Applique Masterpiece: Affairs of the Heart

'Affairs of the Heart' is a quilt with 36 appliquéd blocks on a black background, each integrating a heart motif in some manner. The blocks are intricate in appearance, yet easy enough to be tackled by novices with basic appliqué skills. Even the experts will find themselves engaged in the delicacy of the exquisite design elements and the vividness of the florals, influenced by the author's Burmese background. Aie (pronounced a) adds scrolls and scallops to her borders. The blocks are a manageable size, so each one can be completed within a single sitting. While the author made the quilt by hand with the needle-turn method, the designs lend themselves to other appliqué methods and could easily be done by machine. Using a variety of fabrics and thread colors gives depth to the design and adds to the vibrancy of the quilt. The author used printed border fabric but includes directions for achieving the same effect with appliqué.