Tag Archives: Quilts

Just Two More Rows

Posted on August 9, 2021 by heARTs Creations

This quilt should be named Forever! The quilt top was finished about three years ago. My brilliant idea was to hand quilt it with embroidery cotton doing a big stitch. I stitched, stitched, and stitched some more. The project got put away for quite a while. Finally, I pulled it out and have been determined to get it done! Unfortunately, I couldn’t do much stitching at once because it caused my hand to cramp. The quilt was being handled so much the outside ends were getting sloppy so I trimmed and bound it. There was enough quilted that I knew it was okay to do that step.

Oy. Most evenings I worked on it and got a little done. I’m really over this project now! I do have one more row to finish and it should be done this week. It’s time to show it!

Different color threads for quilting, and varied spacing.

The print fabrics are all Kaffe from my scrap bin. I used a batik print as the background. I really like the black and white border – I am a big fan of black and white fabrics. I think they make the prints pop more.

Now that it’s already bound, when I do that last row – A-Mazed will no longer be a work in progress!

Aww – look who likes sleeping under a Kaffe quilt. It’s Callie and she snuggles under there all on her own.

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Another, then Another

Posted on July 25, 2021 by heARTs Creations

Woo Hoo! Two more Hospice finishes. The first one was made with some orphan blocks I found from another Hospice quilt finished last year. There was just enough to make a wheelchair quilt. I really like these little quilts. They’re small so they go quickly, and they’re very practical for those in wheelchairs. As you can see, the corners are cut to avoid getting caught in the wheels. On this one I had enough to add a pocket. It’s lined with the same fleece I used for the backing. The pocket can hold tissues, cell phone, etc. and keep hands warm!

This second finish is from a top that was sent to me by a reader. It too is backed with fleece (as are all my Hospice quilts now). It’s bright and fun and hopefully will bring warmth and comfort.

I’m ready to connect with the Hospice rep and move some quilts out of the house – my favorite part of the process! I’ll be working on my other projects for a while and probably won’t be revisiting the Hospice quilts until fall. My goal for the future is to work on one charity quilt a month. Hmmm. We’ll see!

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Orphan Blocks – What to Do?

Posted on July 11, 2021 by heARTs Creations

I came across some orphan blocks the other day and decided to put them on the design wall.

Then a few more were added:

The last row of blocks were not playing nicely with the rest. I also don’t think the outside blocks will work. There are more of them and I thought perhaps they could be used as side borders. And the blocks on the lower right with the large pieces? Well…I dove into another bin and there were more of those! Enough I think to make a wheelchair quilt for Hospice.

This is where I left off yesterday. I did find more blocks but haven’t gotten them put on the design wall yet. Yes, back to the drawing board/design wall. More time to play later!

Fillers and sashings will be needed. No doubt there will be a lot of playing and rearranging!

My Bernina will be going in for repair this week. Hopefully it won’t be too big of a $$$ fix, but there is no choice. Thankfully I have a couple of good backups that I’m using. In the meantime, Callie is guarding my carry bag!

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Melee – the Quilt

Posted on July 6, 2021 by heARTs Creations

Many moons ago I stitched strips from a roll together, then cut them into triangles. For a reason not known to me now, I put them away in a bin.

Time to sew these together, but I needed a plan – or did I? I decided on a free-for-all, thus the name “Melee.” It’s not entirely unplanned. I did make a “spider web” as the center.

After that, it was anything goes! The outside borders were also planned. They hold everything else in.

There wasn’t much left over and I knew none of it was going back into a bin, not even a scrap bin. I sewed a row and used it for the backing.

I did have fun with this one. All this color was a joy and creating as I go can be so freeing sometimes. I just need to choose the batting and it’s off to the long arm quilter. Looking forward to this finish!

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The Best Mail

Posted on September 7, 2020 by heARTs Creations

Recently I heard from “JP” in Florida asking if I would be interested in receiving a quilt for the Hospice ministry.  Of course I was! Imagine when the box arrived stuffed to the brim with not one quilt top – but several with the added bonus of fabric for a border and backing for one of the quilt tops.

 

These quilt tops are perfect in both size and design for Hospice.  I especially love that more than one could be for a male patient. I’m especially blown away by the amount of time, effort and resources that went into these quilt tops.  This level of generosity moves me greatly.

WOW – what treasures! Thank you, Thank you JP! My goal is to get at least two of these quilted in November. I need a quilting fairy!

 

 

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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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A Double Goodness!

Posted on October 21, 2018 by heARTs Creations

How wonderful when at the end of my last quilt guild meeting, a member came up to me and handed over two quilts for Hospice! Dolores is an excellent quilter and these quilts are truly a prize.

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The first one is so colorful. All the pinwheels are just so playful and the appliqued flowers will sure add a smile to a patient’s day. It’s also a pattern I will keep in mind for all the scraps I have. I would actually like to reduce my scrap bins next year by using the many scraps I have.

