12 Days of Show & Share! Day 4!

How many of you are familiar with the Heart Strings Quilt Project?

Mary Johnson has headed up the Heart Strings Quilt Project since way before I moved from South Carolina to North Carolina…so correct me if I’m wrong, but it has to be 6 to 7 years now? Time flies!

And these ladies do such fabulous work, they have get togethers to work on projects, and all the quilts are donated to needy causes.

I received an email from Sue F regarding a quilt she took to show at a recent meeting.

She writes:

Hi Bonnie,

I wanted to share a picture of my Ultimate Crumb Quilt inspired by your methods.

I showed it off on Saturday at our latest HeartStrings Sew In.

Thank you! Of course even this top it didn't make much of a dent in my scrap pile.

Sue’s Ultimate Crumb Quilt!

The scraps NEVER go away! Every project makes strings or crumbs….it’s a windfall every time! We just have to get excited about using them up and sewing them into some fabulous quilts. Every time my crumbs threaten to over run their bins and take over the studio, I beat them back with some manic episodes of paper or string piecing. What fun! What variety! I love that there is no way to duplicate a string or a crumb quilt ---each one is unique, and Sue, this one takes the cake!

And if that doesn’t leave you inspired, look at this next quilt!

This one is from another Sue! This is Sue P’s Orca Bay:

Sue’s Orca Bay fits her bed!

She writes:

Hello Bonnie,
Thank you for hosting this mystery quilt. I have never participated in a mystery quilt or any type of internet quilt- a -long, and really enjoyed the challenge.

I have a tendency to get a bit down over the holidays and this quilt really helped me get through the weeks. I also was able to make the entire quilt from my stash including the backing. It didn't make much of a dent in the reds or blues. I did make this bigger to fit a queen size bed, adding more blocks after the reveal. That actually was the hardest part, making myself go back and do more units.

I added the string red border to make it fit the bed and give it the finish look I like. It finished about 97x100. My husband loves this one, and has claimed it for our bed, and our kids are planning on fighting over this one when we are gone.

I enjoyed your style of quilt construction. I have been making blocks where I spend way to much time on the perfect combination of fabrics in each block, so it takes a long time to get a finished top. I have been primarily working with batiks the last few years and am looking forward to watching what you are going to be doing with your batiks.

I enjoy reading your blog and your travel adventures. I appreciate your upbeat messages and words of encouragement.
Thank you again,
Sue P
Gig Harbor, WA

Oh my gosh! I sure love what she did by adding a red string border and turning the border units around so the pointy bits face in instead of out! Isn’t it amazing how a simple change can be SO effective!! Great job, Sue!

And finally for today we have Victoria in NH!

She sent a terrific batch of photos of her Patches & Pinwheels quilt:

Are you getting in the mood for autumn yet?

She writes:

Hello, Bonnie!

Thank you so very much for all your free patterns that give such clear directions and pictures of construction details. I just posted pictures of my version of your design, Patches & Pinwheels (that I named Calliope Music for its whimsical circus-y look)

I love the scraps she used, and the heart vine in the border!

The breeze even gives us a glimpse of the yummy backing fabric!

Thank you for sharing the photos with my, Vic! It really does make me wish for those cooler temps that are ahead!

There are more photos of quilts that you’ve sent me, and I’ll be posting those all week while I’m Bali-Bound!

Have a great day, everyone – whichever day this is?? :cD