Tis the Season of Love
It is that time of the year when Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and many of our thoughts turn to the ones we love. They may be our partners, our husbands and wives, our children and grandchildren. The patchwork heart can come in many forms. The little wall quilt above is simply three hearts and the LOVE block from my newest book, 50 Little Paper-Pieced Blocks.
Valentine’s Day falls second only to Mother’s Day as the most important day for sending cards. An estimated 143 million cards are sent/given for Valentine’s Day. The card above was created using one of the Carol Doak Keepsake Cards and one of the quick and easy heart blocks from the 50 Little Paper-Pieced Blocks book. I used some multicolor thread and a decorative stitch on my sewing machine to embellish the card.
Stamps are another way to embellish and create messages on your cards. The “Bless Your Heart” stamp is perfect when using a patchwork card. I purchased it online at Rubber Stamp Tapesty.
This is the cover of 50 Little Paper-Pieced Blocks and it is available in my web store or possibly at your local quilt shop. You could call ahead and see if they have it in stock.
Here is the packaging for the Carol Doak’s Keepsake Frame Cards. These cards and envelopes are made of wonderful paper that has the feel of handmade paper. There are four cards and envelopes in the package. The package retails for $9.95 making each card less than $2.50. Unfortunately, C & T Publishing is out of stock of these cards and therefore, I am also out of stock. I am hoping I will have a supply by the end of the month. Call ahead and see if your local quilt shop still has a supply. UPDATE: Just heard that Checkers Quilt Distributors still has a supply of cards. Ask your shop to order them if they are out. These cards are a super deal as far as the cost of greeting cards these days. I did a bit of research about greeting cards and found the following not so surprising statement about cards. Giving a greeting card creates a lasting impression and emotional bond between sender and receiver. In a national survey for the Greeting Card Association, nearly one-third of respondents said they keep the special cards they receive “forever.”
Another way to express love is through a little mini quilt. This Scrap Hearts Miniature quilt was first showcased in my out of print Easy Paper-Pieced Miniature Quilts book. Miniature quilts are so easy to make using paper foundation piecing methods. This one features little heart blocks featuring the look of scrap red fabrics. You would use the same methods as traditional paper piecing, but substitute the Add-An-Eighth ruler for the Add-A-Quarter ruler. Use cotton batting when machine quilting to give the quilt a flat look. When your loved one receives this quilt, they are going to think you are amazing. Don’t tell them that minis are actually so easy because the fabric pieces are huge in relation to the area they are going fill.
Since the minis in this out-of-print book were so popular, I decided to reproduce them in pattern format including all the patterns to make each quilt pre-printed on Carol Doak Foundation Paper.
Then one day I had one of those light bulb moments when I realized I could place the images for the pattern on a CD so they could be printed right from your computer. Each CD contains four mini patterns. The Miniatures Set Two above contains the Scrap Hearts, the Scrap Stars (another very popular pattern!), Tree of Life Medallion and Jeweled Fans.
The book, patterns, CDs and Add-An-Eighth ruler are all available in my web store.
Until next time,
Carol