Hearts, Valentine's and Birthdays..

I love Heart quilts and, when my friend A. was getting married, I thought that this would be a lovely design for her and her husband. It is a pattern called Melinda's Heart by Heidi K. Farmer. The original colors of the quilt were pink and green, but I knew that A. loved primary colors so I changed the color combination and made my own color palette. A number of my quilting friends also liked the pattern and created it with their own combinations.They all were beautiful quilts.
Bargello is such a fun technique because it looks complicated and can create some really interesting patterns. It is a bit like colorwash in that you need to get that graduated look in order to make the pattern flow through out the quilt. Heidi has created other patterns too- One is a ribbon quilt that was created to be used as a symbol for breast or ovarian cancer. Some day I plan to make this heart quilt again- perhaps I will do it in pink and green or maybe purple and gold or maybe some variations of fall colors--- the choices are endless...
Today is my friend's birthday... Have a Happy Birthday, Anne!







Our lovely niece Beth celebrated her birthday yesterday on Valentine's Day. Beth was born the year that my husband and I began to date seriously. It is hard to believe that so much time has passed- In the ensuing years, we have added 2 more nieces and 4 more nephews on one side and 3 nieces and one nephew on the other side. They are all young adults now - the youngest one is 17 years old. They are all fine young people who are finding their way in this world. Beth is the oldest of all our nieces and nephews. She is a terrific young woman who got married this past summer.

She is pictured here with her husband Dave with the paperweight quilt that I made for them as a wedding gift (I wrote about this quilt in my second post). Happy Birthday Bethie- may the next year bring you all the best things in life.


This weekend has given me some lovely opportunities to spend with good friends. Yesterday L. and I visited our favorite quilt shops- I was very happy to find some lovely backing for a wonky tiles quilt that I started last September. They had some pretty fabrics in their specials section so I brought home some additions to my stash.:O)
Today I had breakfast with good friend V. We stopped to pick up some beads in Michaels, as I wanted to get some silver ones for a bracelet that I am making for my mother's friend. I have lots of beads(its sort of like my fabric collection - it just doesn't take up near as much space) but somehow, I am always missing that one piece of fabric or beads that I am needing to complete a project. Sometimes, I just change my plans for that project and work from the stash, and other times, it is just not possible to without a shopping expedition.

I have been watching the news this week- to my Australian friends - I hope you are keeping safe. It is hard to see so much devastation and loss. My heart goes out to you all..

Have a good week - I plan to enjoy some family time as well as get some school work caught up. Maybe some beading,or quilting too...
Happy Quilting,
Regards,
Anna