Sweet Hearts

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Left over bits and pieces to make a fabric postcard for a friend.

Folk Hearts

     I had a sentimental moment the other day ~ an inexplicable outbreak of tears while listening to my favorite radio station, WBEZ Chicago Public Radio. Some of you are NPR fans familiar with programs like "This American Life" and "Prairie Home Companion." It would be perfectly understandable for Ira Glass or Garrison Keillor to evoke an emotional response. But I was listening to "Car Talk" ~ a call in show dealing with auto maintenance (I have no interest in cars or maintaining them, but the show is pretty amusing).

     A woman called in, asking for advice on upgrading her van. Hosts Tom and Ray inquired about the size of her family and what features she wanted in a new vehicle. She had a 19 year old daughter who was away at college and a 17 year old son in high school. When the hosts replied that she could get by with a smaller van because her daughter was gone and wouldn't be coming back home and that her son wasn't far behind, I just lost it.

     Hearing my sobs, my husband brought me kleenex and asked what the heck was wrong. I was so choked up that I could barely answer. I kind of gasped that I was having an emotional moment about the boys (he kind of rolled his eyes and made a quick exit).

     For the past couple years, I've been mentally preparing myself for the "empty nest." We've raised our sons to be independent and have encouraged their decisions to pursue their passions, to attend college far from home, to travel abroad, to spend time with girlfriends and their families. We don't want to hold them back. The best thing they can do for us is learn to take care of themselves. It's time. I understand that ~ intellectually. Emotionally, however, I need some convincing.

     Perhaps my health scare has made me more sensitive and needy. Maybe my hormones are out of whack or I need a stronger antidepressant. It's possible that random acts of violence in schools and on college campuses (including a murder at my son's university just this week) have heightened my sense of helplessness and vulnerability. Please, all you empty nesters out there ~ tell me this gets easier!

     This is the last of my heart quilts, made to teach hand applique. It incorporates lots of techniques for preparing the hearts: plastic templates, freezer paper, fusible web, basting around cardstock templates, cutting directly from fabric. It also uses different methods for stitching hearts: needleturn, buttonhole stitch, reverse applique. The quilting is done with perle cotton.

Applique Hearts

There were some really bad looking fabrics in the early 1980's when I made this quilt (or maybe I had really bad taste). Many of my early projects look so dated now. There's no need to check the label for a date ~ those calicoes scream 1980!

February Hearts

click photo to enlarge

"February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March."

- Dr. J. R. Stockton

Where has February gotten to? In spite of the extra day for Leap Year, this month feels so short. Time has really eluded me! I'll be busy proofreading again for the next couple of weeks, so my writing will be minimal. But I'll post all those heart quilts that I intended to share during February.

I made this quilt as a class sample when I taught hand applique. Yellow and blue are probably the two colors I have the least of in my fabric stash. They are a classic color combination and when used together, create a cheerful, crisp appearance. Karendianne, a new visitor to my blog, is planning a project with this color theme. I can't wait to see what she'll come up with!