I made this for a raffle to support my son's 8th grade class trip. I hope it brings in lots of money! It measures 72 x 84.
Why make one mini quilt when you can make six? It was fun adapting my Shadow Block Mini Quilt tutorial to make this set of colorful plac...
Will you look at Ann's beautiful quilt???? This just glows from the center out. The fabrics are incredible and so vibrant. The last border is dragonfly wings that are laced with gold, ya just gotta see it in person!! Dance of the Butterflies I had a lot of fun with this one, lots and lots of free motion quilting. I wanted to push the background back so there is some really dense quilting, some fluffy leafy feathers and lots of pebbles. Note to self - next time use a slightly different color thread. I used 60 wt Bottom Line thread for the back ground and it matched pretty well. There were a couple of time I had to get some side lighting so I could see what was quilted and what wasn't! Some gold metallic thread would have looked incredible right? I'm just not that brave. The dragonflies were just outlined so they look a bit trapunto-ish, like they are hovering over the quilt. Two layers of batting helped with that look, 80/20 on the bottom and wool on top 60 wt bottom line thread in the background two layers of batting to give extra fluff in the wings - Hobbs 80/20 and Hobbs Wool The last border I wanted something dragonfly wing-ish to match the fabric and I think I got it!! I used the Circle 2 rulers (seriously love these rulers) for the orange peel and then filled with a braid like pattern trying to get the feel of the wings, add the echo on the outside and the fans and looks like those wings are fluttering. That was the only ruler work on this one. What a fun quilt! Little bit of ruler wok on the last border - what fun!! Then I went from summer fun to winter wonderland with Sandra's snowman quilt. Oh my, will you look at that embroidery??? wow!! I used an 80 wt thread, wonderfil deco bob, on this, I didn't want anything to compete with her beautiful handwork. She likes a little less quilting so I just outlined the embroidery like applique and did some over all snowflakes. Added a computerized edge to edge on the snow flake border and called it done! Sandra always amazes me with her embroidery! Batting is hobbs 80/20, just enough snowman puff. Snowman A to ZZZ by Crabapple Hill Studio Hobbs 80/20 Batting 80 wt Wonderfil Deco Bob thread top and bottom Hope you have a great quilty week, don't forget to stop by the linky parties for some wonderful inspiration!!
Dragonfly is a beautiful big and bold design. It is an intermediate-level pattern made up of two different sizes of curved blocks. It is a five-color pattern and comes in two sizes: Baby/Wall Hanging (38” x 52”) and Throw (56” x 78”). This pattern works well with prints and solids. The combinations are endless. This is a great pattern to practice making different sizes of curved blocks! This is a PDF digital copy of the Dragonfly Quilt Pattern. After purchase you can instantly view the pattern under your Etsy account by clicking on Downloads. This pattern uses yardage and contains multiple diagrams and a coloring pages to help you plan your quilt. Pattern is for personal use only. Copying, redistributing or selling is strictly prohibited. You may sell quilts made with this pattern, but please give the designer (modernquiltlab) credit. For instructions on how to download digital files follow this link: https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115013328108-Downloading-a-Digital-Item?fbclid=IwAR0XE3w3JxLdoXZtaDEfuEYBeNwaLvDa6p31jOsUEpUzAAkc7yfozwO6fMQ&segment=shopping If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I hope you love this pattern as much as I do! Instagram: @ModernQuiltLab Thank you and enjoy!
This dragonfly was found on the building outside of where my neice works. I admire all of the details with all of the sections and lines. A true work of art in itself. Even the delicate wings of lace are all so facinating. I felt quite inspired to quilt this lovely piece for Suzan. The back of this quilt top shows an interesting way that it was pieced. Rather square construction, but the top was curved and then stitched down. Even the pinwheels are made with folds. I really enjoyed quilting such wonderful open spaces. As I walked out to get the paper, I saw a few dragonflies flitting in the air. Soon the dragonflies will be gone as they get their last hurrah for summer, but the memories in the quilt will live on even in the winter months.
