Friday - April 21, 2023

Bird Joy

I had so much fun creating this bird wall hanging.

The flower stem is black cording that I couched in place. To add dimension, I knotted the cord at the end beneath the beak. Two buttons are stacked for the eye; the bottom button has an opalescent shimmer for interest.

I wanted to include butterflies on the quilt that had translucent wings so that the background would peek through. I stumbled across the perfect solution on Amazon. In case you are in need of butterflies, here is the Amazon link (50 butterflies in 2 sizes for $11.99 when I bought them).

("Ode to Joy" wall hanging.)

Since the quilt challenge required words on the quilt, I added small square silver beads along the ground that spell "joy". This is my own quilt design.

Enjoy the day and some time in the sunshine!

Dawn

 

Tuesday - April 4, 2023

A Very Red Hat

Having fun knitting. Just finished this bright red hat. I donate the hats I knit to those who need them. Hope someone doesn't mind glowing in the dark. Maybe someone who enjoys night walking or running? They will be seen!

(A cheerful hand-knitted red hat.)

I've also begun knitting an infinity scarf on my oval loom. It's easier than I thought it would be. The stitch is called a mock crochet stitch. Here is a YouTube video of the process if you are interested in trying to loom knit an infinity scarf. The video shows the scarf being knitted on a round loom, but I have an oval loom with the correct amount of pegs along one side ... so no going in circles for me. https://youtu.be/2B29MDn-qes

Hope the day is good to you!

Dawn

 

Saturday - March 11, 2023

Bird Beginnings

Our quilt guild has a challenge that combines a memory with adding words to a quilt. I remember my father and I working in the vegetable garden when a bird landed atop his head .. and his surprised "Ouch!" when the bird yanked out some of his hair for its nest. He wore a hat outside after that encounter!

I pieced the background from assorted yellows from my stash. Then I started cutting shapes. I worried that the beak and legs might blend too much with the background, so I used a permanent fabric marker to add black dots to the beak and leg fabrics. I'll also outline stitch them in place, which will help define them.

(Bird quilt in process. Playing with the layout.)

I'm thinking of layering two buttons for the eye. I also plan to add a curling flower stem and some butterflies. I spent a lot of joyful time in the garden watching nature as I worked. So the word "joy" is probably going to appear somewhere on the wall hanging.

Enjoy your creative time!

Dawn

 

Thursday - February 16, 2023

Flower Basting

After wrestling with fabric choices ... blue won for the fourth flower. I now have flowers in red, purple, orange and blue. I didn't want to buy fabric, and these choices worked best from my stash.

I have some great fabric that looks like bricks, so I cut it to resemble a walkway through my fabric flower garden. I could have used the beige background fabric for the center square, but I opted for the green which adds to the garden vibe.

(Pin basting the wall hanging.)

I selected a green "leafy" fabric as the backing. The wall hanging is pin basted and ready for quilting. I'll keep the quilting simple, following the outline of the flowers, leaves and walkway.

Time to thread the sewing machine! Enjoy the day.

Dawn



Saturday - January 21, 2023

More Flowers

I don't have enough scrap fabric in the color I need, so I must create some crumbs. Today I am ready to construct the fourth and final flower for my crumb quilt wall hanging. I pulled a bunch of yellow fabrics, but the brighter yellows did not show well against the pale background fabric. And the darker gold-yellows look too orange. So I raided the blue fabric stash to see what I can come up with. If I go with blue, I need to make sure they don't have a purple hue.

(Piles of fabric. Now to see which shades work well together.)

In the meantime, here is a photo of the latest block. Love this purple flower.

(This is going to be a pretty wall hanging when finished.)

Eager to return to the sewing machine. Enjoy a creative day!

Dawn

Saturday - January 7, 2023

Time for Class!

What a fun day ... tiring but wonderful. The Zoom workshop worked out well. My quilting friends and I set up our computers to view the class, and the instructor had several cameras so that we could easily see what she was demonstrating. By the end of the four-hour class, I had one block completed and had begun piecing crumbs for a second flower.

(One block finished. I might make one adjustment.)

When sewing the greens to make the leaves, I didn't realize one of the green fabrics would appear much lighter than the others. I learned to be careful if a fabric crumb has white in the design (like the green fabric above). I'll construct the rest of the blocks and then lay them out. If the lighter fabric in these leaves is too distracting, I'll darken the white areas with a green fabric marker so that the fabric blends better. (I'll experiment on a scrap first.)

Onward! I have a garden to create.

Dawn

Wednesday - January 4, 2023

A New Year & Workshop Prep

Can't wait for the workshop on crumb quilting. Part of the workshop prep is sorting scrap fabrics into color groups and then ironing the scraps. In the class, we are creating flower blocks using bits of fabric to piece the flower and leaf sections. The class goal is to complete one or two blocks. I want to make four different color flower blocks for a wall hanging. Other project options included potholders or a table runner.

(A selection of green fabrics for leaves & flower colors.)

I need one more flower color. I selected red, orange and purple fabrics. Debating between a blue or yellow flower for the fourth one.

The instructions called for white background fabric. I did not want a stark white background, so I went with a pale bone color. After cutting out the background pieces, I wasn't left with much fabric.

(I barely had enough background fabric. The leftovers.)

I also prepped my sewing area so that I had plenty of room for the sewing machine, cutting mat, ironing board, acrylic rulers and scraps ... plus room for the computer so that I could view the Zoom workshop instructor. Here is a link to the workshop supply list if you are curious.

Definitely looking forward to a creative year!

Dawn

Friday - December 30, 2022

It's Almost 2023!

Looking back on 2022...So many accomplishments and more things added to the to-do list. I participated in my first online Mood Board writing pitch, which required learning a few more tech skills. I visited Cape Cod during the summer. There were more Zoom meetings and workshops (quilting and writing). I joined a local knitting group. Added new quilt block clip art to my website for free download. Helped several friends gain a foothold in social media. Enjoyed celebrating a friend's first published picture book.

(The Tree in Dock Square by Jean Woodbury -- my friend's book.)
(You can view the book trailer on YouTube.)

So what's on the agenda for 2023? I've been eyeing my unfinished project pile while also adding new projects to my "want to make" list. Once again I am joining the All People Quilt UFO challenge. However, my list includes both unfinished projects as well as new things I really want to create.

(I'm joining the 2023 UFO Challenge from All People Quilt.)

My first project in 2023 is to take a Zoom class on crumb quilting in early January. What especially interests me is creating new "fabric" from scraps and incorporating it into a quilt design. As part of the prep work, I've been sorting my scraps into color piles and ironing them. I also need to select a background fabric.

As a precursor to the crumb workshop, this week I attended a great Zoom lecture on scrap quilting. I learned some interesting insights regarding color and saturation, helpful when selecting fabrics.

I hope you are filled with creative inspiration. Have fun in 2023!

Dawn