Author Archives: heARTs Creations

Floating Stars

Posted on May 17, 2020 by heARTs Creations

Stars

My quilt guild makes patriotic quilts for returning vets. Much like Quilts of Valor, they are done in red, white and blue and many feature star blocks. With what fabric I had left of those colors, I made 15 floating star blocks that will be given to the guild member in charge of the patriotic quilts. At some point, at a workshop, these blocks will be incorporated into a quilt for a vet.

cut offs

When making these blocks, there are leftover cuts. After some playing, I put them together to make this cute mini. I don’t have a red, white and blue quilt of my own, so I decided a mini would be perfect to put out on a table in July. And here it is – my little mini. Pieced, quilted and bound in one day – Woo Hoo!! I love the blocks and how they went together!

IMG_2050 (Edited)

It has been a beautiful spring here in the Piedmont of NC – sun, rain, and not too hot. Much of my time is being spent in the garden, so….I will be taking a break for a couple of weeks and am looking forward to returning with lots of quilting excitement!

One Blue, One Green

Posted on May 10, 2020 by heARTs Creations

Happy Mother’s Day! For all mothers, I hope your day is blessed with pampering. For all, may sweet memories of your mother fill your day. Thanks to hubby for starting my day with a yummy breakfast. Cooking a full breakfast is so out of his comfort zone – a true act of love!

Hospice blue

Two more Hospice quilts have been put together and quilted. I have really been on a roll with these and it feels so good. The blocks for this blue quilt were pieced at a retreat. I then pieced the blocks. My friend Laurie took the flimsy home and quilted it (thank you, thank you!) I then put on the binding and voila! A group effort and another quilt that will be headed to give someone warmth and comfort.

Hospice Blue 2

Number two is this green quilt. I did all the piecing on this one and then the quilting and binding. It’s a bright and cheery quilt and I do hope it will bring a smile to its recipient.

Hospice Green Hospice Green 2

It feels so good to have several Hospice quilts done and ready for donation in the fall. I hope you have been finding joy with your efforts!

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Posted in block pattern, charity quilts, Color, Hospice Quilts, Projects, Quilting and tagged Charity, Color, projects, Quilting. Bookmark the permalink.

Hawaiian Strings – The Flimsy

Posted on May 3, 2020 by heARTs Creations

Hawaiian String

String quilts – I love doing them! They’re pretty easy, quick and so satisfying. When I look at each individual block as I’m sewing and pressing, there doesn’t seem to be much to them. But…once all put together – wonderful!

A friend recently shared some Hawaiian shirt leftovers from memory quilts she made. Cutting strips maximized the amount of the fabric I could use. I pulled a few batik scraps, using a neutral as the center strip for each block. The flimsy was completed in just two days! Such a great way to take a break from other projects that take more precision and thinking. This now hangs on my “flimsy hangar” to be quilted most likely this fall. Such good therapy!

I’ve redone my Works in Progress chart for 2020. Separating out actual works in progress from quilt tops to be quilted has helped me to have a better grasp on where I’m at. Also, instead of listing each Hospice quilt individually, I’ve grouped them, especially since some were donated.

Getting the four quilted quilts bound will be such a bonus. It is my primary May goal – wish me luck!

Works in Progress April

Link-ups: Main Crush Monday Monday Making Needle & Thread Thursday

Wednesday Wait Loss

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Posted in block pattern, charity quilts, Hospice Quilts, Modern Quilting, Projects, Quilting and tagged Charity, projects, Quilting. Bookmark the permalink.

A Triple Bonus

Posted on April 26, 2020 by heARTs Creations

3 quilts

A friend of mine who also happens to be an amazing quilter, will be soon moving to another part of the state. She will be sorely missed, but we will still be bound by friendship and our passion for quilting. As part of her move, she did a cleanout! Look what came to live here until Hospice donation time:

This leaf deer head is so full of life – sure to give comfort to a patient and their loved ones.

