Being Creative Challenge - Garden

Julie Crossland http://juliacrossland.blogspot.com/ has come up with an interesting monthly challenge called "Being Creative".
I love Julie's intent behind the concept:
"A fun, light hearted invitation to create, open to all.
To build a creative community of people of all abilities from around the globe.
To provide monthly inspiration, guidance and creativity tips as well as shovel loads of encouragement and support should you need it.
To help those creatively stuck souls to become well and truly un-stuck.
An opportunity to make a commitment to regular creativity."

The first theme is "Garden" and the reveals start today. You can choose any medium for your interpretation. I've already visited some of the other participants and I highly recommend you do the same :) If you want to participate click on the link in my sidebar.

I found a way to use one of my leaf applique orphan blocks and my heart theme :) Voila, a small cushion 10"x71/2" that fits the color scheme in my front living room.
All the fabrics are left overs from other projects. I want to add some "emerging buds bling" (and maybe a few small leaves) but nothing in my boxes of bits and pieces is saying "use me", so for the moment I'm calling this one done.
An explanation of fabric choices.
The pillow background = grass, the brown yo-yo's = dirt, the burgundy yoyo's = blooming flowers.
April challenge - Dessert. Yum.

Where Did We Begin - First tied and first applique

The alphabet baby blanket for daughter #3 was my first real attempt at tying a quilt on a frame (1993). My mother-in-law showed me how to do it properly. Up until a few months ago it spent most of it's time hanging on the wall in my daughter's bedroom. She learned how to spell words using it and red is still one of her favorite colors.

The other quilt, laying in a heap (there's a reason for that), is my first attempt at "own design" applique friendship. We were moving to Michigan and one night I woke up with a completed picture in my mind and drew it down on a piece of paper. It took a wee while to buy all the fabric and supplies and draw up the design on the fabric. Then I had people sign the hearts that were to be embroidered. Unfortunately this is also my oldest "work in progress" (14 years) because I did not finish off the applique hearts first. Trying to work in between the embroidered hearts is really awkward but it will get finished and hung on our living room wall.

'tis a gift - Song Bird tutorial

The idea for this section is to make it an anything can happen kind of day.

Since I am working on my "In The Good 'Ol Summertime 2009" swap I decided to do a mini tutorial.

It has turned into a very mini tutorial because I was sleeping beauty today with a stinker of a sinus headache (one of the drawbacks of living in Tennessee) and I'm only sharing a few of the steps in my thought process.

Tutorial - making the pattern pieces

I made the main block pieces out of tracing paper and added 1/4" seam allowances.

The applique pieces are cut from copies of the pattern.

I decided to do a "mock up" of the block in calico just to make sure the pieces all fit together properly.

Tutorial - sewing together

(Sorry , it loaded sideways).

The center panel is on point with 4 outside triangles to turn it back into a square.

Sew two opposite triangles to the center fabric.

Iron flat.

Sew the remaining triangles to the center fabric.

Iron flat then trim to the square.

Tutorial - Playing with the paper pieces

(Aaargh it loaded sideways.)

The book does not have full patterns for all of the designs. I made two or three paper copies of the block so I could cut out all the applique pieces. Each is numbered which makes it simple to follow the main layout. Just to make it a little more interesting all of the leaves are different sizes.

Tutorial - Applique option

There are a number of options for cutting out applique pieces. I chose to do the following.

Lay the pattern pieces face down on the back of the fabrics.
Draw round each piece with a dark micron archival pen.
Cut out the fabrics INSIDE the lines.
Lay out the pieces on the calico and make sure all the pieces are there. This also helped me to see if I like the colors together.
Store all the small pieces in a marked envelope. I plan to use them again.

I'm giving myself some options with regard to the applique. I've opted for raw edge since there are so many small fiddly pieces but I have not decided yet whether I want to stick them down first. This also means I have no "seam allowance" as would be the case for a turned edge.

I'm going to wait till I finish the rest of the block together before sewing the pieces down.

Tutorial - Play around with colors

I like the colors I picked out for the applique but the big decision is what to do with the background.

