Covid Quilt Challenge #3

Since it was a long weekend, we decided it was time to do another quilt challenge. We used a random number generator to end up with the technique of "machine appliqué". My mother was tasked with giving us a theme/concept and she decided on "close-up flower" (inspired by the tulips in her kitchen). She then added an extra element of "at least one piece must be finished as to not be attached to the background on all of it's edges". This gave us quite a challenge of thinking through technique.

I decided to go with the tulip theme and looked online for inspiration. I found one I really liked and ran with it. I liked the symmetry of the design, but also that all the petals weren't identical.

From Wikimedia Commons

Initially I drew a square design, and then decided that I would make it circular instead. I also decided to do it slightly off centre, so I had to make a different pattern for each piece. (Impressively, my homemade pattern came together with one one issue of something not lining up, which was easily solved.)
I made 3 of the petals "stand-alone" and made them with a front, a back and some batting in the middle. At the same time I attached the petals that I was going to be sticking down. I did this by sewing the right sides together with the other petal in the middle, then putting the batting in, folding the edges under, and then top stitching the petal closed with the adjacent petal in the middle. I didn't have the batting or the fusible web run all the way to the middle, because I don't have a walking foot right now, so I didn't want it to get too thick.

Pieces before assembly started

Once I had all the petals attached together, and three of them stitched, I attached the whole thing to a background circle, where I stitched around stamen (which I had just stuck on), as well as the black and yellow parts of the remain 3 petals that hadn't been stitched. Then I stitched the petals themselves down to the background. At the very end, I added the stigma. After that I trimmed it down (which I had to eyeball a bit) and then bound it.

Back with stitching

Overall I am happy with how it came together (although it looked too much like a pansy the whole time I worked on it. In the end, instead of a full circle, I rounded the individual petals and I wonder if they would have been better left in the full circle. I then took it out for a photo shoot — it's just too bad that my red tulips weren't blooming yet.

My friend really flexed her artistic muscles. She choose an alstroemeria as her inspiration.

She made a collage background (with bits of fusible web holding it together). (She was able to use a lot of scraps in this challenge... I was not).

She then made a few petals that she stuck to the background and a few petals that she left sticking out. She finished it with an overcast stitch.

Hers are able to stick out more than mine and really play into her design well. She also did a lovely job of thread painting the petals to bring the beautiful colours in.

So there we are, another challenge complete.

At It Again: Covid Quilt Challenge #2

This past weekend it was time for covid quilt challenge number 2. This time we used a magazine page for inspiration. We drew a random number and went to the magazines we own to find a page that was inspiring. It was a bit of a challenge because we have lots of older magazines with lots of pages that don't even have any pictures on them. We settled on this page:

We picked up on lots of the same elements on the page, but still ended up with unique projects. My friend decided to make her own plaid (and quite expertly). The grey bit at the bottom is even a little pocket :)

She also picked up on the gold rings in the picture and used this lovely blue and gold fabric for the backing. (And check out those mad lining-up skills with the sewing lines and the pattern on the back.)

After a few sketches, I decided to do a modified card trick block. I liked that it mimicked the placement of the hand warmers. The math took me a little bit of fiddling, and I didn't get my pattern matching to work the way I wanted, but I decided it was good enough.

I quilted it in a plaid design. It was a lot of ends to work in for such a small project (this was less than half of them).

Partway through the quilting, I wished I had quilted in grey instead of blue and red because it was feeling too busy. But, in the end, I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Again, I decided to go ahead and try a second design, which was a little more of a straight-forward take on thing. I focused more on the quilting in this one. And I wanted to see what an "unfinished" edge would look like - for future reference. I'm happy with the design again, but this one feels much more like a sample of some sort as opposed to a finished product.

This page was called "hand warmers" and in a weird twist, this morning (May 11), we woke up to snow. I took the opportunity to do a small photoshoot.

Fabric Balls

I have been going back through my old photos to find craft projects that I haven't posted about. Probably the thing I make the most are fabric balls. I can't even remember why I started making them, but I do find they are a great gift for young children. They are easy and quick to make, they are cute, and they use small amounts of fabric - so are great for scraps. I especially like to give them as gifts to older siblings when younger siblings are born.

To make them you just need to print off a pattern, cut out the pieces, stitch them together, and stuff them. I like to use the Fabric Beach Balls pattern from Purl Soho (though I always skip the circles over the ends - mostly out of laziness). The pattern comes in 3 sizes, but you can also print it at difference zoom levels to get other sizes. I like the shape of the ball that is created by the 8 sections.

