Heirloom Hearts Quilt - using the Softer Side collection
It's so wild to think that we just passed the ONE year quilt-aversary of the Heirloom Hearts pattern release! So much can change in a year, right? This time last year we had just moved our lives across the state and were getting used to having our business outside of our home. A new workflow, new environment and SO much excitement and hope for what the new year in a new town would bring. Flash forward one year and we're settling into our very own new (actually very old) studio, and we finally feel like we're getting a good rhythm back to how we create and work and it feels so so good.
Admittedly, I felt like I was searching for a good part of last year...searching for my role in this business, searching for my creativity in a new environment, searching for how I wanted Lo & Behold to present itself in the community (both locally and online), and I feel like I'm finally on the right path to figuring that out. It was a windy, exhausting road, but one that I think will totally be worth it.
.
.
Whew, okay, back to this quilt! With Valentines Day right around the corner, I knew that another Heirloom Hearts quilt was in my future and Amy Sinibaldi's "Softer Side" collection was the perfect fit. Softer Side is a collection of Amy's older prints that are re-colored and given new life. Some of my FAVORITE previous designs are in this collection, so it's really fun to see them with a different feel and color scheme.
.
.
.
.
.
One of the fabrics in the collection, Happily Ever After was redesigned with a gorgeous hot pink background and it was my inspiration to use this collection with this quilt pattern. Sidenote: the original Happily Ever After print is what I used for the backing of my cover Heirloom Hearts quilt, found here!
.
.
I always like to test out a few different mock-ups of quilt designs before I finalize my fabrics. Here's what this quilt would look like with different Background and Chain fabrics:
.
Background & Chain: AGF Creme de la Creme & Gingerbread
.
Background & Chain: AGF Gingerbread & Creme de la Creme
.
Background & Chain: AGF Sweet Macademia & Moonstone
.
Background & Chain: AGF Magnetism & Coconut Milk
.
Background & Chain: AGF Ocean Fog & Snow
.
Ultimately, I ended up trying a new Background fabric that I haven't sewn with before! It's a Art Gallery's Cotton/Linen blend called Soft Sand (DEN-L-4000) and it's a gorgeous fabric that looks so natural and beautiful. It has little "flecks" throughout the fabric and the woven texture is just lovely. it's actually a little wider than traditional quilting cotton, at 56", so you could probably get by with a little less fabric than what the pattern calls for, but for math's sake, it might just be easier to keep it the same.
.
.
.
.
.
Heirloom Hearts is fat quarter friendly and while the throw size (63" x 72") only requires 7 fat quarters, I squeezed all 11 fat quarters in the Softer Side collection into this quilt. Basically, the pattern assumes that you cut (4) hearts per fabric, and I cut less so that I could use more fabrics. For the chain, I used AGF Moonstone, a dark grey that is just a few shades lighter than my favorite charcoal grey, Magnetism. I'd say it's a smidge more cool than Magnetism as well.
.
.
For the backing, I used another favorite print from the collection, Firefly Seven. This fabric was originally in Amy's "Velvet" collection and I used it as a backing for my "Velvet" Celtic Crossing Quilt two years ago, found here. I love the original version of this fabric, but I may just love this iteration even more! The red background color is just such a STUNNING backdrop for the floral-y motif. I absolutely love it!
We have 4.5 yard cuts of this fabric in our shop if you want to use it as the backing as well! And you should have enough leftover fabric to use it as the binding as well!
.
.
Sara of Stitch Lab Quilting did the long-arm quilting on this quilt. We used a pantograph called "Sparkle" by Mistletoe Quilting Co. This was my first time using a pantograph from this company (that I know of?) but it won't be my last. She has lots of really adorable, quirky designs that are really unique and fun. I'll be looking through her shop again in the future!
I love photographing quilts against this wall in our studio. :)
.
.
.
.
.
.
Thanks for stopping by!
LINKS:
