OK, it needs a label and a hanging sleeve, but the FRONT is done.  I finished last night. 

As a refresher and to bring first-time readers up to speed:  I’m sending a quilt to the Have a Heart project.  It is sponsored by Unlimited Possibilities, a magazine for stand-up machine quilters.  Submitted quilts will be judged and 3 prizes awarded (best theme, best machine quilting, judge’s choice).  The quilts will be on display at several shows throughout the year, and then next fall, the quilts will be auctioned off, with the proceeds going to the American Heart Association.  They are also accepting quilts for the auction itself, but quilts for the contest are due in Colorado next week.  Entries had to meet a size requirement, be at least 1/4 red fabric, and have a heart on them (at least 3 inches, any method (i.e. applique, pieced, thread).

My first attempt is something I’ve blogged about before.  You can see it here.  I like it so much I’m keeping it.

This is my second attempt, and is the quilt that I’ll be sending.  I like it, too, but I’m not as attached.  I told myself I wasn’t allowed to get attached to this one.  It mostly worked.

Same general idea as the first, but this is more about the machine quilting.

All 4 pictures are clickable, so you can view them full size. 

I couched yarn around the inside of the binding, around each letter and on the heart.  The words on the heart are metal charms.  I stitched feathers around each red letter and around the heart.  I chalked some guidelines for the background feathers and just had fun filling them in. 

This next one is a little blurry, but it shows the glisten of the Swarovski crystals that I "sprinkled" on the quilt top.  It’s probably best viewed full-size.

Here’s another closeup that shows the color and the yarn a little better.

The idea for this quilt (and the first) was a list of phrases with the word heart in them.  I jotted a bunch down one day, and this one seemed to grab me.  I like the multiple meanings of both phrases that you can read depending on how close you are. 

My quilt is dedicated to my Grandma Lenore Smeigh.  She had a heart attack and passed away in 1985.  She is very much missed.