Heart’s Garden
57″ square• Quilt #264
Gardens can be mysterious. In our case we planted the melons and the round cucumbers and some nocturnal visitor came and dug it all up. Will those seeds pop up somewhere else? Were they get eaten? What’s in the heart can also be mysterious, even to those who might have some experience in the matter. Are we charitable? Are we passionate? Are we kind, snarky, tough or tender?
But in the case of the QAL for Heart’s Garden, the mystery is now solved!
This is the final free pattern for the 2022 Mystery Quilt-A-Long. I will have a Part 6 that will show some embellishments, but that will be a post, and not a pattern release. Heart’s Garden Part 5 will remain free until early June when all the patterns will be combined into one that can be purchased. So make sure you download Part 5 quickly.
I’m sure you’ve seen these images of Part Four on Instagram. Joan’s quilt is a brilliant range of hues from yellows to pinky purples. Lisa has used a wonderful selection of blues, pinky reds and tans to great effect. Linda’s quilt took a different turn when she used the borders from my Evergreen, Ever Life quilt, amending them to fit the center, and Susan (on Instagram or at her blog) has also made changes, using five flowers on two sides. I love them all! [As I receive updated photos, I will post them.]
Heart’s Garden finishes up with a row of heart blocks, like a happy picket fence around our garden. Generally I used medium-dark fabrics with a scrappy low-volume background. All fabrics are by Sherri and Chelsi, from their Sincerely Yours line. I love the brightly colored prints from peach to purple and think this makes a really happy quilt. Sherri is a friend of mine (we both taught English Composition classes) and I think this quilt would also be great in her newest line, Seashore. One reason I love showing all the quilts at the beginning of the post is for you to think of different colorways for your quilt than the one on the front of the pattern.
And speaking of the front of the pattern, Part Five is ready for a free download at my PayHip shop. (Reminder: In case you didn’t get any of the other parts, they are there for sale as well.) But, again, in early June all the parts will disappear to be replaced with a complete Heart’s Garden Sew-A-Long pattern for sale. Now let’s talk construction.
I started with the corners, making a Log Cabin block with darker outside corners.
Then I discarded this block and made the ones you see in the quilt. That’s why I have a full box of orphan blocks!
I like to sew Log Cabin blocks from measurements, but in case you like paper piecing, that option exists for you as well in this pattern. In fact, I made up FPP options for all parts of this border: the log cabin corners, the heart block bottoms and heart block tops.
I ended up using the paper piecing for the heart block tops and was happy I did.
There is a slightly different proportion on these hearts than usual, as I wanted a certain look for the border. I cut out backgrounds and tips and triangles. Detailed instructions for how to do this accurately and carefully are in the pattern. (Tips to make wonky hearts are also there.)
I smoothed out the center onto my design wall, then as I made hearts, I arranged them around the quilt.
There’s always this moment that you wonder: was this quilt worth it? I had only seen it inside, in my room and a lot of time I was sewing at night during winter.
But when I took it outside and saw the natural light hitting all those fun hearts and flowers and birds and patchwork, I was really glad I persevered. And I love the stained-glass photo of the quilt from the back. Sigh. I was content.
When the top was finished, I sent it off to Krista of KristaStitched, who used the Bebop e2e panto at my request. I used a neutral backing and Soft and Bright polyester batting. She did a great job. I bound it with a narrow strip of the geranium color that was in the fabric line. I did have to send away for the half yard, as I’d pretty well used up all my fabrics.
I have one more post about this quilt, showing a few more bits in Part Six, but there won’t be a download for that one–it will live here on my blog. So head over to my pattern shop and get your free pattern. If you don’t have time to sew it now, feel free to save it for later. But please–do not share the patterns with your friends or families. I did this free sew-a-long as a thank you to all my blog readers, and do want you to download your patterns in my shop, not post or share them without permission. Thank you 🙂
For those who have been following along, I hope you’ve enjoyed this Heart’s Garden Mystery QAL. See you soon for Part Six!
Hope you can occasionally piece and quilt–
OccasionalPiece--Quilt! 
Oh, Elizabeth, it turned out just perfect!!!! It really is the best of all and embraces what I envision as a “heart’s garden” – just the right amount of reds and purples and things in-between. Thank you for ALL the hard work you put into this and I’m so glad YOU were happy with the end result.
Oh, I love how the hearts seem to embrace and envelope the garden Elizabeth! I’m so looking forward to starting this section tomorrow! Sherri’s new fabric line looks lovely too- it would make a sunny, Springlike version. Do you think you’ll make another one? Krista’s quilting is perfect. It reminds me of a swirling breeze…!
Love it! I have really enjoyed watching this evolve.
Your quilt turned out beautiful! The colors are perfect for this quilt! The hearts are a perfect ‘picket fence’ surrounding the garden. I wish I would have joined but I’m not much of an appliqué quilter.
So beautiful and the hearts just seem to embrace the garden. I have enjoyed this mystery so much, thank you for all your hard work!
Joan
On Instagram
@joanhinchcliff
Beautiful
Elizabeth this is another gorgeous finish. Thank you for your generosity in sharing a perfect summer quilt pattern with all of us. It truly is a work of art and so much fun to see everyone’s interpretation and variations of the pattern.
I really love how this finished up Elizabeth. The heart borders are a perfect final round. I continue to love your color scheme too. It’s also nice to see how other quilters have made it their own. The colors and prints someone else chooses always intrigues me.
It is a gorgeous quilt!!
Goodness, all that paper piecing! My LQS (StudioStitchOnline.com) now has piecing paper that dissolves when the quilt is washed, and Linda Hahn (FrogHollowDesigns.com) has foundation “paper” that stays in the quilt as a thin layer of polyester. Since I hate pulling off paper, I’m going to try both!
I just love those elongated hearts! I’ve been eagerly awaiting this round, and getting lots of little need-to-do jobs done around the house to keep from starting something new in the waiting time. Now I can get back to sewing!
From your sneak peek a few days ago, I did not expect to see hearts, but it is a great finishing round. You will enjoy it every time you get a chance to put it on display. It was really fun watching it come together.
What a beautiful, just delightful, finish, and congratulations on designing an original quilt, one with so many elements, balanced so well. I just love it!
This is such a lovely, happy quilt and how wonderful that you shared the pattern with your readers! The final heart border is perfect!
I love your whole quilt, but my favorite part is the bird and flower border with all those cute buttons and different height flowers. Thinking of this and the beautiful borders you put on the Christmas Tree quilt, makes me think you have a special talent for borders.