Not Technically a Heart Quilt (But Also, Definitely a Heart Quilt)

I didn’t set out to make a heart quilt because I was feeling sentimental. I made it because I needed one. Heart quilts are a February staple, and I wanted something in my portfolio that hit that mark, clean, modern, and unmistakably on-theme… just not in a saccharine way.

The pinks came from my resource center, bright, candy-colored scraps that were too big to throw out, too small for anything major, and too cheerful to keep ignoring. Perfect for a few blocks in a quilt that needed to say “Valentine’s” without screaming it.

As for the hearts? They’re not technically hearts. Just simple shapes, a little rotation, and some carefully placed negative space. That’s the trick of pareidolia—your brain fills in what isn’t really there. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

What surprised me most was how much the layout and block construction changed once I started sewing. I had a clear idea in my head, but the first test block showed me where the problems were: bulky seams, awkward joins, and too many pieces that didn’t quite line up the way I wanted. So I reworked it. Having learned the hard way before, I do make my test blocks now, before cutting a full quilt’s worth of fabric.

I leaned all the way in on the theme when it came time to quilt, looping hearts in both the blocks and the background. But what really holds this design together for me is the negative space. It makes the hearts feel lighter, and it gives the whole top a bit of breathing room.

And honestly? My favorite part might be how ridiculously adorable Gracie is as she poses on it.