May 27, 20225 min read

Nothing but Love Quilt Along - BONUS Cross My Heart

Updated: Jul 14, 2022

Hi quilting buddies! I decided to spread out the making of the border blocks so that you weren't overwhelmed trying to make 16 of them in one week. So now you will be able to make these units at your leisure and have them ready to put together into the actual border block during the last week of August.

The border of the Nothing but Love Quilt is a beautiful, pieced border made up of two units plus four corner patches. I designed it to look like stitching...the ties that bind, so to speak.

Since the schedule for the quilt along provides for some "in between" time, I thought why wait and make it all at the end? Let's keep the pace happy and stress-free. At the time of this posting there are 13 weeks until this block is due to be finished, so today I am giving you the pattern for half of the border block. Each border block has a "cross" or "kiss" patch and a "stitch" patch, plus some filler strips which will be detailed later.

The Block Pattern...

Originally in my red and cream quilt, I wanted to use as much of those fabrics as possible, so I made my border scrappy with 8 red prints and 8 cream and red prints.

For the Adel in Spring version I wanted a frame of sorts, so I chose a different color all together as the "main" border fabric. And then I am using the same background fabric from the quilt as the "accent" fabric It is visually a much simpler version and soothing to your eyes so they can focus on all the colors within the quilt. Just a few things to consider just in case you haven't already bought/decided on your border fabrics. And just in case you need this info:

Main border fabric = 1.25 yards & Accent border fabric = .75 yards

This unit is VERY repetitive and uses the stitch and flip method to put it together. You will have your PhD in this method by the end of this quilt!

**There are some differences to note on this pattern - This is only for one part of the actual border block, and since it is an incomplete block I am giving you the unfinished patch size for your little Cross unit.

To make these units for your quilt, click on the pattern link below, download, and print it (if desired):

If you have any questions or issues with downloading (or anything else) please ask here in the comments section or on the contact page.

Making the Cross My Heart Block - Tips and Tutorial

As you may have noticed, there are ALOT of pieces to make this patch. Luckily the process to make them into a cohesive unit is exactly the same, so chain-piecing is VERY helpful here.

We are making 16 Cross My Heart units, each unit uses 4 A squares and 8 B squares. So that is a total of 64 A squares and 128 B squares. If you are using the same fabric for all border blocks that means you need five 3" strips of your main border fabric (color) and seven 2" strips of your accent border fabric (background/print). Then sub-cut the strips into the squares needed.

Step 1 - Lay them out. I am emphasizing this again just in case you want to use a directional pattern (like these birds) so that you can mark your diagonal lines accordingly because maybe you want all of the birds to be upright.

Step 2 - Mark your diagonal lines with a marking utensil or pressed in with the iron.

(Here is another fun directional stripe that takes a little extra attention.)

Step 3 - Stitch the new corners (B squares) on to the A squares using chain piecing to your heart's content. **Chain piecing is sewing one block and then the next block without cutting your threads and without much space between blocks. It helps keep your fabrics from getting sucked into your feed dogs and conserves thread and time.

Then you will have THIS situation:

Step 4 - Then turn all your little pieces into four patch blocks by sewing "twosies" - two units together facing opposite directions. And then sew the "twosies" together into "foursies" that look like an X.

Finally take a break and cover yourself in kisses! LOL

Since you don't have to make all of these at once, I thought I would give a little endorsement to my favorite storage method - the sealable sandwich bag!

You can keep your pre-cut pieces in here and also your finished blocks so you won't lose anything AND you can track your progress as the pieces morph into blocks. Don't forget to label the bag, so you know what's in there!

Be a share bear...I know you're out there

I'd totally LOVE to see your blocks, hear your questions, and cheer you on so please share your progress here on the blog, on Instagram, or Facebook. Just put it in the comments or tag me with @polkadotpeepquiltsetc on your post and/or use the hashtags #nothingbutloveQAL and/or #crossmyheartblock on your posts as well.

If you want to be notified of each new post, then hit the log in button at the top right of the page and sign up. I also have an evolving community space on the Wix Spaces app that you can sign up for as well.

Here is the quilt along schedule (with links for you to catch up anytime):

Nothing but Love Schedule

December 20, 2021 - Quilt Along Intro & Details

Ring in the New Year with Nothing but Love (polkadotpeep.com)

January 10, 2022 – Get Ready: Prep the Fabrics & Batting

Let's Get Prepped for Nothing but Love (polkadotpeep.com)

January 17 – Affection

Nothing but Love Quilt Along - Affection (polkadotpeep.com)

January 31 – Refuge

Nothing but Love Quilt Along - Refuge (polkadotpeep.com)

February 14 – Joyful

Nothing but Love Quilt Along - Joyful (polkadotpeep.com)