Wednesday, September 30, 2009

A Fuchsia Heart






Early in the summer I made two crazy quilted hearts as a custom order for my friend, Deb, in Texas. She wanted to give them to two friends on their birthdays...both in August. She had seen one I had done in red at our AWOL retreat in March and I guess that red one planted a seed somewhere in her subconcious mind...so later, she made an order. It certainly made me feel good. Deb has ordered several things from me to the point that we both joke about her paying my electric bill!

Anyway, she wanted one heart in fuchsia and one in orange. If you know me, then you know that these are not in my usual color palette, but I'm up for trying them out and I'm glad I did. On the fuchsia one, she wanted me to include a flamingo charm as her friend receiving that heart collected flamingos, so she even went so far as to send the charm! She is nothing if not THOROUGH!

I made these hearts, which are approximately 4 inches x 6 inches, in the crazy quilting style I love so much and they are great fun to make. Once again, time consuming, but FUN!!! I have used a variety of simple embroidery stitches, buttons, and beads to embellish this simple heart.
Nancy Eha taught me how to do this beaded edge...it's called a Three Bead Scalloped Edging Stitch and I could just do that all day long, it's so much fun. So, with that in mind, I did it on the inner edge of the pieced heart and the outer edge of the entire heart.

As I put the heart front and back together I added a tied fabric loop so the heart can be hung somewhere neat, for instance, I like to hang them from the china cabinet door...but one of my students suggested using it for a pincushion (imagine that!!) and hanging it in your sewing area. Well, why not? As you may remember, I taught a pincushion class at our retreat this month and now have four orders for these hearts....so I guess they liked the idea!

I am leaving for Texas on Friday to visit my sister. As soon as I get back, I will post the orange heart and let you have a look at that, while I get started on those four orders. I've added some recent post subjects to my ETSY SHOP, you might want to take a look. When I get back, I'll be adding a couple more items. I have to get better at tending to my tiny 'shop' I'm told by my best friends.

So, have a lovely weekend coming up, a great week following and I'll see you late next week.....now off to some visiting and maybe even a flea market or two. Take care, pat

PS. October is my birth month....so later in the month I am planning a Giveaway...stay tuned!

15 comments:

qwerty said...

Oooooooooo, I adore fuchsia!!! How wonderful these look!

The flower cushion on your Etsy site is incredible. Absolutely lovely.

Karen said...

Pat,
This heart is adorable!! Can't wait to see the orange one!! Nice job!

Julie Whitmore Pottery said...

Its gorgeous!

Susan @ Blackberry Creek said...

That heart is absolutely gorgeous.

My name is Riet said...

That heart is gorgeous. I love the colour and what you did with the beads. Lovely.

StitchinByTheLake said...

Pat I love the fabric combinations - of course the stitches are wonderful and that edging sets it all off. Have a wonderful time with your sister and a safe trip. blessings, marlene

Anonymous said...

I love your heart! It is very pretty and shows such attention to detail.

Princess Laura Lis said...

What a nice heart! I love it! Absolutely lovely all yours jobs!Have a nice weekend!

Anonymous said...

Just love your fuschia heart! Especially like the beaded edge. Have looked through two Nancy Eha books without finding it. Can you helpwith instructions or where to find them?

Ginger

Gayle said...

This is beautiful and the loop is a great idea. :-)

Peonies & Magnolias said...

Your heart is gorgeous and I love the beaded edging.

Sandy

Thearica said...

These crazy hearts are awesome! Thanks for sharing!

Barb said...

Oh Pat, this is beautiful, luv all the detail work and embellishments you have added.
Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Hi Pat,
Happy 65th Birthday! I hope you have better weather to celebrate in Arkansas than here in Oregon (also my birthday month!).
I found it interesting on your blog what you found inside the pincusions. I wondered if I should put something inside to sharpin needles but I'm wondering if wood shavings do the trick?
I would just love to be included in your birthday giveaway. My email is jandstharp@aol.com I'm trying to set up a blog, but is slow because I have OLD computer equiptment just like me...ha ha.
Again, happy birthday and many, many more :)

susan said...

oh, and my name is susan....sorry for the previous as anonymous...silly me!

A Bit of Heaven

A Bit of Heaven
An original designed wall quilt with my vision of heaven on earth.