Be Still My Heart...

Hearts- apparently a theme for me. I began this heart needlework piece years ago and it just sat, unfinished, in my sewing room. I'd come across it, think I needed to do something with it, and set it aside again. Well at last the heart has come into its own. I finished it in time for Valentine's Day! All those lace, silk ribbon, button trims- finally see the light of day.

I turned the heart into a stuffed hanging door accent by stitching on some silk ribbon-yarn ties. Now I can look at it an enjoy it on a daily basis.

Hearts are a tricky shape when it comes to stuffing them and keeping a smooth edge. My method to overcome the challenge is to completely stitch around the heart shape with the backing, right sides together and leaving no opening for turning. Then I slice the backing and turn the heart right side out through it. And I add the poly-fill stuffing through the slit. That allows me to push the stuffing up against the seamlines all the way around, while trying to smooth the edges as best I can. Once that's done, I hand stitch the opening closed in the back and add another heart shape to cover it. I used double-stick fusible to the second heart shape and stitched on beads to edge it. Now the back looks presentable again.

Here's another hand- and machine-stitched heart ornament made some years ago. It was shown in Piecework Magazine in response to a call for readers to submit entries.

I used the same method to cover the opening in the backing.

And the third heart is one I showed recently on the blog, but it seemed to be a good time to add it to the mix. I do love the Crazy Quilt style. More than two of anything is a "collection" I'm told. So here is my heart collection!