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Heart of the Home is Sherri McConnell’s 77-1/2-inch-square log cabin quilt, combining heart, star, and house blocks. Its sew-along ran from February 29 through April 24, 2024, so it is a completed event rather than an active 2026 program. You can still make the quilt from the pattern, using the original fabric plan or substitutes with strong light-versus-color contrast.

What is the Heart of the Home quilt?

McConnell designed Heart of the Home for the April 2024 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting. The layout uses log-cabin construction around motif units, with hearts, stars, and houses distributed through the blocks. The finished quilt measures 77-1/2 inches square.

The original pictured version used the Strawberry Lemonade collection by Sherri & Chelsi. That collection’s reported reprint expectation was for September 2024; it should be treated as a historical availability note, not a guarantee of current stock. Bella 9900 200 solid white was used for sashing and for the centers containing houses, hearts, and stars. Comparable white prints from Favorite Things, Simply Delightful, or Emma can be substituted.

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When did the quilt-along run?

The official project dates were February 29–April 24, 2024. The magazine issue excerpt divided the work into eight weekly stages:

#1 Best Overall
Dates Focus
February 29–March 6 Gather fabrics
March 7–13 Assemble star units
March 14–20 Assemble heart units
March 21–27 Assemble house units
March 28–April 3 Make A and B blocks
April 4–10 Make C and D blocks
April 11–17 Make E and F blocks
April 18–24 Assemble the quilt top

Because the event has ended, this schedule works best as a self-paced eight-week plan. The accessible project page establishes the overall dates and requirements; the week-by-week sequence comes from the April 2024 issue excerpt.

Complete fabric and batting requirements

The official requirements separate colorful prints, several kinds of white fabric, borders, binding, backing, and batting:

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Labor of Love - Scrappy Quilts at the Heart of Home
  • Like you, Sherri McConnell loves to quilt and fill her home with special creations
  • Online influencer, fabric designer, and quilt designer Sherri reveals her fresh and simple approach to scrap quilting in step-by-step instructions for a dozen splendidly scrappy projects
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  • See more in product description.
Material Amount Intended use
Assorted red prints 3/4 yard Color strips and units
Assorted pink prints 3/4 yard Color strips and units
Assorted light-green prints 1 yard Color strips and units
Assorted dark-green prints 5/8 yard Color strips and units
Assorted peach prints 5/8 yard Color strips and units
Assorted teal prints 5/8 yard Color strips and units
White tone-on-tone No. 1 1 yard Star, heart, and house units
Assorted white prints 2-1/4 yards Block backgrounds
Solid white 7/8 yard Sashing
White tone-on-tone No. 2 5/8 yard Inner border
Pink floral 1-1/8 yards Outer border
Peach check 2/3 yard Binding
Backing fabric 7-1/8 yards Quilt backing
Batting One 86-inch-square piece Quilt sandwich

The listed light fabrics total 4-3/4 yards across centers, block backgrounds, sashing, and the inner border. The project page estimates that 19 or 20 fat quarters can approximate that quantity, but the inner border requires additional piecing. Keep the different white roles separate when planning so that border, sashing, and block backgrounds do not compete visually.

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Can you use precuts or scraps?

Yes, but no single common precut bundle supplies the complete quilt as pictured. The designer describes the pattern as fat-eighth, fat-quarter, Honeybun, and scrap friendly. Her original color plan used two Honeybuns (1-1/2-inch strips) and one Layer Cake (10-inch squares), plus additional light fabrics.

  • Fat quarters or fat eighths: useful for the colored prints, but add enough light fabric for the 4-3/4-yard total and plan extra piecing for the inner border.
  • Honeybuns: two can contribute the planned 1-1/2-inch color strips, with light fabrics still purchased separately.
  • Layer Cake squares: one Layer Cake was part of the original color plan; confirm that your chosen prints provide adequate contrast and usable cuts.
  • Scraps: workable when you can sort them by the required color families and reserve suitable pieces for borders and binding.
  • Jelly rolls: McConnell does not recommend them because the strip width and cutting requirements create inefficient fabric use and extra cutting.

A fat-quarter bundle alone is therefore not a reliable complete kit. Before cutting, inventory light fabric, border fabric, and binding separately from the colorful prints.

How to choose substitute fabrics

The pattern’s definition depends on contrast: light strips and backgrounds should read clearly against the colorful strips. You do not need the Strawberry Lemonade collection, but preserve the functional roles of the fabrics.

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Leisure Arts Quilt Pattern Collection 5 Pack, All Aboard, Homebound, Hearts, Riptide and Whirligig, Complete Family Quilt Pattern Set
  • 5 COMPLETE QUILT PATTERNS IN ONE COLLECTION: Includes 5 individual Leisure Arts quilt pattern booklets: All Aboard (LEA37555), Homebound (LEA37556), Hearts (LEA37557), Riptide (LEA37559), and Whirligig (LEA37554).
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  • A COMPLETE QUILT PATTERN LIBRARY: An ideal collection for quilters who want a ready-to-use library of coordinated Leisure Arts patterns spanning multiple styles, themes, and design aesthetics in one purchase.
  1. Assign distinct light fabrics to the motif centers, block backgrounds, sashing, and inner border.
  2. Group colored prints into the red, pink, green, peach, and teal families listed in the requirements.
  3. Check a black-and-white photo or grayscale phone preview; fabrics that merge in grayscale may lose the log-cabin and motif shapes.
  4. Reserve the pink floral and peach check (or clearly different substitutes) for the outer border and binding so those edges remain easy to identify.
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How to get the pattern today

The official project page reported the print magazine as sold out while listing the quilt pattern in PDF and printed formats through the American Patchwork & Quilting shop and the digital April 2024 issue through Zinio. Inventory and prices change, so check the current listing before ordering. The pattern may also be available through the magazine issue, but confirm whether you are buying the issue or a separate pattern format.

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Is EQ8 required?

No. Electric Quilt 8 was offered as an optional bonus download for people who already use the software. It is a design and planning aid, not a substitute for the pattern instructions, fabric, cutting tools, or sewing supplies. A 25% purchase promotion using code QUILTALONG was reported for the 2024 issue and expired April 30, 2024; it should not be treated as a current offer. Verify present software pricing, platform support, and download access directly before purchasing.

Best Value
Sale
Have A Heart Quilt Pattern by J. Michelle Watts
  • Pattern and instructions only
  • Large quilt finished size - 74" x 90"
  • Small quilt finished size - 37" x 45"
  • Jelly roll and scrap friendly

A practical self-paced plan

To recreate the finished sew-along without its original dates, follow the same sequence: sort and label fabrics first, complete all star units, then hearts and houses, followed by A–F blocks, and finish by assembling the top. Cutting a small test unit before bulk cutting is especially useful when substituting fabrics or working from scraps, because the design relies on consistent light-versus-color placement.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1
Slice of Pi Quilts Exploding Heart Pattern, None
Slice of Pi Quilts Exploding Heart Pattern, None
Pattern only, fabrics not included
$11.81
SaleBestseller No. 2
Labor of Love - Scrappy Quilts at the Heart of Home
Labor of Love - Scrappy Quilts at the Heart of Home
Like you, Sherri McConnell loves to quilt and fill her home with special creations; See more in product description.
$17.99
SaleBestseller No. 5
Have A Heart Quilt Pattern by J. Michelle Watts
Have A Heart Quilt Pattern by J. Michelle Watts
Pattern and instructions only; Large quilt finished size - 74" x 90"; Small quilt finished size - 37" x 45"
$11.72

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.