embroidered heart mini quilt

This mini quilt started out as a simple embroidered heart, which I stitched for a class that I taught a few years ago. While I often frame my finished embroidered pieces in either hoops or on stretcher bars, I wanted to take a different approach for this piece.

I pulled a number of solid pink and red fabric strips to coordinate with the monochromatic satin stitching I'd done to fill the heart.  Keeping the heart as the center, I built a small log cabin quilt top. As I approached the outer rings, I incorporated strips of Umbrella Prints' Hearts in Cherry Blossom fabric, which seemed rather fitting.

When it came time to quilt it, I opted for dense, straight-line quilting in pink thread, something I typically reserve for smaller pieces due to its time-consuming nature.

I used the same Hearts in Cherry Blossom fabric on the back, which shows off the quilting and the fun texture it creates.

The heart was stitched from this digitally printed pattern I designed, which can be purchased from Spoonflower, if you're interested in stitching your own. One heart fits on a swatch and can easily be framed in a 6" embroidery hoop---or with any other method you can dream up!

And if you're interested in the mini quilt itself, it's now available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

heart quilt for hurricane sandy

When I heard about Make It Better: Craftalong for Hurricane Sandy, I knew I wanted to help. Knowing that temperatures have been dropping and people have been without heat, I packed up a box with some cold-weather accessories, and a heart baby quilt I made earlier this year.

The top is pieced from red and pink solid scraps, and the quilt is backed with a floral Japanese print and bound with a white and blue polka dot.

I hope it brings a bit of comfort to someone who could use it right now. For more information on ways to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy, please visit here and here.

do. Good Stitches swap + a cross-stitch heart quilt

After sending off my set of coasters to my swap partner Erica, I received the most amazing gift from my swap partner Alyssa, who blogs over at Pile O' Fabric. Using fabrics from some of my favorite designers, Leah Duncan and Lotta Jansdotter, Alyssa created a wall quilt featuring a cross-stitch heart, based on the original Salty Oat logo.

Isn't it amazing!? She hand-quilted the entire thing and then hand-stitched the Salty Oat logo in the bottom right corner of the quilt.

Also in the package were two wide-mouth zipper pouches (made from Anna's tutorial, which I've been meaning to try out myself) featuring more of Leah's fabric and linen. They arrived just in time for my trip to Houston and were perfect for holding travel essentials and Quilt Market goodies.

Alyssa put together a great tutorial for the cross-stitch quilt block, if you're interested in making your own.

Thank you, Alyssa!

happy halloween!

 

My new faux pumpkin, stitched by hand with black yarn.