Deer

This picnic quilt screams “Fun!” My hubby got a kick out of the watermelon fabric and especially the picnic ants!

picnic quilt

All the work that went into this sampler – oh my! This quilt will definitely take the chills away.

sampler

There were also two other bags full of goodies – one for our quilt guild’s Habitat donations and another for Patriotic quilts.

A heart full of thanks to Laurie. Best wishes in your new home. You will be missed!

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Posted in block pattern, charity quilts, Hospice Quilts, Projects, Quilting, Sampler and tagged Charity, projects, Quilting. Bookmark the permalink.

A Golden Finish – Aurous!

Posted on April 19, 2020 by heARTs Creations

Golden hexies

Another quilt top off the hanger! This quilt was started long ago, challenged me in many ways, was completed and hung “to dry.” I collected a variety of metallic Asian prints and used the gold fabric to bring out their beauty. The black stars were a suggestion by a quilting guru friend. It was a pain, but glad to have taken her suggestion. Thank you Laurie! I was inspired to finally get this quilted and decided to do this one in a continuous circle. Meet: Aurous (containing gold.)

The completed circles were quilted with black thread and the partial circles were quilted with a gold thread.

Having completed this quilt, I’m feeling accomplished! Being home seven days a week has certainly made a difference in my quilt studio. And yes, there were more masks made. There will probably be more that I’ll make, but not today. The warmer weather has me here:

IMG_1977 (2)

I’d love to know what you have all been busiest with. Until next week, stay safe, happy & healthy!

Link up: Needle & Thread Thursday

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Posted in Art, block pattern, Color, Fabric, Hexagons, Projects, Quilt Setting, Quilting and tagged Color, Patterns, projects, Quilting. Bookmark the permalink.

Chequers

Posted on April 12, 2020 by heARTs Creations

Happy Easter all. It’s been very quiet here and rainy, and gloomy. We are following the state “stay at home” directive and well….let’s just say I did a lot of sewing today!

Chequers

This week I finally finished my batik Chequers quilt. The pattern is from the “Modern Quilts Illustrated book. This baby took forever! When I went to put the completed blocks together, I wasn’t loving a few of my choices so I remade the blocks. Then – ta da! – I quilted it! If you know me, you know that other than small quilts like table toppers, I am not a quilter. It’s just not something I enjoy, but this one I was determined to quilt. It’s all straight and curvy lines. Burying threads took forever!

Instead of using batting, I backed this top with a bright green fleece. I love the weight and the softness. This will be my new couch quilt to cuddle up with in the evenings when I’m chilled.

masks

I’ve also made more masks. I’ll confess – I’m not as productive in this department as other quilters have been. My hats off to all those who are so generously making and donating a load of masks. Some have offered to buy them from me but I have so gladly gifted the masks. We’re in this together and even my little contribution can go a long way.

May you all stay safe, happy and healthy!

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Posted in Art, block pattern, Color, Fabric, Modern Quilting, Projects, Quilting, Stash and tagged Color, Donation, Easter, Patterns, projects, Quilting. Bookmark the permalink.

Lots Going On

Posted on April 5, 2020 by heARTs Creations

Like everyone else, I have extra time at home because we are truly isolating. This has led to accomplishments! First, I cut ALL my scraps. Yowza! It was a lot!! Below are just the 1 1/2″ strips.

strips

Then, I completed ten face masks. There’s a thread out there that we may be required to wear them out soon, so I made one for each of my family. I plan to make more for family, friends and neighbors. Honestly, I found these somewhat tedious to make, but also important to do. I did have a couple of 1,000 thread count pillow cases that we never used that I cut as the layer on the face.

Quilting and batik fabrics were used for the other two layers. Not only did I not have any elastic, but I understand that health professionals have said that the elastic is taking a toll on surface skin, so I used t-shirt material, cut one inch by 18 inches and pulled to make a cord.

face mask cords

At the November 2019 retreat, blocks were pieced by the retreaters. I put those together for a Hospice quilt. Would really like to get this quilted in the next week.

Hospice 3

Social media has been wonderful during this time. As the Quilt & Sew-In had to be cancelled, we have been doing an “on-line retreat.” It’s also so easy to text or face time with family and friends. Imagine isolation before internet – Yikes!