Happy Valentine's Day (part two!)

To celebrate Valentine's Day on Friday, February 14, here are some really fun heart quilts from California, Florida and Virginia. For Kaffe Fassett fans, there is an award-winning Hearts and Flowers quilt made in The Netherlands!

Tatted Hearts, 64 x 68", by Cheryl L. See (Ashburn, Virginia).  2013 Houston IQF and 2014 Road to California

Cheryl See says: "[This is a] contemporary design of hearts and circles with both vintage embellishment (20 yards of my Great Grandmother's hand tatted lace and doily) and modern "bling"- 1,980 Swarovski crystals."  Cheryl adds, "In the quilting, you will find a necklace, ring, two eyes, and a tooth. The edge is hand embroidered."

Close up, Tatted Hearts by Cheryl L. See

Cheryl included cording, trapunto, and custom hand quilting in this wonderful piece, which is all done by hand. Her original design was inspired by a pattern printed on a gift bag.  We first saw the Tatted Hearts in November 2013 at the Houston IQF, and a few months later at the Road to California in January 2014. At the Road to California,  it won $1,000.00 for Excellence in Hand Quilting, sponsored by Bohin France.

Graffiti Heart by Susan Bianchi, Saratoga, California

Susan notes, "The inspiration for this quilt came from a photograph my husband took of some graffiti in San Jose, California. I wanted to play with translating this highly graphic, textured image in buttons and beads. The quilt was made with cotton batting stabilizer sandwiched between black silk and cotton. The combination of new and vintage buttons and beads were hand sewn." This charming miniature quilt is only about 12 inches square.

We've never touched a quilt show quilt in our lives (and will never do so), but we were sure tempted with this one ! We loved the intriguing texture !

The Road to Love, 40 x 46", by Elizabeth Dackson

The Road to Love was one of 32 quilts in the first AQS Modern Quilt Challenge. These quilts will be traveling for one year and seen by thousands at AQS QuiltWeek events across the country. We loved the way in which Elizabeth Dackson's colorful string-pieced blocks stand out on the neutral gray background (made with Essex Yarn Dyed Linen Blend in black by Robert Kaufman).

Close up, The Road to Love by Elizabeth Dackson 

To construct the heart, Elizabeth used Madrona Road fabric by Violet Craft. The background is comprised of large strips of sashing, which Elizabeth added first at the sides, then at the top and bottom. This very fun work was free-motion quilted by Elizabeth herself. You can read about the design of The Road to Love at Elizabeth Dackson's blog, Don't Call Me Betsy.

Hartjes en Bloemen by Trees Bol-Dingjan, Houten, The Netherlands

Winner of a Judge's Choice Award, along with a Second Place Award in the Novice category of the Open European Quilting Championships, Trees says, "I love this quilt, 'Hearts and Flowers', especially because of the colours and motifs. During my quilt course, when we started to learn applique, I immediately decided, this is the one !" This colorful, adorable work is all hand-pieced and hand-quilted.

Close up, Hartjes en Bloemen by Trees Bol-Dingjan

This Hearts and Flowers quilt pattern is by Kim McLean of Australia.  It was published in Kaffe Fassett's book Quilt Romance: 20 Designs from Rowan for Patchwork and Quilting.

Healing Hearts, 66 x 68", by Pamela McIntyre, Gainesville, Florida, 2014 AQS-Phoenix

This quilt won Honorable Mention in the Wall Quilts-Computer Aided category at the2014 AQS (Phoenix). The embroidered applique designs are by Sarah Vedeler. The designs remind us of Norwegian rosemaling. 

Close up, Healing Hearts by Pamela McIntyre

We enjoyed Pamela McIntyre's cool color scheme and precision quilting, along with the many decorative stitches. Pamela's beautiful work is certainly proof that a hearts- and- flowers motif does not need to be done in pink or red to make a quilt worth celebrating on Valentine's Day!


Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.