OMG: Hearts Galore!

My heart quilt is complete! I even washed it to get that great crinkle look before I send it off. My January goal for One Monthly Goal over at Elm Street Quilts was to assemble, quilt and bind this baby quilt. 

I made the hearts using a tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew and a charm pack from Amy Gibson's Meriwether collection from Windham Fabrics. After I finished the hearts, my goal was to make the quilt bigger. So I added sashing strips with pink sashing squares and then four different borders. The green was a happy accident--I just happened to have it and it matched the green in the prints! The quilt measures about 33" square. 

I browsed online for some quilting inspiration and went with a diagonal crosshatch.I like how it looks (and it disguises the slightly-less-than-straight border issues I had). I finished the quilt with a pink flange to add a little extra color. 

The other happy accident with this quilt is the backing. I headed to my local quilt shop, hoping to find something flowery and fun that would coordinate. I'd gotten the charm pack back in May and hadn't grabbed any Meriwether yardage at the time. Imagine my delight when the quilt shop had this small green print! 

I love quilted texture shots...

A closer look at a few of the heart blocks. When I initially cut the charm squares in half, I cut quickly and blindly and somehow managed to cut each directional print in half the "wrong" way. Oh well...

One last confession: Besides liking the crinkly effect, I had to wash the quilt because I cut my finger with a thread scissors as I was adding the binding. I stubbornly chose not to get a bandaid before continuing, and yep! I bled on the white solid outer border in two different places. Dumb. 
But happily it came out...

Sending this quilt off to a sweet little baby in Ohio!