Hearts for the Heart Foundation.

This is the front of the postcard advertising 'Heartfelt', an exhibition to be held at the Grant Bradley Gallery in Bedminster, Bristol, running from 2nd - 30th September this year. It must have taken ages to arrange all those pins to get such a lovely heart shape in the centre.

The hearts will be sold in aid of the British Heart Foundation and to mark it's 50th birthday. A similar exhibition was held last year and was a great success.

Inspiration was low until I found a hoard of experimental pieces, too good to throw away but I didn't know what to do with them. The one above is made from knitting with a variegated sheer fabric stitched on top and then distressed with a heat gun. It was once the centre of a cushion which I thought would sell! The beads at the bottom are homemade.

Another discarded experiment with some colourful stitchery to brighten it up a bit. It is a reminder that I must make hanging loops for all the other hearts.

This one is made from Evolon. I had never used it before and had only got as far as colouring the piece with transfer dyes (the ones you have to paint onto paper and then iron onto your fabric). You might remember the little daisy motif - it is an embellishing experiment - from an earlier post. I stitched both halves of the heart wrong sides together. I find it so difficult to do the other way round, having to turn them through and trying to get a nice smooth shape. I then made little impressions with the soldering iron all the way round. More homemade beads at the bottom.

The last one in the making. It will be a little string of five hearts and I must hurry up and get it done as I've promised to post them all tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest.

I've made two of the five - you'll have to imagine the others. I have applied a little printed felt heart in each centre and edged each purple velvet heart with that lovely variegated felt ribbon. The purple velvet was once the surround to the knitted piece in the first heart - waste not, want not! Again, homemade beads will link each heart and maybe two or three will hang from the bottom one.

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We are asked to attach a label to each heart with a heart/warming/breaking/touching story. I find this the hardest part but the string of five velvet hearts will relate to my children who are greatly loved and so supportive. I am a very lucky woman.