HeartStrings Information Sheet

For those of you working with groups or spreading the word about the HeartStrings Quilt Project, we have a new one page information sheet that you can print and distribute. It contains some brief information about the project and the web addresses to our sites.

HeartStrings Information Sheet (PDF file)

Thanks to Kathy for requesting an information sheet and spurring me on to create one! Of the 3 HeartStrings quilts featured, the red HeartStrings quilt was made and donated by Pam and the other two were assembled from group blocks at the MN/WI area sew-in's and quilted by me.

I added a permanent link on the sidebar so it can easily be found when needed.

Peace by Piece Quilters

Nancy from Peace by Piece Quilters at St Mary's Episcopal Church in Manchester, CT sent this completed top for our recent Purple Project. She reports that group members are finishing up a Red HeartStrings top and have plans to work on blocks for October's Project Pink too.

She reports "there is such a 'buzz' at church about the Heartstring quilts! I even have a bulletin board set up for our projects and will be posting your website for people to refer to."

Sneak Preview for October

Since we've been having so much fun with our special projects, we're going to do another just for the month of October. In conjunction with National Breast Cancer Awareness month we're going to make blocks for quilts that will be assembled and donated to Breast Cancer patients.

There are two options for blocks that will be sent in for group quilts. First option is all Pink and White strings without a designated center string. Second option is a Pink center string with all other colors filling out the remainder of the block.

Guidelines with examples of the above options can be found (and printed) on the website.

Come join us for October's Project Pink.

We continue to work on assembling quilts from our Chinese Coins and Purple Projects. As always, we accept blocks made according to our standard guidelines at all times. Please email us for the address to send these blocks as it may be different than those sent in for our special projects.

A couple more Purple Project Quilts

Lynn Dykstra emailed me photos of these two quilts today and wrote: "Here are my two projects--the small one went to a baby whose mother and grandmother were very ill during the pregnancy, and the larger one went to our block party raffle for the local food pantry--made $544.00!"

HeartStrings quilts have been donated to individuals and organizations but it's wonderful seeing one being used as a fund raiser. Thanks for sharing Lynn!

The Purple Project is over

If you haven't already, please mail your Purple Project blocks within the next couple weeks. If you need the address or have a photo to share of your quilt, please email me.

To see Purple Project tops and quilts already completed click on the album below

Purple Project

Are these string blocks addicting?

Ask Alycia and her son who are making RWB string blocks for Quilts of Valor. Visit Alycia's blog to see the blocks and read more.

Why do we piece HeartStrings blocks on a foundation?

That's a question I get fairly frequently so I thought I'd address it here on the blog.

First, I want to make sure that everyone understands that the fabric foundation is ONLY required for the blocks that are sent in for group quilts. Because we are piecing these blocks on the diagonal from strings they have a tendency to stretch. By using a foundation and trimming the final block to 9.5 inches, we can make sure that the blocks coming from different quilters will all work well with each other. You can read the guidelines for blocks sent in for group quilts on our website.

If you are making a HeartStrings quilt yourself, any PATTERN and any METHOD of construction can be used and we suggest you think about the organization that will receive the donated quilt and keep their requirements in mind as you make the quilt.

String quilts have traditionally been foundation pieced on fabric or paper but there are several books that describe techniques for making them without foundations. Some of these don't actually start with strings and they involve cutting rectangles or strips from scraps or yardage.

Some of my favorites
Liberated String Quilts by Gwen Marston
Strips and Strings by Evelyn Sloppy

While technically not string quilts, I also like the Stack the Deck books by Karla Alexander and Cut Loose Quilts by Jan Mullen for their stack and slash type quilts. I made one HeartStrings quilt based on a pattern by Karla Alexander that turned out very cute and was donated to the Ronald McDonald House here in Minneapolis.

You can find patterns that use a paper or fabric foundation in the books String Quilts with Style by Aug & Newman and Spectacular String-Pieced Quilts by the editors of Traditional Quiltworks and Quilting Today magazines.

Online you can find instructions at Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville site and I've posted some simple instructions at MaryQuilt.com.