It's fun (at least for me) to cut out different colors and PLAY. If they don't get used in one project they will get used in something else.

After some trying out it became apparant that I needed to lean toward warm colors.

Tutorial - Currently contemplating

I've decided to go with this color combination and am now playing around with different border designs.

The center block fabric reminds me of wheat fields and the triangle picks up one of the colors. I may use the green for the outside border to tie everything together.

At the moment everything is sitting on my table while I mull things over. When I make my own one it will be in a different color combination.

Spring Bloom Mini Quilt Exchange 2009

I am a happy camper.

My son brought in the mail a few minutes ago and there was a wonderful wall hanging from Ariane K. I'll post pictures tomorrow but in the meantime check out her blog http://arianescrafts.blogspot.com/ to see what it looks like.

Thanks Ariane, it's gorgeous and today also happens to be my daughter's birthday :)

Textile Corner - Landscape quilting

I've mentioned in previous postings that I am taking some landscape quilting classes taught by Shirley Paterson at LearningFA. I absolutely love this generous and very talented lady's work. Having said that I want to find my own "style" so to speak.

I've been trawling around the internet for months now looking at what is out there and today had an AHA moment.

Heather Lair does some fabulous landscapes. She combines fairly simple layouts with some gorgeous abstract quilting borders. I am definitely feeling inspired by what I saw.

www.mts.net/~rhlair/pages_galleries/land_quilt_01.html

It always goes back to some form of hand applique.

You would think that with all the sewing I've done over the years that machine quilting would not be a problem. Not so :) 

To help me overcome my machine quilting neurosis I ordered "60 Machine Quilting Patterns" by Pat Holly and Sue Nickels. It arrived in the mail a couple of days ago and I am in hog heaven. For a dunderhead like myself the layouts show you where to place the needle, what direction to go, where to start and end, and what it looks like when it's done. I'll be cutting up a lot of muslin fairly soon to start practicing. I also had John retrieve my other sewing machine from the back of the closet because I want to try using it for this project. I think this will also work well with the blocks I plan on putting together from "Grandma's Best Full Size Quilt Blocks."

Lunchtime tutorial - applique heart - the tricky part

Now comes the "tricky" bit.

Trim back the fusible interfacing close to the stitch line then clip all the way round the fabric heart. I cut a notch at the top and bottom of the heart to make it sit better once it is turned. Make a long slit down the middle of the interfacing so that you can turn everything right sides out. Be very careful NOT to cut into the fabric heart. I usually cut a tiny notch into the interfacing then cut the slit on either side of it. I always go from top to bottom since for me it makes it easier to turn the heart.

Textile Corner - How Many Times Round the Block?" - an update

I'm finally moving along with my Scottie Dog wall hanging. It's going to be for Christmas and I used my favorite deep red for the border and collar. To "fun it up" a bit I used one of my Mary Engelbreit fabrics for the back and cut out some of the squares to add to the front. I'm planning on adding a button for the dog's eye and a charm to the collar. I'm contemplating adding some ric-rac on the border and make some ric-rac flowers I saw on-line. The wall hanging is actually darker than the picture indicates. I took the photo beside one of our south facing windows.

Cross Stitch Corner - Stitching for a Cure - fund-raiser

My ornament is currently being featured at http://stitchingforacure.blogspot.com/ (Mar 1st.)

This is such a wonderful idea. I hope some of you will take the time to participate.

My sweet mother-in-law is the reason I decided to participate.

Textile Corner - "Beat the Winter Blues" 2&3

left #2 This is some of my favorite fabric from my fat quarter collection and it always makes me smile to look at it. It's going to Betty B. who signed up at the last minute. She's going to have to iron it flatter since it got somewhat "squished." I probably could have done more stitching on it and maybe left the planets off but I was thinking about sunrises at the time.

right #3 Is some fabric and a flower left over from a quilt I am making. It's for me :) My thinking behind it is that the blue section is the flowers hibernating and the red is the sun bringing the flowers into bloom. If you look close enough I've written asleep on the blue and awake on the red :)