"Sweetheart" - Free Pattern

Valentine's Day is just around the corner.  Frankly I'm still feeling a bit holiday-ed out -- Groundhog Day really does me in -- and I'm ashamed to admit that we just barely put away the last of our Christmas decorations on Saturday.  That's right, February 1st.  Definitely a record for us.  I like to think that it's due to extreme busyness rather than laziness.

But the show must go on, and while I'm not planning on going all out on my Valentine's Day decorating this year, I always like to dress my table for the holidays.  This year I'll be using my Sweetheart table runner -- it's a Web Extra for Quilters Newsletter's February/March 2014 issue.  You can find the free pattern on the QN website.

This scrappy quilt is fun and easy to make.  I love red and pink together, but Sweetheart would also be great in red and purple or purple and pink.  Here's a close-up to show you Joyce Lundrigan's quilting -- as usual she did a great job!

And if you have a copy of QN's February/March issue, check out page 79 for the pattern for my Meadow Flower wall hanging.

Crocuses were my inspiration for the plum, gold, and green color palette of this scrappy quilt.  I used simple Irish chain blocks and a log cabin border to set off the flower blocks.

Joyce Lundrigan also quilted Meadow Flower, and her use of diagonal lines really accentuates the "lattice" feel of the Irish chain blocks.  This quilt is a bit more challenging than Sweetheart, but definitely worth the effort.  

Happy quilting and Happy Valentine's Day!