Yes, I know it is unusual to give someone a Halloween quilt as a Christmas gift, but I could not have done better with creating a gift fitting for its recipient. For a while now, my daughter has wanted me to make a quilt for my son-in-law. And I wanted to make him one, but our tastes are very different so it took me a while to channel his desires into a quilt. I like all the colors, bright and bold. He likes neutrals. His favorite holiday is Halloween. My least favorite holiday is Halloween. Somewhere along the way, I decided to investigate a skull quilt. I think I was inspired by some of the brightly colored skulls from Day of the Dead celebrations. The resulting quilt is a very close replica of this picture I saw on Pinterest. The picture did not link back to a specific source so I am not able to give full and proper credit. Most of my quilts are created from stash, but this one required a more limited, neutral set of fabrics, and fortunately a little bit of online shopping landed just the right combination for this quilt. It was fun to piece and fun to quilt. Using the inspiration photo as a guide, it became much like assembling a mosaic. The eyes, nose, and mouth are heavily quilting in hopes they would recede into the bones of the skull. The spirally eyes were especially fun to quilt. The pebble quilting that surrounds the skull is one of my favorite ways to quilt. Finally, I wanted to personalize the quilt so instead of a traditional label, I quilted Zack's name and the year right into the border surrounding the skull. We got together with Zack and family a couple of weeks before Christmas as they will be travelling to see his family on Christmas day. The backing is made from the leftover fabric. This guy makes a big quilt at 82 x 88 inches. I loved being pushed out of my comfort zone to create this quilt for my favorite (and only, ha!) son-in-law.
Welcome to Week 2 of our Pretty Playtime Quilt Along, featuring the Pretty Playtime Quilts book! We'll be taking you
quilt
Several years ago I started inexplicably collecting dragonfly patterned fabric. I don't have a particular affinity for dragonflies nor did ...
Will you look at Ann's beautiful quilt???? This just glows from the center out. The fabrics are incredible and so vibrant. The last border is dragonfly wings that are laced with gold, ya just gotta see it in person!! Dance of the Butterflies I had a lot of fun with this one, lots and lots of free motion quilting. I wanted to push the background back so there is some really dense quilting, some fluffy leafy feathers and lots of pebbles. Note to self - next time use a slightly different color thread. I used 60 wt Bottom Line thread for the back ground and it matched pretty well. There were a couple of time I had to get some side lighting so I could see what was quilted and what wasn't! Some gold metallic thread would have looked incredible right? I'm just not that brave. The dragonflies were just outlined so they look a bit trapunto-ish, like they are hovering over the quilt. Two layers of batting helped with that look, 80/20 on the bottom and wool on top 60 wt bottom line thread in the background two layers of batting to give extra fluff in the wings - Hobbs 80/20 and Hobbs Wool The last border I wanted something dragonfly wing-ish to match the fabric and I think I got it!! I used the Circle 2 rulers (seriously love these rulers) for the orange peel and then filled with a braid like pattern trying to get the feel of the wings, add the echo on the outside and the fans and looks like those wings are fluttering. That was the only ruler work on this one. What a fun quilt! Little bit of ruler wok on the last border - what fun!! Then I went from summer fun to winter wonderland with Sandra's snowman quilt. Oh my, will you look at that embroidery??? wow!! I used an 80 wt thread, wonderfil deco bob, on this, I didn't want anything to compete with her beautiful handwork. She likes a little less quilting so I just outlined the embroidery like applique and did some over all snowflakes. Added a computerized edge to edge on the snow flake border and called it done! Sandra always amazes me with her embroidery! Batting is hobbs 80/20, just enough snowman puff. Snowman A to ZZZ by Crabapple Hill Studio Hobbs 80/20 Batting 80 wt Wonderfil Deco Bob thread top and bottom Hope you have a great quilty week, don't forget to stop by the linky parties for some wonderful inspiration!!
