Some Small Projects

Between trying to sell our house (meaning keeping the house and yard looking nice), babysitting for my granddaughter twice a week, and going out of town every weekend, there has not been much extra time for crafting, painting, or sewing projects.

On the beach weekend where we celebrated the family birthdays, we gave Emily some pieces of luggage.  I made fabric luggage tags to help identify her ubiquitous black Samsonite!  I also made one to tuck in her mom's birthday gift bag.

 

I made the one on top using a combination of directions from various blog tutorials.  It required making a buttonhole, which I had never done on my Janome sewing machine.  Three hours later, my tag was done.  The next afternoon I made two more using the directions from a Quilting Daily free e-book.

 

My art quilt bee is going to try the fractured flower quilt that I saw at the Charlotte Quilt Guild Show.  Each participant makes a floral block, then cuts it up to distribute to the other members.  Here is the quilt that I saw at the show.

 



Wow x 6, by Susan Woodall, Phyllis Tarrant, Jane Burdick, Lisy McLeod, Doris Rushing, and Pat Hopkins.



 

We decided to make red or purple flowers on a cream background. 

 

I added some Steam-a-Seam Light to some fabrics from my stash, including a purple silk.  I drew a design for a flower on paper, and just copied it by cutting freehand.

 

Here is the first layer of petals.

 

 

Next came layer 2, utilizing some hand-dyed fabric.

 

 

Layer 3 made a center.

 

 

Finally came the purple silk and the center petals.

 

 

All this was fused and will eventually be quilted and embellished when it is divided up among the other participants.  Meanwhile, it needed to be stitched down somehow. 

 

I made a little sample to see how I wanted to do this.  I started out with a zigzag stitch, but quickly decided this was not the look I wanted.  I set my machine up for free-motion quilting, and just used it to stitch the layers of petals together.  Then I decided to quilt the rest of it and make a fabric postcard.

 

 

So, here is my block, stitched without any extra stabilizer to the cotton background fabric.  I used a variegated red and pink thread.

 

 

I can't wait to see it after it is embellished with beads, trim, or whatever else the other quilters have in store for it. 

 

And, because today is Tuesday, here is today's favorite picture of my grandbaby, happy little Charlie.  She is starting to really enjoy grabbing and playing with her toys.  And like her Gigi, she enjoys going on nature walks every day!