Patchwork Breeze: May 2014

5/26/2014

Crafts Linked to Val's Tuesday Archives

Thank you, Val, for the Tuesday Archives. I am glad so many of us can share with others what we have been making. I especially like getting new ideas from others.

I have condensed some of my crafted items from other blogs on this post. I would be happy to know if you have done anything like these, or if there is one you especially like. Let me know in a comment below or at: patchworkbreeze@gmail.com with CRAFTS in the subject.

PILLOWS
I made pillows for my nieces and nephews for Christmas 2014. My parents (who are no longer with us) had a bedspread or bedcover made with knotted designs. It was not in the best shape, but I cut 18" squares from it and made pillows. I put zippers on them for easy washing and a nice pillow form I bought from JoAnn Fabrics which had a zipper on the cover. I do not have pictures of the 8 pillows I made, but they all were similar to this one. They were thrilled to have these and I was very happy to pass on something to them that belonged to their grandparents.

PINCUSHIONS

In March 2014, I posted about the pincushions I have been making for a swap organized by Beaquilter.com. These are just some of what I have made with the pattern. (Click here to learn about pattern.)

I am using my felted wool and am pleased I did not have to purchase any fabric for the project.

RUFFLED CHRISTMAS TREE

I participated in a ruffles blog hop creating the Christmas tree below. I have a tutorial HERE if you are interested in how I made it.

MICROWAVE BOWL COZIES

Microwave Bowl Cozies are my latest project. I am making them to sell at the Gala Gourmet, a local kitchen shoppe. I will be able to use some of my large cotton fabric stash for these. The photo shows just 2 of the many that I have made. They are reversible. They are made of totally 100% cotton materials and come with instructions for use. They are like a potholder that can be used as a pretty server under your bowl of oatmeal, soup or whatever from the microwave. Just hold opposing corners as you take it from the microwave and you are all set.

OWLS

I gathered my felt, cut out pieces, found the buttons, and began stitching and finally stuffing to finish the Wishing Owl sample for a childrens' class I taught at the ArtsPlace on February 22.

5/20/2014

Tuesday Archives of Christmas at Val's Studio

Val's Tuesday Archives themes for today are Chevrons and Christmas. I am working on a chevron quilt (king size) for my daughter, but don't have any photos, so that will be another post. But I have combed through some of my blog posts and found these Christmas related entries. I hope you take a gander and let me know what you think. What colors would you "weave" a Christmas stocking? or braid a little mug rug? or would your triangular wreath be non-traditional Christmas colors or traditional? Leave me a comment.

These woven and quilted items shown above are described HERE.

While not exactly a quilted piece, it was fun and Christmas-related

and I thought many of you may like to see this. The blog post is HERE.

MUG RUG
I copied the portion of my 12/19/2013 blog showing the mug rug I made:

I had a new Mug Rug demo on the 1st Saturday in December. I made a wreath with bias tape strips and buttons (to cover the joint from the ends). Seven ladies were there, which was a very good turnout.

5/10/2014

Four in Art a Closer Look

One of my fellow Four in Art-ers wanted to get a closer look at my 3rd Quarter piece. I saved the photo as a smaller file which would not allow for details to show. I am posting a high resolution photo today.

Our next topic in this series is CONTRAST. I am thinking of a number of ideas and methods to show the contrast in the theme of URBAN. Hummm....

Create with the heart.

5/09/2014

Challenge Winner Topper and Pincushion Swap

Our guild's 2014 President's Challenge was different from any I remember.
Those who wanted to participate paid a fee to cover the cost of the pattern. We picked a pattern card out of a brown paper bag. Then we picked a fat quarter out of another brown paper bag. This way we relinquished some control on what we were making. All of the patterns (table runners or toppers) were Quilted Memories Designs, from a lovely quilt shop not too far away. We had to incorporate the fabric into the pattern in some manner. Of course, I waited until the week before the challenge was due. But I got it done!

This is the pattern I picked. Turn it 'round:

I was not sure at first what I was going to do with the fabric I picked. Should I use it as the 4 outer squares or as applique. I finally decided to make the topper with other fabrics from my stash and applique leaves to it. (I took the photo after I had fussy cut some of the leaves out of it.)

This is the topper, finished. I fused the leaves on the the top layer of the quilt and sewed a tight zig-zag stitch around the raw edges. I sewed down the centers of the long, gold colored leaves since they were puffing up. I layered the top, batting and backing (the plaid) and machine quilted with my walking foot in the ditch of the sashings. I drew some leaves in the larger spaces of the plaid blocks and machine quilted them through all the layers. Got the binding on and thought it really looked good. The guild members did too, because my topper won a blue ribbon by popular vote in that pattern's category!

Pincushion Swap Arrival

In my mailbox today was the pincushion Bea made for me in the May Swap. Thank You, Bea!

I think it is just darling. It is so tiny. I put pins in so you could get the idea of the size. The button in about 1" in diameter. Bea used most of my favorite colors to make this "in the hoop" embroidery design. She posted about this pattern HERE and HERE. This is the pattern that peaked my interest with "in the hoop" embroidery. I have yet to order a pattern or try it, but the entire item is sewn in the embroidery hoop, with little if any other stitching.

My husband has asked me what I am going to do with all these pincushions I am collecting from the swaps. (He also asked why I would need more than one sewing machine.) I was thinking of making a quilted wallhanging and attaching each pincushion in a different block to display them.

What would you do with 12 or so pincushions that are just the cutest or loveliest items you have seen?

Whether designing, sewing, or dreaming....Happy Quilting.

5/01/2014

Today is our 3rd quarter reveal.
Our focus theme was Landmarks.
I knew almost immediately what landmark I wanted to put into a quilt--the blue pedestrian bridge in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I am happy to present my small 12" x 12" quilt, titled, "Blue Bridge."

What I wasn't sure of was what media I would use to show it. Would I use thread, ribbon, paints, artist paintsticks, fabric, oh, what a process.

To make a long story short, I used 30 wt. Gutterman thread. I was very pleased with the results.

I wanted to focus to be the landmark, so I did not do great detailing in any of the other portion of the quilt.

To give you just a bit of history on this bridge, I will quote from History Grand Rapids.org website with my condensation of the history of the bridge:

"The Blue Footbridge [was] formerly the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad bridge. The original railroad bridge was built in 1868; its replacement, built in 1874, was destroyed in 1883 during the great log jam. The current bridge, the oldest railroad bridge in the city, was built in 1892. Trains crossing this bridge traveled between Muskegon and Mackinaw City. When rail traffic ceased in the 1980s, the span was restored, painted its distinctive blue color, and became a pedestrian walkway across the Grand River known as the Blue Bridge." http://www.historygrandrapids.org/photo/1548/blue-bridge

In the not so distant past, the bridge had a 21st Century upgrade. After a fresh coat of blue paint (no one wanted to change the color), color-changing LED lights were added to the Blue Bridge in October, 2013. The bridge spans can now be lit up with splashes of one or more colors on any ocassion. View the changing lights at:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2013/10/see_led_lights_transform_blue.html

I found a scrap of fabric for the backing that made me think of bridges. And I borrowed Elizabeth's method of making labels--using the Four in Art logo and making sure I put all the information about this 4th project in the series on it.