I Love Tulips Art Quilt

I Love Tulips is a tiny art quilt that I started making after thinking about some of my favorite flowers...one of which are tulips. I know is Spring as soon as they sprout up through the ground.

I used different techniques and materials. For the stems I used velvet ribbon, tiny patchwork and a sheer fabric for the tulips. Then I had some vintage lace that I hand dyed and painted. The heart is done with fabric paint. Then I did some machine embroidery and hand stitching.  
For the boarder I wanted something different so stitched on ribbon with a zig zag stitch. It was fun to experiment and see how it all came together.

Batik Pillow - Spring Side and Fall Side

When I saw a bundle of rainbow batik fabrics in 2.5" pre-cut strips I had to buy them! There were just enough strips in the bundle to make a large pillow (and a few extras). 

I sorted them into pales and darker shades. Then randomly cut different lengths and sewed them together. Then added batting and muslin backing to hand quilt along each row. Above is the Spring side and below is the Fall side.

I added a zipper so that I could easily wash this as it's meant to get lots of use.

You could make this with any of the pre-cut strips with any color combination, and a pillow form or an existing pillow that you want to change up with a removable cover.

Vintage Kimono Fabrics Bag

I bought several pieces of vintage kimono silk pieces and new right away I wanted to make a bag with them. I really designed it on the go by letting the shapes "talk to me". All of the pieces really fell together nicely. The front and back are each different.

This was the first time I sewed with silk and I learned that all of the silk pieces are very strong even though they look and feel delicate. A couple of the pieces were difficult to put pins through even. Since the silk needed some body, I added iron-on batting onto the interface. I had a larger piece of silk just big enough for the straps! I reinforced the straps with woven cotton webbing. I found black rings which is the design element I was looking for.

This was also the first time I added a magnetic clasp. They always seemed intimidating because you have to cut into the fabric. But it was way easier than I thought it would be. Just measure and mark first. I added a piece of iron on interface behind the clasp sections.

  Lov'n my new bag!

Flower Power Wall Quilt

I'm a Flower Power girl. I grew up with the Flower Power posters in the 60s and the bright mod colors. What is Flower Power? It was [and still is] about peace and love not war. The flowers are typically evenly dispersed petals with a big center dot. Bright colors are a must! I still sketch lots of big flowers and have used the look in several of my quilts over the years. This is my latest wall quilt. 

  I like the juxtaposition of the bright colors with the more vintage colors and patterns. I made tiny yo-yos and sewed them in the corners as a button alternative.

Here are the steps I did:
Step 1 - Iron on the fusible interfacing to the fabrics, remove the paper backing, and then machine quilt around the centers of the flowers.
Step 2 - Carefully add the rick rack to curve around the outer petal edges while fusing bit by bit.
Step 3 - Machine quilt around the outer petals 
Step 4 - Fuse down the centers and machine quilt around the inner and outer centers
 

 

Here is another example from an older wall quilt that I made:

 

And here is another little flower power quilt for my wall:

 I hope you try making some flower power quilts and be sure to use lots of bright colors!

Art Collages on Wood Panels

When inspiration sets in to create with a different medium (besides fabrics) it can be very fun and can stretch your creativity. These art collages on wood panels did just that!

I had always wanted to explore using gel medium and mixed media. So I bought some 6" x 6" wood panels and gathered up bits of this and that. I discovered that the gel medium works perfect with the water soluble pencils. I drew little faces on watercolor paper and cut them out. Then I shaded with the pencils. I like the imperfect sort of rustic look. My only goal was to play and have fun. I figured if I didn't like how any of them turned out I could add different embellishments over the top.

I added ribbon around the edges and covered it with gel medium too.

They add a nice pop of color above the cabinets.

 Supplies:

• 6" x 6" wood panels
• Gel medium - semi gloss (I like this over mat as there is a slight sheen)
• Tissue paper, used color catcher sheets, water color paper, magazine pictures, etc.
• Ribbon
• Derwent Inktense water soluble pencils
• Ink stampers 
• Large stiff paint brush works best to apply the gel medium

 

 I need another play time like this again!

Happiness is...Spring is here with little bluebirds

On my last trip I pulled from the few fabrics I had on hand so I could do some hand work since I didn't have my sewing machine. Then I saw a picture of the little blue bird. I started playing with the bird shapes and decided they would be perfect for applique.  

I added a blanket stitch around the birds, then for the quilting part I used hash mark shapes that looked like chicken scratch, and couched a heavier weight embroidery thread, then added random seed stitches all over.
Sometimes it fun to do something really cute. 

• Techniques: Applique, hand embroidery, couching
• Size: 10" x 12"

Quilters Anonymous 2016 Quilt Show

It was another wonderful quilt show this year by the Quilters Anonymous guild members. So many amazing quilts that I was in awe when I turned ever corner. Here is mine that I had in the show this year with the modern quilting.

These are just a few of the quilts I snapped pictures of that are inspiring:

 

Here's to another year next March!

Esme Block

I got this pattern from the Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine which I love and pour through every issue. This is a paper pieced pattern that jumped out at me to do a challenge. I knew I wanted to make just one block because of the time involved. There are two pattern pieces to make up the centers and corner sections. 

 

Since there are 8 points that meet in the middle I fanned out the points before pressing to keep it flat. I love the way it turned out with the directional purple fabric and subtle background fabric.

Here is an example of a nice way to decorate a table top with a little quilt!

Bear Paw Leaves

I've always loved the Bear Paw block but for some reason it always looked intimidating. I decided I would make just 4 blocks and add a stem to look like leaves to give it a try. This is a wonderful way to sample a pattern without over committing to a huge quilt.

I picked my color scheme with 4 different colors and added several different fabrics in each color. I recently bought some newspaper print fabrics that offset the colors so well.

Here is a close up of the machine quilting with a meandering stitch. I matched the thread to the fabrics so that the quilting would be subtle.

I'm really hooked on this pattern still and plan to try some other variations with a modern flair!
Measures 18" x 18"

Chicken Mug Rug and Hot Pad

The chicken fabric was inspiration for this mug rug and hot pad. The fabric had been used on my niece's dress as a little girl. These are a great way to preserve a memory.

For both the mug rug and hot pad I used Insul-Bright insulated lining which has reflective metallized fabric and padding to withstand heat.

These were birthday gifts for my sister-in-law!