Here it is, a tutorial for Friendship Hearts. The beauty of this block is that it is made in matching pairs, one to keep and one to give away.

This block came about as I was given the challenge of making a quilt block including a heart. I set to make it as simple as possible and came up with this. I first made this block for Abi in march last year and promised a tutorial to follow. The gift cards in the stores are prompting me to do something now, rather than later.

You will need:
At least 2 fabrics with a light/dark contrast
2 rectangles - 6 1/2" x 7"
2 rectangles - 5 3/4" x 2 1/2" (with pinked edges)
2 rectangles - 5" x 1 3/4" (with pinked edges)

Step 1 - Round off Ends
Use a compass or random household objects (I used some glasses) to trace out a circle on the to the ends of the smaller rectangles on the wrong side. Cut around the line.
Note: if you are using a pinking blade on a rotary cutter, use a series of smaller straight lines to make the curve, one long curve can really chew up a cutting mat.

Step 2 - Place the Shapes
Place the rectangles, long side down and finger crease as shown - one central vertical line to both and a diagonal from upper left to lower right to one and lower left to upper right to the other. Finger crease the large rectangle into 4 quarters. Line up the long crease of the medium rectangle with diagonal line in the large rectangle, and using the other creases, align the centres as shown below. Make sure that the central shapes are going in opposite directions, think of each block being one half of the heart.


Step 3 - Machine Applique Layers Together
Pin the medium rectangle and straight stitch in place and press. Starting and stopping at the vertical crease. Place the smallest rectangle and straight stitch into place also. Repeat with the second block also.

Step 4 - Slash and Join
Cut each block on the central seam. Match up opposite sides of your heart and join with a central 1/4" seam. Press.

There you have it, a friendship heart for yourself and a fellow sewer.


Variations:
The heart is offset towards the to of the block - leaving an ideal space to stitch some extra details such as a signature.
The block can be made without rounding the corners as shown above.
If you are not using pinking shears, cutting the block on the bias would allow for evenly frayed and stabilised edges (I should have thought of this before making the blocks above)
The block can be scaled -the medium rectangle measures approx the size of the finished block i.e in this case 6" block, 5 3/4" rectangle with the inner rectangle measuring 3/4" less in all directions.