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!