Tis the season

I finished piecing the top for the 6-inch blocks I was working on, this was a very easy top to piece.  I should put it in the category of a "get er done" quilt! 

For the border, I decided to use a piece of batik-y fabric I had, just to use it up.  I cut the strips to finish at 4 inches... I think this will give me a large enough quilt.  I'll piece something for the back, not sure what yet, whatever I find in my stash that compliments the front.

In my guild (and bee) we are asked to make heart blocks to be used when a member has lost a close family member, and we want to remind them that we're thinking of them. Anyway, the idea is to make up some to be kept on hand rather than when they're needed, so yesterday I decided to make a few after I finished putting the border on my quilt top, while I was thinking about it.

When you say "heart block" most people automatically think of a red heart on a white background, but actually the heart can be any color as long as the block measures 6-1/2".  In the top one at the left, I cut a heart from a piece of red scrap yardage I had on hand and appliqued it onto a white background.  In the second heart, I sewed together 3/4" black and white strips to make a mini 9-patch that I appliqued off-center onto a solid red fabric.  The b&w strips were cross cut at 1" to make the 9-patch. I did a little trimming to neaten it up :o)

I decided to use blue scrap yardage to design the block below:

I cut a slash in the background fabric, added a 1" strip from scrap yardage for a little accent, then cut the 6-1/2" background to which I appliqued the blue heart.  Easy peasy! 

Well, today is the first day of summer - at last, the season has caught up with the heat!  Get out and enjoy it, but take a bottle of water with you.

Sew forth and sew on