The Patriot's Heart

The Patriot's Heart. All red white and blue. Nothing but red white and blue were my rules for the quilt. I'm still in the process of finishing this wall hanging. The top, coverlet part, is done, all the hearts are made from a template.

You can make your own template, too. Whatever size you want. I make my templates from a Cheerioes box. You can make one too. Then use the template for all the base fabrics. I started this quilt in 2003. The majority was finished last year . But I just need to bind it and get a sleeve on the back to hang it up.

My DH is in the service, so I'm pretty patriotic. So this goes out to all the mommys, daddys, sons and daughters serving our country. Thank you.

Steps to making your own heart blocks. Or just make one for an accent pillow for your bed. Or for a wedding gift:

Step 1. Cut out your template from a cereal box

Step 2. Cut out 15 hearts on some muslin for your base fabric using your template. Trace around the template with a pen, pencil. or whatever you feel like using.

Step 3. Choose your theme and the fabrics to match. Fun themes are patriotic, white on white, spring flowers, birds, cats, family (each heart can represent a different person in your family, that's fun. Add dates and names. Ooooo makes a nice heirloom), NRA and guns for your man, ...........oh..........whatever you love. Your state or Country of origin, be it California, Florida, Michigan, or Australia!! Holidays. Goodness. The themes are endless.

Step 4. Yay!!! Now get all 15 hearts all filled up with fancy fabrics sewn together in the CQ form.

Step 5. Embroider the seams and embellish the heart shaped blocks with beads, fancy lace, buttons, and trims. Embroider motifs to fit your theme.

Step 6. Pin and blanket stitch the hearts onto another piece of fabric using a contrasting and strong thread. I used black tatting thread to blanket (or some call it button hole) stitch the hearts onto a piece of fabric.

Step 7. Choose the smallest block, crop it, and use that block to crop all the other blocks.

Step 8. Machine stitch them all together any way you want. Mine was done three across and five up and down.

Step 9. Using a disappearing ink quilters pen, mark swirls on the blocks in between the hearts. Hand quilt it to another big piece of muslin like an old sheet. No batting necessary. If you don't want to hand quilt it, quilt it any way you want. Machine. Straight lines using a ruler. Whatever strikes your fancy. It's your quilt, after all.

Step 10. Sash it, back it with another sheet, tie the center blocks.

Step 11. Hand quilt the sashing.

Step 12. Bind it. Then put a tube of fabric on the back top for hanging.

DONE!!

Wow!! Now you know why it took me four ye years to make. Yikes!!