And my dragonfly...I think I will use it on a bag....
I seem to be in a bug phase at the moment, because on the heels of my Spooky Spider paper piecing pattern, next up is a paper pieced dragonfly! I designed this for a swap, and this little mini quil…
Dragonflies were often used on the armour of Japanese Samurai. Dragonflies were thought to be fearless, swift and courageous and because of this they were believed to bring the soldiers strength and protection. Our Niche Sashiko Template range gives you the confidence to draw your own Japanese inspired designs straight onto your chosen fabric or garment. Using our Niche Templates allows your creativity to take hold and design bespoke, one of a kind pieces. Our templates are created with the perfect stitch length for each design, which means you'll never again need to guess the number of stitches required for the best outcome! Template Size: 8.5" Square
Explore kmtrott1958's 548 photos on Flickr!
Earlier this week I shared my latest quilt finish, a Shadow Block Mini Quilt. Today, you can make one, too. One very important thing to keep in mind with this project is that the smaller the project, the more important it is to be accurate. Be extra careful with your cutting and check to make sure your seam allowance is an accurate 1/4". If you do those two things, your project will come together perfectly. Fabric requirements: Focus fabric - Twenty 3" squares A charm pack (an assortment of 5" squares from a single fabric collection) is a good way to bring variety to the squares, or, if you have been quilting for a while, you can probably find a nice assortment in your fabric stash. If you wanted to cut the focus squares out of the same fabric, you need a quarter yard or fat quarter. Shadow fabric - 1/4 yard or fat quarter This fabric should be a solid, medium value neutral. The finished quilt shown uses a tan, but a gray, or even khaki green would work for this. As long as there is contrast with the background, it should provide the right effect. Background fabric - 3/8 yard light solid fabric Backing fabric - 5/8 yard Binding fabric - 1/4 yard Cutting for the quilt top: Focus squares Cut twenty 3" squares Shadow Cut twenty 1" x 2 1/2" rectangles. Cut twenty 1" x 3" rectangles. Background Cut forty 1" squares. Cut twenty 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" rectangles. Cut five 19 1/2" x 1 1/2" strips. These strips form the sashing between each row of blocks. You may want to wait until your rows are sewn together before cutting these strips. That way if your seam allowance is off a little, you can cut these strips to the length of your rows. Cut two 17 1/2" x 1 1/2" strips. These two strips will go on either side of the quilt top once everything is sewn together. Again, it might be a good idea to wait and check the width of your quilt for greater cutting accuracy. Make the blocks: Each block needs one 3" square of focus fabric, two 1" squares of background fabric, one 1" x 2 1/2" rectangle of shadow fabric, and one 1" x 3" rectangle of shadow fabric. First, stitch the background squares to the shadow fabric. Press the seam toward the shadow fabric. Next, stitch the shorter shadow fabric and background strip to the side of the focus block. Press toward the focus block. Then stitch the remaining shadow and background strip to the top of the block. Press toward the focus block. Your finished block should measure 3 1/2" square. Check each block and trim it to size if needed. Or, adjust your seam allowance if the resulting block is too small. Once you have made a couple of test blocks and are pleased with the result, you might want to try chain piecing some of the parts to make it go together faster. Chain piecing is when you have lots of similar piecing to do so rather than starting and stopping for each one, you stitch one right after another without cutting threads. It can also help with pressing. I chain pieced all the squares to the shadow rectangles. The connecting parts helped my pieces stay flat and secure on the pressing surface. It's hard to wrangle a tiny one-inch square for pressing. Once I had them all pressed, I cut the units apart and continued to the next step. Arrange Blocks and Add Sashing: Once you have twenty blocks made, lay them out in four rows of five blocks, switching them around until you are happy with the arrangement. I tried to do the arranging at the beginning but discovered it was too hard to keep them in order while the blocks were being assembled. You can see where I had already made two blocks to check my accuracy before playing around with the layout. I ended up arranging