February

Are you looking for more of a challenge this winter? You can also join me for the Heart & Feather Wholecloth Workshop and 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. 

Click Here to join me for the Heart & Feather Wholecloth Workshop for just $12.00.

The 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:

That's it for this week my quilting friend. Are you enjoying these heart themed designs, or are you thinking spring and summer? Let me know in a reply to this newsletter - I love to hear from you!

Let's go quilt,

Leah Day