heARTS Creations

Special Greetings

Posted on March 17, 2019 by heARTs Creations

I wanted to send two special greeting cards recently. Cards in the stores usually leave me feeling like they don’t quite fit the bill. So…for someone going through some health issues, and who also happens to like the color red, I did this:

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I sewed the log cabin on a piece of stabilizer as the base then glued it onto a blank card. I keep a stash of those on hand for just such occasions. A hand written note on the inside and a personal greeting card was sent!

Then, for my sister’s very special birthday, I did what is typically called a mug rug. I just think of it as a little greeting quilt. Funny how such a small project can be so much fun when choosing the different fabrics. Glitter press-on vinyl was used for the flames A glitter was applied to the numbers just to jazz it up a bit!

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I do hope the recipients got as much joy from them as I do making them.

Leaders/Enders Progress

Posted on March 13, 2019 by heARTs Creations

It’s amazing how quickly a quilt top goes together when using leaders and enders. I placed this L/E project at my sewing machine the beginning of the year and now I have the main section together! I set aside all my 1 1/2″ green strips and sewed them all around the outside.

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Now I will continue to piece the L/E’s and make a border of two squares across and as many down as needed for the sides, top and bottom.

Unfortunately, I haven’t made much progress on those because I have been doing string quilt piecing on a foundation which is not L/E friendly and at another machine I have been paper piecing which is also not L/E friendly. But that’s okay – there are many more projects in the wings!

Although, this happened today (it was scheduled, not a surprise) so now there is much neglected yard work to get to. I had been putting it off until the tree work was all done. It has been a glorious spring bloom this year, so I know it’s all worth it!

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Posted in Color, Fabric, garden, Projects, Quilt Setting, Quilting and tagged flowers, garden, Leaders/Enders, projects, Quilting, Scraps. Bookmark the permalink.

A Word About Retreats

Posted on March 10, 2019 by heARTs Creations

Recently there have been several inquiries about the Quilt & Sew-In Retreats held in the Spring and Fall in Blowing Rock, NC. This is a great time where quilters/sewers/knitters, etc. come together to work on their projects, share, laugh, shop and enjoy the wonderful restaurants and all that downtown Blowing Rock has to offer.

Where’s the registration? Returning retreaters have an exclusive early sign-up period. After that time, if there are openings, information and the registration form will be posted on this site.

Spring 2019 Quilt & Sew-In

April 3 through April 7

The Spring retreat is currently FULL. If you would like to be on the wait list, please contact me at heARTsCreations@outlook.com.

Thank you to this year’s Sponsors!

2019 sponsors

February & Another Finish!

Posted on March 4, 2019 by heARTs Creations

It’s such a joy when many hands come together to make and finish a Hospice quilt. This quilt top was donated by a reader. I love the pieced border pattern! I prepared the backing and batting and then Judy (Goneaway Quilting) beautifully did the machine quilting. To finish it off I bound this pretty and peaceful lap quilt. May the recipient enjoy many hours of warmth with this quilt which was put together with love and caring.

Lesson Learned: When donations come in, I must put the donor’s info on a piece of paper and attach it to the donation. This will now happen with ALL future donations! This quilt top was donated but I do not know by whom. If you are the talented and generous donor, please let me know!

Mystery Solved – This quilt top had been sent to Jo’s Country Junction and Jo then sent it on to me. I do now know who the original donor is but do not yet have her permission to post her name. Our Hospice group is SO very grateful for this beautiful quilt!

February was not one of my more productive months. I did attend a retreat where I got a fair amount of sewing done. All the rain has made me want to curl up near the fire and read – not a bad thing. A huge bonus has been all the beautiful spring flowers!

I also did a lot of cleaning up and reorganizing in the studio which is very important to me. Now I’m ready to storm through March!

Feb WIPs

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Posted in charity quilts, Hospice Quilts, Projects, Quilting and tagged Charity, flowers, garden, Quilting. Bookmark the permalink.

