Paper Pieced Heart Blocks

This year my quilt guild is having 2 kinds of box exchanges.  A box exchange is when you find a block pattern, add any extra instructions to it (like color choice, placement of color, etc), possibly add one or two pieces of fabric from your stash, and then put it in a numbered box.  The box gets passed to a different person each month, and they make one or two blocks for your box according to your directions. In turn, you work on a different person's box every month.  Then in April or May we pin the blocks on fabric and display them at the quilt guild meeting.  It is also the first time that you get to see your blocks since October.  It is a lot of fun.  No one knows whose box is whose.  And after a few months, you have several finished blocks that contain fabric from other people's stashes.  The thing that is different about this year's box exchange is that one is a pieced block (like last year) and one is a paper pieced block.  I signed up to do both.

This week I picked out this heart paper pieced block, and I made four blocks for my box.  Now I just need to add what colors I want the people to use when making it, put everything in a bag, and bring the bag to the next meeting.

These are the blocks from last year's box exchange.  I made the two center log cabin blocks.  The theme is Valentine's Day, thus the heart shape.  I want to continue this theme with the next two box exchanges so that I can add those blocks to this quilt.  That is why I picked a heart design for the paper pieced block.  I also found a nice heart block for the regular pieced block box exchange.  I'm not to concerned with the size of the blocks being the same as the log cabin one or the same as each other.  I am letting this quilt form more organically.   I can always add borders around blocks to make them work with one another.

Here is a link to a good video tutorial on how to sew a paper pieced block.  It is a great way to use up your scrap fabric.

All the fabric for these blocks are from my stash.  The purple fabric I bought in high school (over a decade ago).  I really love making holiday themed quilts.  What I like to do is buy the holiday fabric when it is on sale after the holiday.  A lot of fabric stores will have the holiday fabric 15% to 40% off before the holiday, but after the holiday you can get it 40% to 90% off.  Just a little tip.  Now to make the other heart block.