My Pins

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Healing Heart Block

In the previous post I provided details about the Healing Heart quilt project that is being kindly co-ordinated by Shirley Goodwin in New Zealand.
This is my block.
It took about an hour and was made from recycled pillowcase material. I estimate it cost me about 5cents.
This block will be sewn into a quilt for one of the families effected by the mining tragedy in New Zealand this week, becoming an heirloom and a symbol of love and compassion.
Who would have thought 5cents in this day and age could go so far.

I already had the little heart cake pan out as I have been using this for my hanging Christmas decorations.
I often sort through pillowslips at the thrift shop as there is often good quality material barely used and still in good condition for making into aprons and napery. They usually cost me 50cents.
I needed 6.5inch square of cream material for the base as per the instructions (see link in previous post) and a very tiny piece for the heart.
Can you see the fabric marker in the top left of the picture? It is easily one of my most exciting finds and I have used it for so many projects. It writes a lovely fine line on fabric which is perfect for my embroidery designs but best of all, the line disappears in about 2 days after being exposed to the air. Love it!
I made a cardboard template and then traced around the fabric but cut this a little larger allowing for seam allowance/turn under hem. After a couple of snips on the inner curve I used an iron to press the fabric over the heart template, easing the fabric and folding as I went to achieve a nice neat turned under hem edge.
After gently slipping the template out, I then pinned it to the square and using the fabric pen I free-hand drew a rough outline of the map of Tasmania.
I used a straight machine stitch to sew around the heart close to the edge. I then chose a matching blue thread and went around the edge again with an applique stitch.
I also chose some embroidery floss in a matching colour to sew in the map line using a running stem stitch.
A quick press and voila....from Tasmania with love.
If you are also sending blocks for this cause, please post a link in the comments so we can all share.

4 comments:

  1. Your quilt square looks great, particularly with the outline of Tassie on it.
    The whole project is such a great idea.

    Hopefully the love and care that goes into these quilts will in some way help ease the pain and suffering experienced by the families involved in this terrible tragedy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a lovely idea. Hopefully the love and care you put into it will go someway towards the healing process for families involved in this terrible tragedy.
    Your design looks great, particularly with the outline of Tassie on it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great block. I really need to get back to quilting. Mostly I have been crocheting lately. I have a quilt I've been hand stitching that really needs to see some completion.
    Blessings
    Diane

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is a nice idea, and hopefully it helps relieve some of the pain of losing a love one.

    You have done a fantastic job with your block, and the Tassie outline adds a nice touch.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...