HeartStrings Quilt Project

We’re busy sewing and finishing up tops and quilts already. Several HeartStrings quilters are working on Happy Blocks, one of our favorites. I’m playing in my scraps and strings right now but I plan on making a Happy Block quilt later this month too.

I have brief instructions on my website at this link but feel free to cut your novelty squares any size you want. Scroll down on the webpage to see the 3 fabric version.

Ellen is the queen of Happy Block quilts and is inspiring us all. Here’s a recent finish of hers. She’s used 2 different novelty prints for the centers in this one.

Stephanie also has a Happy Block Finish already this year! She used 2 different novelty prints for her centers too.

And don’t forget these quilts look great when you go completely scrappy too!

This is the week of of the Maine Sew-in and HeartStrings quilters have gathered to sew together. Those of us that can’t join them in person are sewing along with them from home.

Brenda is sharing photos with us on our Groups.io page and I thought I’d share a few here too.

In addition to the projects they’re working on this week, lots of tops were brought that will be finished and donated after the sew-in.

Sharon is known for inspiring our more planned HeartStrings quilts but she goes scrappy too!

Jackie has brought a number of HeartStrings tops where she’s used sashing to join the blocks together. I love the colors in this one!

Brenda is acting as photographer and reporter … and also contributing many tops. We had a Rainbow Strings block drive a couple years ago and then COVID prevented us from gathering. Brenda took on the responsibility of assembling those blocks into tops. Here’s one of the tops she shared this week.

And here’s a sashed Rainbow HeartStrings version by Karen.

And we’re not just string quilt makers, our group does make many other types of quilts to donate. I love this Trip around the World by Brenda!

We’ve been playing in our strings this month and I’ve finished a couple tops. One has even been quilted.

You can find instructions for our HeartStrings quilts at this link. In this version, I used a gray center strip and my first round had a consistent fabric too.

Stephanie used a consistent neutral strip beside her center strip too. It’s a great way to bring some organization to these string quilts.

I also pieced Rainbow HeartStrings blocks – these are super easy and always look great. You can find instructions at this link.

We’re still making and donating quilts. If interested in joining us, come on over to our discussion group on Groups.io.

A couple recent finishes … a red centered HeartStrings top from AnnG, quilted and finished by Mary

And a Rainbow HeartStrings quilt made by Stephanie.

Last month we made Happy Block quilts for our monthly challenge. You can go scrappy like Stephanie did or use just a few fabrics like Ellen. Any size center square and frame works too. You can find brief instructions at this link.

This month’s challenge is 3 yard quilts but we’re always making string quilts too. Ann got creative with her blocks.

Kathleen made our traditional HeartStrings blocks and then sashed them.

AnnG has been working with her group to finish up some HeartStrings Group tops and sent me a batch for quilting. I finished up 3 of them – I love how different our HeartStrings quilts can look, don’t you? click on any photo for a larger view.

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If you’d like to make your own version, you can find instructions on my website at this link.

Usually you’ll find us playing in our strings but we’re doing something a little different with our current project. We’ve been making 3 yard quilts. Quick and easy to piece and they bust a lot of stash quickly! You can make up your own 3 yard quilt or find patterns online. Many of us are using patterns from Fabric Cafe and my Quick Strippies are made from just 3 fabrics too!

I love the orange stripe Robina used as her center strip with her green strings! While our “everything goes” scrappy HeartStrings are great, it’s fun to play with different color combinations too.

We’re playing with tumblers this month! We’re having lots of fun and so many cute quilts will be donated. Some of us are using templates and some are using tumbler dies. These are just a few of the ones we’re making. Click on a photo and scroll through the slideshow.

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Happy Blocks are one of our favorite projects to work on and always make such cute quilts. Here’s a recent finished top that Ellen shared with us. Some of our quilts are scrappy with blocks mixed in from a variety of quilters and others are more planned like this one. I have several different instructions on my website and I’m not sure which measurements Ellen used, but we’ve done lots of variations with the center square – from cutting them 4.5 or 6.5 inches to using Charm Squares (5 inch squares).