Day 329 – Hearts & Spirals

We might be heading into the holiday season (yep, it’s that time of the year again), but right after Christmas comes Valentine’s Day and this will be the perfect design to stitch in a heart day inspired quilt:

Way back when I first started this project so many people would tell me either a) I was crazy or b) it was impossible. There couldn’t possibly be 365 different filler designs for quilting?!

But if you stop to think about all the different symbols and shapes we have at our disposal, and the infinite way these symbols and shapes can be combined to create designs, then you really have an unlimited potential for new designs.

In this situation, spirals and hearts come together in a simple independent design that will fill your quilts easily and quickly in free motion. Let’s learn how to quilt it so you can see what I mean:

Difficulty Level – Intermediate. The spirals themselves are not difficult once you get the hang of them. Just focus on forming the shape, then travel stitching to get back out and start the next heart.

Filler Design Type – Independent. This design is formed with a leading line, much like stippling, so it will work in any area of your quilt, but especially well in the very tight, complex areas, such as around trapunto motifs.

Here’s an example of a very similar design, Cucumber Vine, stitched around a Snowflake Motif:

Directional Texture – No Direction. Even though the spirals swirl around in all directions, this design doesn’t have any obvious directional movement. It’s an excellent texture for big scale quilting where the hearts and spirals can really stand out and show off.

Suggestions for Use – Do you have a quilt you’re needing to finish by Christmas this year? Consider quilting this design over the surface, but make sure to stitch the hearts around 4 inches wide, and make the spiral really big too. If you leave enough space between all the lines of quilting, your quilt will not only be finished quickly, it will also be super soft and cuddly as well.

Day 80 – Cucumber Vine