I am making patchwork hearts for DaNang65's quilt. As you know, DaNang65 is healing a heart condition. The community also want him to know how much he is loved -- hence, hearts.
This is a simple block. I will do my best to explain its construction for those who are just starting to quilt. For those who have been doing this for awhile, just skip down!
For this 9" block you will need a background fabric and a focus fabric. From the background fabric, cut one 5.5" square and four 2.75" squares.
All seams are 1/4" unless otherwise noted.
In this photo, I have showed one set of background pieces face up and one set face down. It is hard to see in this photo, but I have drawn a diagonal line on the backside of each of these squares, corner to corner, with a pencil. You'll need to do this, too.
From the focus fabric, you will need to cut one 5.5" square, one rectangle that is 9.5" x 2.75", and two rectangles that are 5" x 2.75".
Take your 5.5" squares (the background fabric and the focus fabric) and place them right sides together, lining them up as exactly as possible. Then sew a scant 1/4" seam on either side of the diagonal line -- like this.
Press the patch to set the seams. Then cut along your pencil line, making two half square triangle blocks.
Press the half square triangles so that the seam is to the darker fabric. Then, using a ruler marked with a 45 degree angle you can align with the seam, trim each block to exactly 5" square.
You have just made two perfect half square triangles!
Now we will make two "flying geese" units.
Take the two small focus fabric rectangles and place a small background fabric square on one side of each, with right sides together. Make sure the edges are lined up exactly. Sew down the pencil line.
Press to set the seam, then trim 1/4" away from the seam, like this:
Press the fabric out. Put the remaining small background squares on the other side, like this:
Sew down the pencil line. Press and trim as before.
Press the fabric out. You now have two flying geese units. They should measure 5" x 2.75".
Arrange your pieces like this.
Sew the two half square triangles together. Sew the two flying geese units together. Press the seams to one side.
Now sew the three rows together and press the seams down.
This is what you should have -- a block measuring 9.5" square that will finish to 9" square when it is sewn into a quilt.
If this block is set with sashing matching the background fabric, the heart will appear to float. I think that would look pretty cool for a wheelchair quilt or lap throw. If anyone would like to try their hand at this and show and tell later, please leave a comment!
This is an open thread for quilters. Please come in, have a cuppa, and share your projects.