February is the month to celebrate love, and we will see hearts everywhere! That includes the Little Bit Different block of the month, which is I am calling Love All Around.

Rectangular Hearts

There are several ways to make this month’s block, so choose your favorite method – Applique, Paper Piecing, or even Embroidery!

You can download the block instructions here. They will be free during the 2023 BOM.

Try Applique

I kept my applique block very simple. Cut the heart shape from a 5″x8″ piece of red or pink fabric. Keeping it smaller than the background will leave plenty of room for trimming the final block. I like to cut my applique background squares bigger also, because the fabric might draw in a bit as you stitch.

Since I don’t do much applique, and I am a lazy quilter, I skipped the interfacing for this block. My alternative was to use fabric glue to hold the heart in place while I stitched to create a raw-edged applique design.

Piecing the Heart

When I made the test blocks, I realized I did not care for the pointy tops on the heart. I plan to modify the blocks I’ve already made so that the red heart pictured above matches the scrappy version. The pattern currently available will give you a flat-topped heart.

Since I love working with half-rectangle triangles, I included that method in the instructions too. So if you are not a fan of paper piecing, don’t worry! You can still make a heart that finishes at 6″ x 9″ with traditional piecing.

I am anxious for your feedback so please let me know what you think after sewing the Love All Around block!

Love All Around Quilt

Rather than save these monthly blocks for a sampler quilt, I am making twelve quilts this year. Gotta be a Little Bit Different! You can purchase the digital patterns at a discount during the BOM and sew along with me. Each pattern features a Crib, Twin and Queen size variation with the monthly block.

Shop the Love All Around pattern.

Grab January’s Triangles Galore and others from the Little Bit Different collection.