Once I started making those, I was also drawn to fabric balls that were designed to look like animals (I think they came up when I was first googling things). In order to make balls with a face and ears, I  had to switch to a different pattern, so that I had more space for a face, and so that the "middle" would be in the middle of a section (rather than between sections). That's when I found this Free Fabric Balls Tutorial from Stitches and Love. From there I did some designing and came up with a pig, a chicken, and a cow ball that I think are adorable (mostly designed after the finger puppets I made for my quiet book and some other online inspirations).

For each animal, I use french knots for the eyes. For the chicken, I make an orange felt triangular beak and a red ribbon that I fold over and attach between the front and back half of the balls. In these pictures, there are only 2 sections, but sometimes I do 3 sections.

The cow and the pig get pink noses, with stitched nostrils, and ears. I usually make the cow's ears rounder, and place them lower on the face. I put the pig face a little higher up, and make the ears come to a point. I also try to put a fold in the pig's ear when I attach it, though it can be hard when working with such small things).

I have lots of fun making these, and watching them be played with.

I also like playing around with different sizes and types.

Back in the Saddle — Covid Quilt Challenge #1

Well, I, like many other right now, have found myself doing new things or returning to old things. This blog would be one of those things. It's a strange time we find ourselves in, and there is just something about it that calls for documentation.

I have switched to working from home full time. It's been 5 weeks now. Somehow staying at home feels like I should have more time than I do, but I seem to have gotten into a bit of a groove.
For a few years my friend and I have attended a quilt show that includes displays from a group that are small and showcase different ideas and techniques. We've commented that it would be a good idea to try in order to get out of our comfort zones and be a little more artistic. Well now felt like the right time to start. We decided we would do things without too much planning/practicing (which we're usually guilty of), so we decide on Fridays what the parameters are and then have the weekend to work.

This weekend was the first attempt. We decided on a technique of curved piecing (which neither of us has done before), and called my friend's nieces for their favourite colours: bluebell blue and neon pink. Then we set to work.

My friend's top

Finished

We worked individually at first, planning and piecing on our own. Once we had our tops together, we shared over Skype as we continued to work. It actually went faster than we thought with both of us getting finished on Saturday.

My improv gentle curves

With quilting

I had sketched a couple of different ideas on Friday night and decided if I didn't try now, I probably never would, so today I made idea #2. (I tried a million different layouts for this one. Our was hard to pick,  but in the end I'm glad I did this.)

It was nice to get out of my head for a bit, and try to be a little more artistic, and try to see where things took me (with just a general plan). There are definitely a few things I would change if I could, but overall I was happy with the process and the results. We'll see what happens next time.

Busy As a Beaver

I haven't been blogging recently because I have been working on finishing up a quilt for a friend's son. It is a double-sized quilt and is by far the largest quilt I have ever made. Plus, I had to learn how to machine quilt to make it. Pictures will be posted once I take them.

Now that it is done, my plan is to make a quilt for my friend with the leftovers. It is only going to be a lap quilt, and I had already done all the cutting of the pieces when I cut out the other quilt; however,  I just found out this week that I have 20 days to complete the quilt - piecing, quilting, and binding - because that is when I am going to be seeing my friend (she will be visiting from the US). This number terrifies me. And on top of that, I am away from home this week, and couldn't bring any of the project with me. I know I will be machine quilting it, but I am a hand quilter at heart, so it's harder to comprehend the timeline. I anticipate that my housework and my sleep will be getting neglected at some point. I also probably won't have time to do any posting between now and then. But I will make sure to take a few pictures so that I can post once I'm done.

A Royal Visit

On Thursday, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima (of the Netherlands) came to Waterloo. A few coworkers and I went to see them when they came.

Waiting for royalty

They had even rolled out an orange carpet for them. Unfortunately, they were running late, so we only got a quick wave and a good morning, but it was still a fun experience.

King Willem-Alexander

Queen Maxima

I even went and got a new outfit for the experience - I wanted something orange :)

Machine Applique Shirts

A while ago I decided to make some shirts for a friends little girl by buying a plain long sleeve t-shirt and machine appliqueing a design onto them. At first I wasn't sure what to put on them. I needed to think of a design that wasn't too complicated and would look good as mostly a silhouette. She really likes rubber ducks, so I decided to do a rubber duck on one.

She also has a Minnie stuffed animal that she loves so I decided to do Minnie mouse as the other one.

It was a bit trickier than I thought it would be. I have machine appliqued on quilting cotton before but I have never really worked with stretchy fabric, and it didn't always do what I wanted. I put it on a very short stitch length and went around. Overall though I was happy with how they turned out.