Quilted Heart Tote Bag

I definitely made a lot of hearts! I decided to make a heart themed tote bag for a friend during pride month. He loved it and has been using the tote bag to carry around gadgets. 

Having ready-made hearts makes it easy to create other projects. For this tote bag project, I just added fabric to the top and bottom. Ironed it on interfacing and sandwiched it with batting. After stitching in the ditch, I added the straps and the lining. Easy peasy :)

Here's how I made it:

Materials:

11 fabric colors (I love making rainbows!)

black fabric

thread

iron

Size:

15.5" x 12"

Make Multiple Heart Quilts

I love making heart themed quilts. I had an idea to make a smaller one to make several projects, so I thought I'd make multiple hearts to save me time from cutting fabric. I was inspired to make this from Pinterest. I saw it a couple of years ago and worked on figuring out the measurements. That's one thing I enjoy about quilting... the math! And that's why I usually work things out on a math notebook so I know how best to cut fabric. 

Here's how I make multiple heart quilts:

Materials:

11 fabric colors (I love making rainbows!)

black fabric

thread

iron

Measurements:

Make a Heart Strips Quilted Mat Bag

I made a quilted bag for my cutting mat and wool ironing pad. I thought it would be cute to try out the heart strips quilt. I worked out the measurements based on the size of the cutting mat. Here's how it turned out -

For the back part I used a butterfly fabric and added a pocket. I'll use it for smaller rulers. I also added a pocket inside for the tiny cutting mat I got from Daiso. I'm still deciding whether I'll put a handle and buttons.

Here's a short video on how I made the mat -

If you're interested to try the heart strips quilt, here's the base template.

Materials:

Rainbow colored fabric

Black fabric

Fabric for other side

Fabric for pockets (optional)

Backing fabric

Thread

Quilt Project: Pillowcases for Dr. Koo

My quilt projects are usually made for a purpose. Last Christmas I thought I'd quilt for my family and friends. I underestimated the time I needed to make it so I'm still working on some until now (haha). I found some fabric that I thought would be perfect for my cardiologist. I bought it at Quilting Bee in Mountain View, California.

I went for a very simple pattern so that the lines and hearts on the fabric would be better appreciated. I matched it with black fabric and red fabric with thin squiggly lines. I bought the red fabric from Fabric Outlet in San Francisco. 

Piecing together the pillowcase was quite easy and I finished two sets of three in less than two weeks. The other set is for my surgeon Dr. Shankar. Dr. Koo was really happy about my gift he immediately pulled out a pillow from his examination table and put it inside the pillowcase. He wanted me to sign the pillowcases haha. I have a photo with him looking very happy, but he asked not to post it online. I'm really happy that I made him happy with my simple gift.

Update: My cardio has just sent me an email. He really had the pillowcase framed! And it's now hanging in his office "hall of fame".

Project Name: Hand Quilted Dr. Koo's Pillowcase

Fabric Used: ECG hearts fabric, red fabric with squiggly lines, black fabric

Size: 14" x 14"