Well, I've been messing around with strippy, free-pieced hearts. I have 120 green/neutral scrappy log cabin blocks that I am putting into a quilt for our bed. I thought adding hearts would personalize it a bit so it wouldn't be just another log cabin quilt. And, after all, it is a gift for my better half. (And no...not an apology for the snarky underwear wall hanging...) The blocks are 4 inches square and will finish 3.5 x 3.5.
I like the idea that they are scrappy and haphazard at best. Sort of reminds me of the human heart...our hearts are constantly broken and re-made as we go through life, stronger and stronger as we grow older.
Have you seen the movie "How to Make an American Quilt?" When making a block to represent 'where love resides' in her life, Marianna made a crazy-patched heart and talked about love being represented by a "multitude of patches." I loved that...
These are a little doinky and pointy on the sides, but once they are seamed in, that will 'round' them up a bit.
The thought of making enough of these to go around a queen/king quilt doesn't appeal to me. So I made 18 hearts- one for every year we've been married. Now I just need to figure out how to incorporate them into the design.
I'm thinking I will arrange them vertically, nine on the top left, nine on the bottom right...need to think more on that. I need to piece those 120 blocks together...ugh. I think that is my least favorite part of quilt-making...sewing all the blocks together into the top. Because they are scrappy, I need to lay the the log cabins out and make sure I like the distribution of the scraps. That takes up a lot of space, and this is going to be a HUGE quilt.
The first Valentine's Day card Steve ever gave me had a saying that I really liked and kept all these years..."Very fine is my Valentine...very fine and very mine." I'll have to put that on the label. (Or maybe letters in the borders???? I may NEVER finish this quilt as I add more and more stuff!)
In stitches (and still in love...),
Teresa :o)
