Seeing Red

I am definitely seeing RED lately. I have so many different red projects going right now it's hard to say exactly how far I am behind but let's just say it's more than a couple and less than a lot! It's a good thing it's my favorite color.

This is a pattern called "Double Hearts" and it's done using the Hawaiian style of applique. This is my first try at this technique but it's really fun. It's like making big fabric snowflakes and then using needle-turn applique to stitch them down. If I really get my act together I will put up an easy tutorial for the technique.

I am starting to see a glimpse of the finish line on this one. There are 18 blocks and I have 14 done and 4 left to go. I started this around Valentine's Day last year when all the gorgeous red and white fabrics were out tempting me in the quilt shops. It's based on a quilt originally done around 1850 that I saw in the book called "Treasury of American Quilts" by Nelson and Houck. I scaled down the pattern a bit to be able to use a bunch of fat quarters that I had. The original pattern calls for 20" blocks and mine measure at 18". Plenty big enough and here's how it's looking so far:

Hard to tell in the pics but the reds are all different and the background blocks are all different red on white prints. The finished thing will have sashing (haven't picked that yet) and partial blocks for the setting squares. With only four more blocks to applique, the end is in sight! My Red Resolution is to finish and possibly get the top pieced by this Valentine's Day. We'll see....

Happy stitching,

Tonya