Project Quilting Week 5 "Through the Eyes of a Child"

Creating quilts to enter into the Quilt Challenge put on by Kim at Persimmon Dreams Blog has been a creative challenge for me.  Two weeks ago we had a topic of "I need a vacation".  I started to work on a design and then decided that the topic was a great idea.  It happened that the Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Puyallup Washington was coming up and as a volunteer and avid participant it was a very busy week for me.  The Expo, as always was a fun filled 5 days.  Tons of classes as well as a huge array of vendors from the sewing industry.  If you have never attended it I would highly recommend you check it out.  With the Expo over I'm ready to tackle a new project. 

This weeks topic is "Through the Eyes of a  Child".  I've chosen a painting that my Granddaughter created in the 2nd grade.  This drawing is of Seattle and in case you didn't recognize it that is the Space Needle in the middle.

Wednesday I created a background and started cutting out buildings.  This is what it looked like at the end of the day.

 

On Thursday I completed the buildings and then took some time to step back to see if I needed to make any changes before I attach the houses to the background.  Once I was happy with the design I attached all the building.  Then it was time to start stitching.  The stitching is a labor of love.  I enjoy the process of embellishing the design with stitches.  

This is my completed quilt.  The colors are not as nice in the picture as in real life.  Its 2:00 a.m. and so no natural light to take the photo. 

Sunday Morning, I made the deadline by staying up very late last night.  The top picture was taken this morning when I had better lighting.

Project Quilting Week 3 "All About that Thread"

The first decision of a new project quilting is always what to make.  It usually takes me a couple days to come up with an idea.  Thread painting has been on my list of things to try for a couple years.  This will be a good opportunity to experiment with something new.  I've chosen a photo of pink poppies.  I enlarged my photo.  I then used a black marker to outline the sections of the design.  I transferred the sections onto freezer paper, then cut out the pieces leaving a 1/4 inch border around the shape.  My plan is to create the base flowers using several different shades of pink fabric.  I cut a piece of each fabric and backed it with Wonder Under.  I then ironed the freezer paper shapes onto the fabric.  I trimmed each piece as I placed it on my background.  Once I was happy with the placement I used an iron to fuse the design.  Now for the fun.  Using a variety of thread colors I embellished each flower petal with thread.  I finished the design by adding some beading in the centers of the flowers.  The last steps were to add backing, quilt the background, the bind the edges.

Project Quilting Week 2 "Seasons"

I waited anxiously for the reveal of this week's theme. When we received the topic "SEASONS". I pondered what I wanted to make and what it represented to me. I especially enjoy the changes of color in my garden. Here in Washington we have very distinct and varied seasons. I've decided to do a small wall hanging that showed the colors of the seasons. This is my favorite little tree in my yard and its changing personalities through the year.



This is a 19 inch square wall hanging. First I quilted the background. I then used Wonder Under to place the foreground designs. Using raw edge free motion quilting to stitch all of the designs, leaves & flowers. I then added backing fabric and a border.

Project Quilting Week 1 "Confetti"

Last year I watched as Persimon Dreams held a series of quilting challenges. This year I'm excited to participate. This series is put on by by Kim Lacapik of Persimon Dreams.

This week’s challenge (#1) is “CONFETTI”. We have one week to complete a quilt. The requirements are very basic and leave lots of room to express yourself. I immediately thought of the confetti sewing technique using tiny pieces of fabric held in place by netting and stitching. I've been wanting to do an art quilt so it's time to give it a try. I searched the Internet for inspiration and decided to create a sunset. It will be an 18 inch square wall hanging. I first designed the background and used wonder under to place my pieces. I then quilted it using variegated thread and free motion technique following the lines in my design. I then placed the tree trunk and stitched it. Then on to placing the confetti for the tree foliage and foreground, covering it with netting and lots of stitches to hold it all in place. I added backing fabric and finished it with an narrow binding. This is my finished project.