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Saturday 18 September 2021

I Left My Heart In...?

Give a Heart by eSheep Designs
Are you the person who found this heart?
Have you ever thought about putting a note in a bottle and sending it off to sea?

Back in the day when the world seemed huge, it was a romantic idea that percolated in my mind every now and then. Not that I ever thought about meeting a soul mate that way, but the whole "message in a bottle" idea seemed like such a primitive way to span time and distance. It's like time travel without technology, in a sense.

A couple of months ago, I came across an intriguing project where people make and leave small quilted hearts for others to find, totally anonymously. (It's actually called "I found a quilted heart"; take out the spaces, add a .com to the end and you'll find the corresponding website.)

After I made the heart for Mom's window, I had a bunch of small scrappy remnants left over. I pieced some of them together, made myself a template and cut out two small hearts. I was fully intending on taking part in the project.




But then I read the FAQs and the rules and felt conflicted.

Give a Heart by eSheep Designs
Two scrappy pieced hearts...

The idea behind "I found a quilted heart" is to enable the finder to register a found heart and provide his/her story, but there is no way to make a direct connection with the person who made/left the heart. 

I suppose it's the goal of the project for people to make a selfless, anonymous gift that is all about the recipient. Kudos for that thought. (Also, let's not overlook the goal of the people behind IFAQH, which is ultimately to create web traffic for themselves, not others; totally understandable.)

Give a Heart by eSheep Designs
I didn't plan this,
but this scrap of Tim Holtz Dictionary fabric has an apt word on it...

But all that aside, when I put myself in the position of being the "someone" who finds such a heart, I thought to myself, I would want to know how that heart came to be... why that specific person decided to make it and leave it... who the person is. 

Even though there is a universal "why" behind IFAQH, I imagine that everyone who participates likely does so for a very personal reason. 

Give a Heart by eSheep Designs
Is this heart my opportunity to leave a precious memento...?

In my mind, the finding of a heart doesn't necessarily involve a deep meaningful story... I was walking the dog and there it was, hanging in a tree. But for someone to take the time to hand make something and then give it away without any expectations... isn't that (always) a story?

Since the parameters of IFAQH do not allow for the maker to be identified, I ultimately decided to do my own thing with this idea... and by all means, feel free to steal mine. ;-)


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In the same spirit as IFAQH, however, I didn't want to be unnecessarily wordy with the message. This heart will be left with the following label attached to it.

Give a Heart by eSheep Designs
The URL of this blog post is on the reverse side...

This way, the person who picks up this heart can go online and find out the story behind it. If that's all s/he wants to do, that will be the end of it.

Give a Heart by eSheep Designs
Reverse side...

However, if the person wants to let me know that the heart was found and add some context, that avenue is open. (A comment can be left at the bottom of this post anonymously, or you can keep the communication private by emailing me via the Contact widget on the sidebar.)

Give a Heart by eSheep Designs
I put a heart shaped brad right over the spot where my free motion quilting went wonky...

I decided to make and give away this heart anonymously for several reasons. First, it's an inexpensive way to bring joy to someone. Whether the finder is feeling good, bad or meh, it's always a win-win to be able to brighten someone's day.

eSheep Designs' Handmade With Love (Gray) fabric
My "Handmade with Love" fabric... which totally describes this project!

Second, the symbol of a heart brings to mind caring and kindness, which we can all use a bit more of in these challenging times. While it didn't take me days to make this, it wasn't just minutes. I didn't rush it and instead focused on the thought that the person who finds this is worth the time and effort that I was putting towards the craft.

In a very real sense, it was handmade with love, because this heart is stitched from fabric scraps I had left over from a heart I made for my mother.

Give a Heart by eSheep Designs
My first bits of "non practice" free motion quilting were done on this heart...

Third, I had been practicing my free motion quilting for a couple of days before I made this. I intended it to be part of my sewing journey to do some actual free motion quilting on this heart — in essence, to make it my first project using the skill — and give away the finished item. (It was also the first time that I used a narrow binding on something, which was somewhat tricky!)

So in the spirit of sharing what I've learned, this time I'm giving away the tangible milestone itself. Not something I usually do.


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Of course, the person who finds this heart won't know any of this upon finding it, and may never know. There is no guarantee that whoever finds it will bother to read this post. I have zero control over that.

Give a Heart by eSheep Designs
I used a narrow 1" double folded bias tape to bind this... tricky to handle!

Somehow that's fine. While I want my door to be open to the person finding this heart, the decision as to whether or not to walk through is totally up to that person.

Give a Heart by eSheep Designs
Where will I leave this?

I just want that "someone" to know that I truly enjoyed making the heart and that it's something that I'll always remember as a unique experience.

UPDATE March 29, 2022: By the way, the above thoughts still apply if the heart that you found looks like this...

Give a Heart by eSheep Designs

My second attempt at giving away a heart...

'Til next...


2 comments:

  1. Rochelle, your heart is precious in so many ways! I haven't found a quilted heart *yet*, but I know when/if I do, I'll wonder about its maker and wish I could make a connection. I do understand the theory behind IFAQH in making and placing the hearts anonymously. To me, it's part of the beauty of being a random act of kindness and expecting nothing in return. I do hope you make that connection with whomever finds your sweet red heart. I also hope you make and place many more!

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  2. I went to the IFAQH website and read the brief info about it on their home page, but how would one know to go there at all upon finding a quilted heart? If you make hearts to scatter about town, are you supposed to include their website? I agree with all you said about this project; it is a nice gesture and all, but who would even know where to share their story? And how many homeless people would find a heart and not even have access to a computer in order to tell their story if they knew where to tell it? I think it might be better to make hearts and take them to a children's hospital to leave at their bedsides or someplace else where a kind gesture of a heart would be much appreciated, such as a home for the elderly, a cancer ward, a prison, etc. They may only be warmed by the sweet gesture of a stranger making them a heart.

    ReplyDelete

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