Newest hand applique project -- Safari

My newest hand applique project was conceived to use up some of my neutral wool felt pieces...black, grays, browns, tans.

This is called Safari. there are 40 animals....i have a ways to go. LOL

First i did a large cat...of some kind

And i have a camel

And this upset looking gorilla

And this thing. i won't even have you guess what it is...you'll never guess.  it's called a Falanouc....see? It lives in Madagascar and is shy and lives in the rainforest. a mongoose-like mammal.

The bottom of that last pic didn't turn out properly but i got tired of trying to get it to load correctly. Blogger is having picture loading problems. but you get the idea. the part missing is part of his tail.

This is my evenings entertainment these days. only 36 more to go. will show you more as i do them..

Later

Miss Kelly is done

I finished the center block of My Tweets....my current hand applique project. it is done in wool felt and hand appliqued with 2 strands embroidery floss.

It is done on a pale green flannel background.

This center piece is 26" square. it will have a border on it with prairie points.

The other 12 surrounding blocks are 14" square. this will be one brightly colored quilt.

It will be queen size and i will keep it for my bed. this will be probably #8 or 9 that i have for my bed. they all reside in a glass fronted cabinet in the bedroom. the idea was to change the quilt on the bed every month. have i done that? .... nooo....LOL   the same quilt has been on the bed about 4 or 5 months. so i either need to start changing or decide that the other quilts are simply room decorations.

I have started the first block last night but haven't gotten too far. but i have all the pieces cut out. and one large flower appliqued onto the base. but the flower has 4 layers....so can i count that as 4 pieces done?

In the original pattern the birds are the same color but i decided to make one darker purple and one lighter. my reasoning is that one is the male...and one the female. makes sense to me. i will have to get more purple felt possibly....not sure i have enough for 12 blocks. but i have discovered that i can use the freezer paper templates more than once. i used the larger pieces from this block to cut for the smaller block and they stick just fine.

Hopefully by the end of the month i can show you the first block....and not much

Later

Home and Harvest finished

My first hand applique project for 2012 is finished. this pattern was in Quiltmaker magazine in 2005

This is called Home and Harvest and is 40" square. i worked on it mostly in the evenings when i was working at the Duck.

I used wool felt for the applique pieces and the background.

I put 2 battings so the applique would be poofy.

I used a dark gray thread to go around all the applique pieces and then a black thread for the background echoing.

There were lots of tiny pieces in this quilt but i like it a lot. when i quilted around the vines in the border i stayed about 1/8" away from the vine. you can't see it in the pics but i like the quilting lines that are on either side of the vine.

Here is a shot of it laying on the table... i was trying to show you how poofy the pieces are.

The back has a bright floral. the binding is a dark gray. it will have a place of honor hanging in the studio.

Now i am working on my next applique project....a queen size quilt....hand applique with wool felt on flannel background. i am doing My Tweets.....a BOM project that was online in 2011.

Now i have all my February to-dos done. actually, this one was on the March list. LOL  i'm going to quit for the day....go back to the house and chill out for a while. there is a creamsicle in the freezer calling my name.

To see what else i might find to do...check with me

Later

Snow is good for SOMETHING...

After my two self-imposed days of being home bound by snow....i got some stuff finished. we won't say they WOULDN'T have gotten done without the snow days....but it certainly helped.

I have my February Color Pallette Challenge finished. remember i am not quilting them until the end of year and will put them all together into one quilt.

Vicki's color pallette from the figs ...

Became this..

It is 17.5" x 23.5" and i used Kona cottons. i made 8 blocks...here is one of them

I rather like it. wonder what next month will look like.

Another project i finished in the last 2 days was my Home and Harvest wallhanging. well, the top is finished....it might get it quilted next month.

This was fun...wool felt is nice to applique with

I am waiting for my black batting to arrive so i can quilt it

Hubby says the flowers in the border look like eyeballs. now that is forever in my mind. LOL

Can't decide if i want to hang this at the house or at the studio. there really isn't room at either place but guess i'll make room somewhere.

Now...back to our regularly scheduled program of quilting. talk to ya

Later

Results of my test block

I am pleased with the results of my test.

Erin Russek has a BOM .... last year's was My Tweets. a beautiful quilt with a center block that you purchase a pattern for from her. It is called Miss Kelly. then there are 12 more 14" blocks that go around that. and a great applique border. the whole thing is applique...in bright, fun colors....peacocks and flowers.

I wanted to make it with wool felt since i just used that for my home and harvest wallhanging and loved how it was so easy to applique. but everyone says you can't use wool felt with cotton fabrics on a large quilt .... you can't put it in the washing machine, etc. but i still wanted to do it. 

So, i made a test block. after the applique, the block measured 15" square. i used a thinish flannel for the background.

I quilted it with Warm and Natural batting, regular cotton fabric on the back, Glide thread on the top, and So Fine thread in the bobbin. after quilting it measured 14.5" square.

I threw it in the washer with some tshirts with hot water and then threw it in the dryer...high heat. after the first round with the washer and dryer it came out beautifully still....colors still vibrant. no problem with the stitching. but it now measured 13" square. and all kind of puckery...like washed quilts get....i like that.

