Log Cabin Hearts

For those of you who don't read my midweek posts, I'm piecing a quilt for granddaughter Joanna, Log Cabin Hearts. This is an older pattern designed by Esther Hershberger back in 1996.

Of course I'm changing the pattern, I'm making my quilt with 16 hearts and the quilt will be square. I'm also not going to add those wide borders the pattern calls for.

All the log cabin blocks for the hearts are pieced, I showed you those last week. Now I'm in the process of appliqueing the hearts.

I showed you last week how I stayed stitched around the edge of the hearts before cutting off the excess log cabin.

The flowered teal fabric is leftover from Teal Stars, the rest of those fabrics are from my stash. 

I left the freezer paper in to add stability while appliqueing the heart. I'm using a dark gray thread for the stitching.

After the block is appliqued, I cut the background fabric away. Not everyone does this but there is the possibility I might hand quilt this quilt.  I don't want to quilt through an extra layer of fabric. 

Then I just pull the freezer paper off the backside and iron it onto another block and start the process over again.

The background fabric for the hearts is 14.5" unfinished.

I have a friend who has made several quilts from this pattern. She doesn't hand applique the blocks, she sews lightweight fusible interfacing to the right side of the heart, cuts a slit in the fusible and turns the heart to the right side. Then she irons the heart onto the background fabric and finishes piecing the quilt. Then she invites the neighbor ladies to come help hand quilt this quilt. The fusible method hand stitches extremely hard! I don't know if it makes a difference for machine quilting.

The background fabric is a very faint light blue batik. There was a pale teal batik that I considered but it had blotches of yellow in it and I didn't like that. This blue blends wll with the teal fabrics.

These heart blocks applique much faster than the Elegant Garden blocks do. Hopefully I will have these blocks all appliqued by next Sunday.

Finally my amaryllis have started blooming! It's so nice to have some color.

Linking to Patchwork & Quilts, Kathys Slow Stitching Sunday, Stitching Stuff, Oh Scrap, Handmade Monday, Sew & Tell, Craftastic Monday, Design Wall Monday, Monday Musings, To Do Tuesday