heart gnome Archives - Made By Marney

If you are new to paper piecing, I would love to share some tips for a beginner, or as a refresher. This past year I did a series of patterns and helpful videos for the American Quilter magazine. I can’t offer the pattern to you at this time because of publication rules, but I would love to share this short video on paper piecing tips. The video was linked to the January/February issue. Every issue in 2025 has a link to a video with my paper piecing tips.

PRESS HERE TO WATCH VIDEO

This video explains the “butterfly effect”. Understanding this helps so much when placing your pattern on the fabric. Have you ever sewn your piece, then after flipping it behind the pattern, find that your piece is not fully covered with fabric? You maybe should have placed the fabric a bit higher or lower? If you use the butterfly effect, this will never happen again. There are different approaches to paper piecing. Every little tip can help as you discover the methods that work best for you.

These adorable honeybees were the January/February 2025 block featured in American Quilter. See how the tail from the bee outlines a heart? This could work for a Valentine.

If you are looking for an idea for a hand made gift for Valentines , or just because… this pattern was published by McCalls, but is now available for sale on my Etsy shop. The FOXY VALENTINE would be super cute on a pillow or potholder.

If you have a valentine who loves animals, RACCOON ROMANCE is just the ticket. This was also published in McCalls, but now can be offered to my customers on Etsy.

This is one of my favorite gnome patterns…HEARTY GNOME. I used it for a pillow and gave it to myself 🙂

But this is my customers favorite valentine gnome…GNOME WITH HEART. Can you think of a clever way to make this into a Valentine’s gift? Please share with me at maryannhertel@gmail.com

Welcome to our Scrap Busting Blog Hop, where we embrace every scrap in our sewing rooms. We are proving that there is no unusable scrap! I find that especially true in paper piecing, where I use my scraps every day. It is important to have a wide variety of colors to choose from when paper piecing, so as to find just that right print and color when piecing together an image.

Thanks to Melissa for hosting this blog hop and giving the designers a chance to share something new.

Since Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, I have created a new HEARTY GNOME block. It is cute as can be, and is free to anyone who subscribes to my blog.

This block is great for intermediate paper piecers, but could be tackled by a confident beginner, too. This sweet gnome looks great in all kinds of projects. I added him to a 12″ pillow.

I have more Valentine Gnome patterns that would pair nicely with the HEARTY GNOME.

GNOME WITH HEART would make a great companion pillow, or make a pair of potholders, or even a small table runner. This paper pieced block pattern is available on Etsy.

GNOME LOVE is not only lovely for your Valentine, but would also make a great gift for a wedding or anniversary. Notice how the space between their hats forms a heart? This pattern is also available on Etsy.

If you are new to paper piecing, visit the Video/Tutorial Page on this blog for step by step directions to paper piece using my patterns.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please visit the SCRAP BUSTING BLOG HOP every Monday in January and February to see new Scrap Busting posts.

You can also visit these SCRAP BUSTING BLOG participants:

Quilting Room With Mel

Katie Mae Quilts