Quilt U Be Mine Show n' Tell

 When Michele from Quilts from My Crayon Box announced her Quilt U Be Mine Swap,  I knew that I would want in on this action.  I had so much fun with the Halloween See Saw Swap that I knew I would love a Valentine project to treasure and proudly display each year.   I surf the net a lot and love pinterest, so when I saw these free patterns from Sonja at Artisania , I knew they would be perfect for this project.  Dang, Sonja is wickedly talented and I love Gnomes so I decided to use her free patterns for the gnome and his gnome home and since it was Valentine themed I figured my gnome needed a love interest so I gave him a lady love and had them hold hands. Wah--la...Gnome-O and Juliet...they were to be dubbed.  Here is what I created with her free patterns to be my center block.

I sent them off into the world, literally, to England and back.  They arrived back here surrounded by a huge heart and I think they are very happy with their new surroundings!!!  Check out what my group built for the gnomes.  I think it turned out very nicely.  Here is a close up of the center of the quilt after the first couple of rounds. Love what they did here echoing the colors I started with!!!

 

Then Diane cut loose and had some fun with my block and it shows!!! My hats off to you for creating a giant gnome heart to frame Gnome-O and Juliet. 
Check out what she did ........

It all looks so good together. I haven't finished it yet as I am still pondering what to do next.  I put a border around it and thought I would just finish them off and call it done...but it is calling out for something.  I seriously think I am going to embroider something all the way around the large heart but what.  I was thinking of I Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

I don't know that might be a little heavy for the gnomes and very wordy for me.  I will have to search for just the right quote to surround my gnomes. Any suggestions???

It was a huge pleasure working on these ladies blocks in my group.  Diane sent a card back after working on mine that said that the day my block arrived in the UK was a very cold and frosty day but from the moment she saw my block and the whole time she was working on it, it put a smile on her face and she was happy to be working on such a fun project.  That was what I tried to put into each of these ladies blocks.  I had so much fun creating something unique for each person in my group.

First up was Julianne's block.  I wasn't sure how to get started. The rules were different with this swap, each time we were to add two seperate borders (as if two different people made them) each totaling 8 inches or less when the sides were added together, huh???

Ok, well Julianne seemed to love cats, with just a quick visit to her blog I set a plan in motion.  First up,  I would paper piece four cats onto her block.  Next, since I was making this a tribute to her blog I added the name of her blog in heart blocks, After all this was a loved themed project and who doesn't love their blog. Check out what I did to get her block rolling.  I can't wait to see how it turned out.  If you are as curious as me check out her blog at Quilting With Calicos.
If you are wondering where I found the alphabet heart pattern it was created by Kathleen Potvin 2003 and can be downloaded for free for your personal use from Paper Panache here  

 

Once that was sent off and on it's way, I had the pleasure of working on Rachelle's block.  I expected it to arrive with a clear idea of what it needed next but it too was a blank canvas...alright let the fun begin.  Rachelle shared she was a newlywed and wanted us to write love advice in the center block.  She called her block 'Contrary Wife'.  Well even though she hadn't meant 'Mary, Mary Quite Contrary how does your garden grow' that is were my creative juices lead me.  Diane only added one border to the block before it got to me and so Michele said I could add three if I would like...Yippee!!!  I am so glad I got to do that.  I hope Rachelle shares my enthusiasm.  With three borders you can really influence what a project will become and I certainly went with it. Fun, fun fun!!!  

My advice was to nuture your love with acts of kindness and treat each other with respect.  I thought a garden that needs nuturing in order to bloom and grow and thrive.  Thus I added 'Love Blooms' as my first border.  Although we were told to use pink and red as the main colors I thought that the garden needed a few extra lovely colors.  Since I added the Mary Engelbreit fabric snippet between the words,  I added those colors into the row of heart blocks.  I hope Rachelle agrees that the color helped.  I finished my addition with a tall flower bloom with love as it's center and hope that Rachelle and her husband keep love at the center of their marriage and nuture it, while sharing a very happy and loving life together!!! To see how the group finished it off, you can check it out on Rachelle's blog at geeky notebooks.  By the way if you love these letters in the Love Blooms you can find the patterns for free at The quilter community

Last but not least, I finished up the quilt you be mine challenge with Diane's block.  Diane's block by the time it got to me was stunning!!!  I love how the group worked together on her block.  It followed the rules to a tee.  It stayed in the red, pink and white theme entirely and took my breathe away.  I had to add some pink and red hearts to it right away.  The pink hearts are another free paper piece pattern that you can find here from Apple Avenue Quilts.

Next, I decided to add a ribbon border to the outside and this I hate to say involved some very naughty words and I had to pull out my seam ripper more than I would have liked to...I will not be adding this math intensive border again any time soon.  I had to rework the top right corner and although not totally thrilled with the end result, I will have to say it does really set it off.  I can't wait to see what Diane has been doing to it this last month, she gave a sneak peek the other day and can't wait to see what she has been up to.  You can check it out on her blog at The Cheshire Quilter

I had a great time working on each of these blocks and it was a great learning experience letting my creative juices flow each month as to what to add next to your blocks.  Thanks for letting me work on your projects and a special thanks for all you did to give the gnomes a great place to live.  I know they will be very happy and yes this project puts a smile on heart when I look at it and I will treasure it forever. 

Many, many thanks to each of you!!!