Polka Dot Fun

Posted on May 19, 2019 by heARTs Creations

When I was getting ready for my April Quilt & Sew-In, I prepped an easy and quick quilt using the many polka dot fabrics I have.  I paired them with some striped fabric and cut all into 2 1/2 inch strips.  I got the inspiration for this quilt which she called the Ernie Quilt. For me, it’s best to have something fairly mindless, quick and gratifying for when I am facilitating a retreat. This worked!

Here is the quilt top on the design wall at the retreat:

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And, very unlike me, I quilted it as soon as I got home! I used evenly spaced curvy lines. Oh my, that was a lot of sewing and I love the look. SEW worth it! I find myself looking at other fabrics I can use this pattern for. Some of the donated fabrics I’ve received for Hospice quilts will be perfect for this pattern. Hmmm, maybe patterned strips coupled with solids?  So rewarding and fun!

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The quilt back is cotton voile – so soft! I’ve even used this quilt a few times as a lap quilt.

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#’s Two & Three Complete

Posted on May 12, 2019 by heARTs Creations

Happy Mother’s Day! Today’s celebration had many facets. First, I celebrated the memory of my mother. How I wish I could share my passion for quilting with her. She did not quilt, but one of her many talents was sewing. Second, my dear hubby honored me for being the mother to his children. I rather enjoyed his cooking breakfast for me. My children then honored me with an exceptional luncheon that they prepared. I in turn celebrated the good fortune of being their mother. Such a great day!!

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Now on to today’s quilt story!  I made three Hospice quilt tops from fabrics donated by Pineapple Fabrics, but only quilted and bound one. Last week I got really motivated and finished the other two! One I quilted loops and zig zagged in the squares.

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The second I did double wavy lines across the quilt.  The two long seams beside the squares are covered with ribbon.  First, I glued them down with Okay to Wash It then sewed close to the side ends of the ribbon. I really like the way it separates out the sections and adds a little more interest to the quilt.

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Both quilts were backed with fleece.  I am loving backing the small quilts with fleece – sew so much easier for quilting!

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I have three more Hospice quilts backed and ready to quilt.  Time and motivation are all that are needed!

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Post Retreat + Enjoying my Passions

Posted on May 8, 2019 by heARTs Creations

After being home a week, I’ve finally made it to the computer to do a wrap up of my somewhat productive sewing at a quilt retreat I attended in South Carolina.  I began the week full steam ahead by making string blocks for a border that I cut into fours. I then paired each with a white on white square and made half square triangles.  All of my notes were at home (why oh why??) so I just made bunches!  This is the quilt top I was preparing the border blocks for:

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These are the border blocks, not yet attached to the quilt:

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And these are the leftovers! They will make a sweet little quilt. I will either add a couple of border to make it a baby quilt or add to it to make a lap quilt. That is a decision to be made at a later date.

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Following my “string fling” I just piddled.  I did some pinning, some sewing, but didn’t really attack anything else with much vigor. Mostly I enjoyed my time away and being with an awesome group of quilters!

What’s really been keeping me busy is the great outdoors.  I am in the process of dividing my ferns. They are truly glorious this year! And tree work was done in our yard and this pile of mulch was the result. I can only load a few wheel barrels a day and do the spreading. Hubby cut this pile of wood and we’ll need to get a log splitter to finish the job. This is not fun yard work.

There is also much weeding to be done. I attack it a bucket at a time and have the wonderful ability to look past the weeds and enjoy the pretty plants and flowers. Fortunately, my one side bed manages to stay weed free!

 

The temperatures here have been glorious so I am enjoying the outdoors fully.  I will sew more when it becomes very hot – mid to high 80’s and gardening do not go well together for me!

Embrace ALL your Creative Passions!

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Moving Ahead

Posted on May 1, 2019 by heARTs Creations

Goals – I like to set them but even better I like to meet them! My biggest upcoming one is to finish up the Hospice quilts by the end of July. They are donated in November, but I’d like to use the other four months for concentrating on completing more of my Works in Progress.  Here is how April ended up:

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Because I am out of town, I don’t have pics of some finishes.  Will get to those after retreat. Until then – enjoy being creative!

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Prepping and More Prepping

Posted on April 27, 2019 by heARTs Creations

Off to another retreat! I’m a  guest at this one, so I get to do a lot more sewing. Prepping has been going on for about a week and I am SO ready! There’s something wonderful about being in a room full of creative quilters that serves to feed my creativity and productivity.

First – a scrappy flimsy that needs a border. It’s a strip quilt and I’ll be doing more strip blocks, making them into small half square triangles with a white-on-white, and adding as a border.

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Second – a baby scrappy quilt that was started a very long time ago. The paper piecing portions are complete and now I need to do the curved piecing. Each block is cut, pinned, and on its own paper plate.

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Third – Log cabin wall quilt. I worked on this last year at this same retreat – made many, many blocks but didn’t like the way they were squaring up. So now I am starting all over but this time on a paper foundation. I’m definitely committed to accuracy on this one!

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Fourth – not that I’ll really need it, but just in case something goes awry with one of the other projects, or I just don’t want to work on one of them. This will be a queen size for our bed.  Very simple – green leaf prints and white on white, all 3 inch squares finished. Simplicity is what I’m going for.

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Hopefully I’ll be back next week with some impressive results!

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Gifts!

Posted on April 24, 2019 by heARTs Creations

Gifts are fun – especially when given by someone special.  A friend recently came to stay for an overnight play date (yes, quilting of course!).  She brought me her farm fresh eggs – no picture as they didn’t last very long! If you’ve never had farm fresh eggs, let me tell you that they are the best! The shells are fun because they’re not plain white, the yolks are a deep yellow and denser, and the sizes are big, big, big!

My friend has a farm in South Carolina – Fox Trot Farm in Lancaster. Touring the farm is fun and a great time to spend in the country. As their website states, they have:

Grass Fed Lamb, Fresh Eggs, Honey, Soap, Tours, & Farm Fun!

Honey, oh my! Not only is it fresh and yummy, I love the bottle and label!

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Cord holders – I’ve been meaning to make these handy little things for some time now but somehow have never gotten around to it. I put them to use right away. Awesome!

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Knitted dishcloth – love these.  This one has now been used several times – didn’t even get a pic when it was brand new. Mine have a lot of wear and tear  so this is very welcomed.

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AND…I know, more – right?!  This beautiful embroidered towel. I do like dragonflies and have a few scattered about the house and she noticed!

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Thank you for these wonderful gifts that keep on giving!

Spring here in the NC Piedmont continues to delight. Temps have been perfect too! It’s also had me gardening and doing a bit less quilting.

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One of Three

Posted on April 17, 2019 by heARTs Creations

Planning, pressing, cutting, pinning, sewing – I do truly enjoy all of these.  Quilting not as much. But I also don’t want a closet full of flimsies! Most of mine go to the long arm quilter although I do enjoy free motion quilting table runners, table toppers and wall quilts. Most Hospice quilts I piece or are group pieced at retreats,  I need to quilt myself. I am SO grateful to the friends who volunteer to long arm a quilt every so often – what a huge blessing!  I recently shared three tops I made for Hospice and have quilted one.

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I did wavy lines that cross over at various points and a free motion design in the small rectangles. How brave of me to show a close-up! The binding was done scrappy style with the leftover strips. I like the look and am always pleased when one of these is complete because of where it’s going. An extra big Thank You to Pineapple Fabrics for providing all of the fabric for this quilt.

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Now I’m actually looking forward to quilting the other two and hoping to be able to get to that soon!

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