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Saturday, May 4, 2013

Making my heart spin!

Here's the last of the heart applique quilts, and it's so sweet it makes my heart spin!  Plus, there's a spinning effect going on in the piecing--so Spinning Hearts is it's name!

































Since this was a super simple quilt to put together. And the beauty of this quilt is that it doesn't have to be hearts--any applique or theme fabric could go in those squares.  Someday, when I get time, I'd like to make another with a theme fabric.  Someday!


Anyway, here are some close up shots of the beautiful feathers: 

This is the top right
This is top left
 A closeup of a feather swirling into a triangle
A look at the center feather, which has four stems
    And another look at an edge and corner

And now for a bit on the quilting.
I used my trusty clear vinyl when designing the quilting, and wanted the feathers to be symmetrical around the heart blocks in the corners.  I also wanted the feathers on the sides (edge to edge) to be the same on all four edges.  So, after I designed the stems on the vinyl, I placed tracing paper over it and traced it in pencil.  Then to the sewing machine!  With a large needle and no thread, I stitched on that stem line to make myself a stencil.  It's hard to see in the picture, but I'm sure you understand!
I marked the stem line on the quilt with blue chalk before loading it on the frame, so that way I didn't have to worry about the sides getting misaligned.  And yes, I did quilt the sides as sides and did not turn the quilt!

And for a bit of credit.  I would like to thank Dawn Cavanaugh and Angela Walters for their excellent instruction on feathers.  Both teach at quilt shows, and of course, Angela has a class on feathers on Blueprint.com which is awesome!  So, if feathers are still a challenge for you, I highly recommend learning from these two quilters!

Happy Quilting!
  

                  

2 comments:

  1. you inspire me to try the feathers now. i did the negative space class, and LOVED it, and now am going to HAVE to do the feathers class after seeing your amazing work......the negative space class taught me sooo muchand really built my confidence. i am praying that i am as successful as you are ;o)

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  2. gorgeous quilt and quilting! I think I'm going to have to seriously check into the Craftsy classes..

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