The Last Scrap Attack

Posted on February 28, 2019 by heARTs Creations

At least for now, that is. I just couldn’t stand it any longer. I had my scraps sorted by color. None had been precut to any particular size. I devised a plan to get a better grip on things (or at least my scraps!) There were a lot of larger pieces which I cut into 5 inch strips.

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I also cut 2 1/2 inch strips:

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1 1/2 inch strips. I have a scrap string quilt in the process for these.

3 1/2 inch squares and 2 1/2 inch squares. There is a leader-ender quilt in the process for the 2 1/2 inch squares.

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There were fabrics in the bins that I have used many times and have had around for up to ten years. I am very tired of looking at them so they are headed to my next guild meeting to give away. No doubt they will make one or more other quilters very happy.All these scraps are so neat and tidy! I do still have a bin of black and white scraps that I will not cut until needed. I also have a bin of Kaffe scraps that will stay in their bin of disarray until I have a specific project for them.

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I used my two fabric cutting machines – the Sizzix Big Shot Pro and the Sizzis Big Kick. Oh how much easier and quicker it was with those two work horses.

And the very scrappy scraps? They’re packed tightly in this bag and will be going to someone who stuffs dog beds with them. I like that so much better than putting them in the trash. Yes, mile a minute quilts could be made from them, but I don’t have the interest nor will I live long enough! If you think about it, there are the equivalent of many yards of fabric in here (the contents are quite compacted).

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Now, feeling quite accomplished, I can proceed to finish a project or two!

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Posted in Color, Fabric, Organization, Quilting, Scraps and tagged Quilting, Scraps. Bookmark the permalink.

Quilts in the Sun

Posted on February 13, 2019 by heARTs Creations

Finally, after many dreary days the sun shone today and pics could be taken outside!These quilts are just too bright and merry to have their pics taken indoors. Two more Hospice finishes! This first quilt is just so fun and happy. The quilt top was donated so all I had to do was quilt and bind. This will definitely put a smile on someone’s face!

This quilt top was made from donated blocks. I absolutely love scrappy so I was so excited to put this one together. Quilted, bound and done!

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They are even more fun side by side. These two finishes have revved me up to work on more and I hope to soon show another finish or two! I am always so moved that after having put so much time, effort and fabric into their work, the donors so generously donate them.

These are the new quilt labels for this Hospice quilt group. They are iron on and elegant. Thanks to Jean, our great leader, for coming up with these.

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A Note About Donations: Recently I posted that no more donations were being taken. If you have a completed quilt, quilt top or blocks you would like to donate, please contact me or leave a comment and I will gladly accept them. Fabric, unless it is a backing, is not needed at this time.

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

Back from A Retreat

Posted on February 8, 2019 by heARTs Creations

Talk about fun! There might have been more laughter than sewing! Thankfully, there was a lot of sewing on my part. As usual, I brought more projects than I could possibly have worked on. Just in case I have a problem with a project, or if I should get bored with a project, or if I miraculously finish a project, I’ll have another to keep me busy. This was a “Featherweight Lovers” retreat, so we all brought our Featherweight machines. Although not a FW, Dee Dee’s Singer was an absolute beauty and I love her elegant setting with a table lamp!

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I actually worked on three projects at once. First, was my leader-ender with 2 1/2″ squares finishing as sixteen patches. Second, for the “I Spy” I am doing, I did “square in a square” for the five inch cut picture squares. Simultaneously, I sewed parts of the project using the Egyptian fabric. Only one complete block to show, but quite a bit done on the others. Update: Corrected block. There were 3 pieces turned the wrong way – this is meant to be a star!

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ALL the “I Spy” squares are now a square in a square. I set them all out and pinned – now I just need to sew together. I did need a few more and I have such awesome quilting buddies – I now have all I need. Thank you!!

And finally, my sixteen patch leader ender. I set out these blocks because that is just so much fun. A few of my 1 1/2″ strips happened to get onto one of the blocks and EUREKA! I knew I had to use them for sashings. I ran out of long enough strips, but did manage to get this much together. A little wild, but I love it. After I’ve added the other sashed blocks, I’ll work out a border – maybe I’ll have another happy accident!

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