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The second quilt is also a scrappy delight. I even recognize so many of the fabrics in this quilt from when I donated a large bag of scraps to my guild. (And no, it didn’t reduce my scrap collection by much!).  To me this quilt is fun and calming all at the same time.

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Thank you Dolores for your generous contribution that is sure to give comfort to those in need.

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Falling into Fall

Posted on October 4, 2018 by heARTs Creations

My goal for 2018 has been to reduce my Works in Progress (projects that have been started.)  These do not include Hospice quilts.  I had about 25 in January and now I have exactly 11 in project boxes.  In addition, there are  2 quilt tops that need a border, another that needs stitching around the appliques and one quilt top that I will quilt. One quilt top is on the way to the longarm this week and another that I am hand stitching the binding.

Then there are the projects – yummy fabrics and a pattern or sketch in a box that hasn’t been started. There are 8 of those. I could easily add about a dozen more, but am tying myself down! Chasing less squirrels!!

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Something fairly simple and fun planned for these great prints!

There are labels to be added to several Hospice quilts and bindings on a few that are being quilted by other volunteers. I love looking at the pile of quilts being donated this year. It warms my heart knowing they will be giving comfort to those in need.

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Oh the fabulous colors of Blueberry Park – can’t wait to dive into these!

Three of my WIPs are going to retreat with me in a few weeks. It’s a four day retreat so I’m hoping to get lots done!

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A fun kit waiting patiently for its turn.

All in all, I’m quite pleased with the progress. I’ve committed next year to more finishing. I want to get the WIPs down to four before I begin one of the projects waiting in the wings. (I can hear my quilty besties laughing wildly). I will be opting out of some obligations which will give me the time to enjoy my projects more. The tendency to over commit is crazy and I know I’m not alone! I am also looking forward to more travel, 5 or 6 retreats (2 are my Quilt & Sew-Ins) and day trips with Hubby.

Do you have or make goals in your creative life?

Project listing Sept 2018

I hope you’ll continue to join me on this journey. I really appreciate all my readers and love all the comments – thank you! Your support means so much to me.

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Modern Batik Challenge

Posted on June 5, 2018 by heARTs Creations

An Island Batik Adventure

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The ambassador challenge for June is “Modern Batik Challenge.” I decided to make a baby-sized quilt and went to one of my Island Batik bins to choose fabrics.  I love all the blues and pulled out all the small pieces I had left from previous projects and a few of the bigger ones too.  I chose an white with a very light blue print neutral for the background.

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From a very light weight tissue-like paper, I cut long strips 2 inches wide.  I used those as a base to randomly paper piece all the blue fabrics.  Once it was all sewn, I trimmed each of the four strips. I placed two across the top and two lengthwise on the left-hand side which created much negative space.  After all was cut to size and pieced, I machine quilted straight lines in the white spaces and used a loop-de-loop in the blue strips. Aurifil thread was used in this project.

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This quilt will go into my stash of quilts and when there is a baby I want a quilt for, I will probably put his or her name in the large open space.  I love when baby quilts are personalized that way.

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All the Island Batik Ambassadors have been busy and I encourage you to give them a visit to see what they have created with these beautiful fabrics that Island Batik has provided us with.

 

 

 

 

Linking up with:

Linky Tuesday,   (too) Cute Tuesday,       WIPs on Wednesdays

Needle and Thread Thursday

 

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Surprises & A Great Retreat!

Posted on April 28, 2018 by heARTs Creations

Last week was the Spring Quilt & Sew-In Retreat and it was a blast! There was so much sewing going on, but that is truly the least of it. The sharing, assistance, laughing and teaching moments were all such treasures. The generous spirit of all who attended was just amazingly wonderful. How lucky am I to bring these quilters back together each year!

And there were surprises! Beverly made these darling heart appliqued bags for everyone and a few extras for the wonderful employees of the inn where we stay. She also made  cute little butterflies (mine, unfortunately, is camera shy). She is the resident crochet queen! In addition, she blessed me with the crocheted doilies (if I ever made one of these, I don’t think I’d be giving them away!) and a sewing machine cover with pockets for tools.

Sandra made everyone this cute finger pin cushion (on the right).  It is going to be a real bonus for me when I am hand appliqueing.

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In their goody bags, each attendee received a pin cushion with a Velcro backing – perfect to place on your sewing machine or table or wherever you might find it handy (above left). Several were put to use shortly after receiving them! Both were made with bottle caps as the base.

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Something very special that happens at retreat is that there is a bucket of block “kits” for each to sew if they choose. The blocks are then put together for Hospice quilts. Everyone sewed one – some more than one! These batiks are going to make a beautiful quilt. The very masculine blocks were put together and the quilt top is already finished – Yeah!

AND there was a last minute sponsor – Woo Hoo! Northcott Fabrics so very generously sent these goodies. Sponsor generosity helps to make the retreats so very special.

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In the Fall we retreat again in Blowing Rock. Lucky me – I of course get to be there!

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