Be Mine Blog Tour Day 1

Valentine Heart Ornaments

Supplies:

1 Layer Cake of Giddy by Sandy Gervais

or red, pink, aqua and cream scraps 10"X10"

Omnigrid Easy Heart Templates, or heart cookie cutters, heart shaped scrapbook templates etc.

Polyester fiberfill for stuffing

Batting scraps 10"x10"

Assorted sheer cream or red ribbons, 1/4" aqua rick rack at least 8" for each ornament

pinking shears

brown pigma pen or pencil

Embellishments:

red, pink or cream buttons

1/4" hexagons

mini yo-yo's

Instructions:

Basic Steps for a Heart Ornament

1. make quilted 'fabric'

2. wash and dry it

3. trace your heart template

4. cut out w/ pinking shears

5. cut out a backing

6. cut 8" ribbon for hanger

7. embellish w/buttons, hexies, or yo-yos

8. assemble and sew leaving a 1" opening

9. lightly stuff

10. Sew opening closed

 Choose 2 10" squares and layer with batting.

 Machine quilt with straight lines, or meandering. I chose straight lines varying the width 1/4" to a 1/2" apart.

 Once it's quilted, fold one side of the quilted piece over about 2 1/2" as shown.

 Using the medium sized heart template, place long side on the fold, and trace with a brown pigma pen or pencil.

Once I traced my shape, I pinned my piece in the center to avoid shifting.

*note*

{If you are using a cookie cutter, you would just trace the shape onto the quilted fabric and cut out.

 No need for the fold.}

 Cut on the line with regular scissors for some hearts and pinking shears for others.

For one style heart ornament, cut a plain fabric using the same sized shape.

Pin the ribbon the right side of the backing fabric, and lay right sides of the quilted piece to the right side of the plain fabric. Sew around the outside edge leaving a 1" opening for stuffing. Slip stitch to close.

I added buttons to this design before I sewed the hearts together.

 The next quilted fabric I made, was 2 10" Giddy squares that already had squares in the design.

I followed the 'lines' with my quilting.

To add more interest/texture to this fabric I soaked the quilted fabric in water.

Then dried it in a hot drier.

Now it looks like a 'washed' quilt.

This is the secret to making them look the best I think.

 I followed my same procedures of folding my quilt fabric 2 1/2"

and tracing the heart template.

 The brown is so faint that you can barely see it. This is perfect since I am leaving the edges raw on these hearts.

 Use Pinking Shears to cut out the heart(s)

 Here is the other side of the quilted fabric. 

 By using 2 different prints I can choose either side for the ornament!!

Cut out a matching plain fabric with pinking shears.

This is also a time to plan what type of embellishments you might like, buttons, yo-yo's or hexies.

I would sew these on to the front heart before stuffing and sewing.

 Layer a quilted fabric with a plain fabric, sandwiching an 8" ribbon for a hanger in between.

This will result in a raw pinked edge.

Sew along the pinked edge about 1/8" from the edge. Be careful that you are catching the top and bottom fabrics.

Leave a 1" opening.

Stuff lightly with fiberfill.

Continue to sew closed.

 Here's my 'quilted' fabric after I cut out various heart shapes.

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Pieced quilted fabric hearts....

Cut {35} 1 3/4" squares from your layer cake squares.

Begin by sewing the squares into rows.

 I pin just about everything.

 

 Sew the rows together.

 The result is a slightly wonky pieced block about 8" x 6".

 Layer with batting.

*I did not use backing for this heart fabric*

 Quilt lines through the center of the squares as shown.

Then just as I did for the first quilted fabric piece, I soaked this quilt with water and dried it in a hot drier to give it a crinkly look.

 Fold over the quilted piece 3 1/2" and trace the large 5" heart shape.

 Cut out with pinking shears.

 My piece resulted in 4 varied size pieced hearts.

With 2 of them, I sewed each of them to the end of cotton tape with a plain fabric backing. Again sewing 1/8" around the edge and catching the tape in between the layers.

 I also layered quilted hearts, sewing one heart to another before sandwiching with ribbon and stuffing.

I made tiny yo-yo's in coordinated colors and used {3} 1/4" hexies for applique as well.

The skies the limit with these.

 After making several ornaments, I found that I like the raw pinked edged ornaments best.

My absolute favorite is the lil hexie heart.

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Now for the awesome giveaways!

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Leave a comment on THIS post to be entered to win

 a $50 gift certificate from the Fat Quarter Shop 

or 13 Bliss fat quarters (donated my me!). 

To be eligible for the Grand Prize $100 Gift Certificate: Leave one comment on each Blog Tour participants' project/day for ALL 7 days.