So whether you choose to piece blocks according to our guidelines for group quilts or piece your own quilts with or without foundations, I hope you will join us in making and donating HeartStrings quilts to your local charities. Don't forget to check out our photo albums for more inspiration.

Fishy Strings

Many of you may be aware that HeartStrings blocks sent in for group quilts in the US are mailed to Sue Frank who then pulls block sets to send to group members for finishing and donating. She also pieces tops from donated blocks and sends them on to volunteer quilters.

Sue sent me pictures of a HeartStrings quilt she recently donated to the Mayo Clinic. She wrote: "Louise Cohen sent a beautiful set of blocks. They were so coordinated they had to stay in a set and needed a special presentation . As soon as I saw them I thought of underwater ."

Sue took those donated string blocks and created the quilt you see below.

101 Quilts for African Orphans

Stephanie recently emailed me about a quilt show that included some of her donated HeartStrings quilts.

She wrote: "Julie who was coordinating the quilts for Africa organised a quilt show of the finished 101 quilts as a fund raiser. (Sadly for me, on the other side of Australia)

Here is a link to the photos that were taken. Not all of the quilts are in the pix, but 3 of my 6 are there, Green Sudoku, Baby Rails (photo 6) and the Heartstrings with the purple sashing (photo 39). All 3 of those managed to be in more than one pic. I'll forward the newsletter about the show shortly.

This was a show with a difference, people were encouraged to hug the quilts, to increase the loving vibes going to Africa. What a lovely idea."

In addition to the ones she mentions about, I also managed to see another one of Stephanie's HeartStrings quilts in photo 5. You can see her quilts along with the others by following this link.

http://picasaweb.google.com/1960Julie/101QuiltsForAfricanOrphans

Yikes! August is halfway done

I've been traveling and busy with some personal projects the last couple weeks and haven't made a single string block this month!

Luckily, I have a couple weeks left to work on Judy's Use the Stash Challenge and add some more blocks to my 365 Challenge total.

For those of you still working on Purple Project quilts and blocks you also have another couple weeks to make blocks you'll be sending in. We'll allow a couple weeks into September for everyone to get them mailed off. If you're making a Purple Project quilt yourself, make sure you share a photo for our online album and check out the new labels designed just for these quilts.

Patriotic HeartStrings

Michele wrote to tell me of another HeartStrings quilt and donation. She talks about patriotism and shares this quilt given to the family of a deceased WWII veteran.

You can read her post at her blog - With Heart and Hands

HeartStrings Quilt Instructions

If you've been watching our photo albums fill up with HeartStrings quilts and wanted instructions you can download the PDF file for our Red HeartStrings quilt.

If you want to make one of our HeartStrings Logo Quilts, those instructions are available also.

Need some ideas for Purple Project quilts? Try this version or a simpler one here.

As always, we're happy to receive blocks made according to the guidelines if you prefer to send them in rather than assemble a quilt on your own. They add up fast when combined with other donations!

Purple Project

We still have the rest of August to work on our purple centered blocks for our Purple Project. We'll allow a couple weeks into September for everyone to mail their blocks to Sue (US) and Megan (AUS). Of course, you're always welcome to keep your blocks and make and donate the quilt yourself.

My finished quilt is here and a second top is ready for quilting.

For those of you needing to print labels for Purple Project quilts check out the new Purple HeartStrings Labels (PDF file with 4 labels per page).

Use the Stash Challenge

Judy Laquidara issues a challenge each month on her blog encouraging quilters to use their stash. She's challenged us this month to use our stash to make HeartStrings blocks and has offered to assemble and donate quilts from blocks sent to her from her August challenge.

Read her blog post carefully and join us in using our stash in August. You can find the guidelines for making HeartStrings blocks on our website.

Of course, blocks made according to the HeartStrings Guidelines are accepted at any time by our HeartStrings coordinators Sue (US) and Megan (AUS) for assembly and donation.

HeartStrings and Project Linus

Barb recently picked up 147 Heartstrings blocks from Sue -- 61 BLUE centered blocks and 86 RED centered ones.