I did another round with more shirts in the washer and dryer...same as before. it came out that time still measuring 13" square. so i figure it is done shrinking. that is acceptable to me. i am going to make my quilt with hand appliqued wool felt and thin flannel background. i will make it a bit oversize (add to sashings and borders) so that when it gets washed it will still be a good size. now, i don't know how much a queen size quilt will shrink down. perhaps a larger quilt won't shrink as much as a single block. i don't know that....but am willing to take the risk.

I just love that pattern and have to do it. if you want to see the whole quilt.....or make one yourself...go and visit   http://erinrussek.typepad.com    she has the pattern for the middle block for sale and the patterns for the blocks are still on her blog. but i know she is working on the new quilt for this year.....so you might want to go check it out NOW...don't want you to miss out.

I still have 1 more border to applique on the home and harvest wallhanging so i won't be able to start My Tweets till

Later

Accomplishments in stitching

I haven't showed you lately what i have been working on.....but my fingers have been busy.

I am on Row H of the Dear Jane quilt. here are a few blocks. this is H13 (red background) and H12.

This is H11 (yellow) and H10

And H9  (red) and H8

I have 3 more blocks to make in the H row. i also did a couple more in the top border but didn't take a pic....my bad.

Remember the Home and Harvest wallhanging?  i have the last 3 blocks finished.

Falling Leaves

Leaves and Feathers ... love that little fat bird

Basket of Posies ... those were a lot of tiny pieces to stitch down. maybe those are pussy willows?

Now all i have to do with this is add these blocks to the rest and applique the borders. looking forward to finishing so i can move on to the next applique quilt.

I really loved appliquing with this wool felt and i really would like to use it again in my next quilt. but i want to use cotton as my background. so i am going to make a test block and see how it works and launders and wears. i decided to use a pale green flannel as my background. i will do a block and if it works out...then it will be a pillow to go with the quilt. wish me luck. everyone says you can't mix wool and cotton and wash it.....but i am a rebel. after all...everyone used to throw away selvages and look what i can do with them. LOL   i will let you know how that works out.

Our class quilt this year is to commemorate the secessation of states. our teacher likes the Civil War and history. the center block will be South Carolina...which she tells us started the whole thing. the blocks are 10" finished. i have trouble with these little pieces and it isn't as straight as it should be. and this is the center of the quilt. LOL

And surrounding South Carolina are 4 applique blocks....of which i have 1 finished. it has a cotton boll on it and tobacco leaves....which she tells us are on the state seal. where else do you get history lessons with your quilt lessons.....cool. 

All blocks will be set on point. i hoped the fabric in my tobacco leaves would look like veins in the leaves....but my sis says they look like turkeys to her. sigh!!  but my cotton boll has a cute dragonfly on it.

I am certainly enjoying all this hand stitching. but  don't worry...i won't be selling my sewing machines any time soon. hahahahaha

Gotta go.....quilting to do.....catching up to do....talk to ya

Later

Home and Harvest border blocks

Back on December 4 i showed you the center block for this wallhanging.

Since then, i have finished 5 of the border blocks. i have taken them with me when i go to work on the Duck and work on them in the evenings. i find i am liking the hand work...who knew?  LOL

I bought wool felt online from www.joggles.com   they have an incredible assortment of 252 colors.

This is Bloomin' Plant

This is Aster Vase

Then we have Potted Mums

This one is Veggie Soup

And this is Mild Salsa

The blocks are 8.5" square...so some of the pieces are quite small. but i am getting the hang of this and enjoying my quiet nightime hand stitching.

More to come soon.

Later

Home and Harvest center block

I went to the Duck the last few days....but because of previous injuries (plus..it was COLD)...i was not able to do any actual work. so i spent 2 days at the Beast with my sister....sitting in a chair...with my feet up on the ottoman...and stitching this.

It is the center block of a small wall hanging (36" square) that is called Home and Harvest. The pattern is found in Quiltmaker magazine...beginning January 2005 and running for 6 issues. it was designed by Erica Kaprow. this center block is 16" square and the blocks surrounding it are 8".

I had so much fun working this block. i used 2 strands of embroidery thread (from the huge Aunt Sophie stash) to stitch the pieces down with the buttonhole stitch. i am a bit shaky with hand work...the pieces keep moving on me even though i pin them. so some pieces are a bit wonky....but i like it just the same.

Here is a close up of the tree so you can see it better....the color matched the background too much so i used a lighter green to stitch it down.

I lightened the picture considerably so you could see the tree better. the leaves have veins in them and the windows have sashings. i will put a bead for a doorknob and the dog and cat eyes. i might put some apples in the tree...don't know yet.

The other blocks are florals....in pots and vases. gonna be some tiny pieces.

But in 2012 i want to do some applique quilts that i have patterns for and this is my first one.

I also signed up for a crazy quilt monthly project in 2012 and Judy Laquidara's UFO challenge so it will be a very busy year.

Wish me luck

Later