She wrote: "I will make additional blocks in order to get TWENTY BLANKETS for Project Linus! I'm the Assistant Coordinator for Project Linus-Greater Twin Cities Area, MN Chapter. We're having a Make-a-Blanket Day on Saturday, August 18th in Oakdale, Minnesota (9:00-4:00) if any HEARTSTRINGERS would like to join us. We'll be making HEARTSTRINGS BLANKETS that day. Get details @ www.orgsites.com/mn/projectlinus-stpaul"

Here's Barb pictured with her first HeartSrings block at the recent WI/MN area sew-in.

Project updates

In addition to making our red and blue centered HeartStrings blocks we've been having fun with several special projects.

For our first one, we collected Chinese Coin sections from members in April and May and I've been working on assembling those into tops and quilts. I expected we'd get enough for several tops but I'm working on the 4th one from the donated coins and there are plenty left. Here's the first finished quilt and you can see others in our online photo album.

Our Purple Project - HeartStrings Quilts for Kids is in progress and will run through August. Sue Frank has already received several block sets which have been sent out to be assembled into quilts and donated and I've finished one quilt and one top. These are fun to make and they only take 24 blocks so think about joining the fun and making some Purple centered blocks.

Finally, our 365 block challenge has taken off. In less than two weeks we have had 41 members of our Yahoo group signed up and we've already made 459 blocks! Want to challenge yourself? Read the details.

WI/MN area sew-in

A group of 9 HeartStrings members gathered in Roberts, WI today. We worked, we laughed, we ate, we shopped (on the way home) and while our main focus this meeting was Patriotic Quilts for Quilts of Valor we also worked some on Purple Project quilts and other string projects.

Additional photos can be seen in our online album.

Here's a photo of the group (minus me as photographer)
From (L) - (R) standing --- Rhonda, Sally, Kathy, Sue, Barb
From (L) - (R) sitting ------ Teresa, Virginia, Sheree

HeartStrings Challenge - 365 Blocks

Inspired by Tresica we're going to start a HeartStrings Challenge.

The guidelines are simple and you can either play along on your own or join our Yahoo group. Membership is NOT necessary to participate.

This will be a personal challenge for those participating - no pressure - we'll work at our own pace. You can complete the challenge as quickly or as slowly as you choose.

You can count any STRING blocks you make for HeartStrings quilts in the challenge.

1. You can send in the blocks to Sue (US) or Megan (AUS)
2. You can use the blocks in HeartStrings quilts you make yourself
3. You do a combination of the two above - send some in - keep some for HeartStrings quilts you make yourself
4. You can piece tops from the blocks and ask us to find a quilter to complete and donate the finished quilt

The ONLY criteria for blocks SENT IN will be: **

1. Blocks should be 9.5 inches on a muslin or 100% cotton foundation
2. Have a RED or BLUE center strip cut 2 inches (1.5 inches finished) See Block Guidelines
3. If using different color centers, blocks should be sent in sets of 24 or 48 to be used in a single quilt

** Australian blocks should have RED centers unless sending in a complete set of blocks that can be used in a single quilt.

Email me with any questions

A 365 block surprise

Imagine my surprise tonight to find an email and this photo in my inbox. Tresica Watts wrote and asked for the mailing address to send HeartStrings blocks commenting that she had made 365 red and blue centered blocks. What a wonderful contribution to our project!

Don't you love this photo? (click photo to enlarge!)

Even the dogs are interested!

Helen from the United Kingdom recently arranged to send some purple-centred blocks to Megan, the Australian HeartStrings coordinator - see photo above. (Does this mean that we have our first international HeartStrings quilt?)

Megan was amused, however, to discover that the inspection dogs used by the Australian Quarantine service were very interested in the blocks. So much so that they indicated - by yapping? howling? wagging their tails? - that the package warranted closer inspection. And so when the blocks were delivered to Megan in Sydney they included a polite note from the Quarantine service to indicate that while the dogs had been very interested, "no items of quarantine concern were detected" by the human inspectors. That's nice to know!