them again after all the blocks were made. When you arrange your blocks, make sure the shadows are all facing the same direction. The next step is to add sashing between the blocks. Each row of five blocks will need four 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" background rectangles sewn between. Press the seams toward the sashing strip. If your seam allowance has been accurate throughout the project, each row will measure 19 1/2" long. It is okay if it doesn't. Just make sure to adjust the length of the long sashing strips as needed. Now stitch long sashing strips (the 1 1/2" x 19 1/2" background strips) between each row, then to the top and bottom of the quilt top. The last step is to add the remaining two background strips (1 1/2" x 17 1/2") to each side of the quilt top. Your top is finished! Cut your backing fabric a few inches bigger than the quilt top. Layer the top, some batting, and the backing fabric and get ready to quilt. There are a million ways this top could be quilted, but I really wanted to emphasize the shadow on mine. It is heavily quilted with free motion straight(ish) lines sewn on each one. The only other quilting is straight lines along the edges of each block, both horizontally and vertically. There is no quilting on the focus blocks so they will stand up just a little more than the rest of the quilt top. Once the quilting is completed, trim and square up the edges and add some binding. I am finally getting the hang of machine binding so that is how the sample quilt is finished. This quilt is fast and fun to make. If you make this quilt, I would love to see how yours turns out. Please leave a comment or drop me an email if you have any questions.
AccuCut standard wood dies feature steel-rule blades that ensure a precise cut each pass through the machine. You can cut up to seven layers of construction paper or cardstock depending on the machine you are using and the intricacy of the die. The dies will also cut through anything scissors can cut including foam, sp
Sweet Dragonfly 1 Fabric Panel is part of the Sweet Dragonfly Fabric Collection printed by Sewing Parts Online. Digitally Printed on 100% cotton. This panel is available in 6 different sizes: 4.5 Inches by 4.5 Inches 9 Inches by 9 Inches 18 Inches by 18 Inches 23 Inches by 23 Inches 36 Inches by 36 Inches 43 Inches by 43 Inches Sew Creative Fabrics prints are only available through Sewing Parts Online, not sold in stores or anywhere else online. * Proudly Manufactured in Dickson, Tennessee USA! * * Even though we do our best to make certain that the colors in our fabric photographs are accurate, please be aware that your display screen may show small variances in color, shade or hue. Our Digitally Printed Fabric At Sew Creative Fabrics, we take pride in our commitment to quality and sustainability. Our fabrics are digitally printed with care right here in the USA, Middle Tennessee to be exact. Sewing Parts Online digitally prints each design on 100% cotton using environmentally friendly water-based organic pigment inks. This ensures vibrant colors that are safe for you and the environment. Here's how we do it: First, the eco-friendly ink is precisely applied to the fabric. Next, the fabric undergoes a meticulous curing process in our special ovens. This step not only sets the ink deeply into the fibers for long-lasting color brilliance, but also does so without using any water whatsoever. This makes our method of textile printing not just effective, but also the most eco-friendly choice available. By choosing Sew Creative Fabrics, you're getting beautifully printed textiles and are supporting sustainable practices that reduce environmental impact. Join us in making a difference, one fabric at a time! Learn more about our fabric printing process.
I can’t believe that I have finished my garden series! Thank goodness I chose a theme that I love so much because this set of 16 patterns was a lot of work. I am happy to share my final blo…
You hail from Dream-land, Dragon-fly? A stranger hither? So am I, And (sooth to say) I wonder why We either of us came! –Agnes M.F.R. Da...
Here is the final block in my 16 pattern garden series. It's time to figure out my quilt layout!
Yes, I know it is unusual to give someone a Halloween quilt as a Christmas gift, but I could not have done better with creating a gift fitting for its recipient. For a while now, my daughter has wanted me to make a quilt for my son-in-law. And I wanted to make him one, but our tastes are very different so it took me a while to channel his desires into a quilt. I like all the colors, bright and bold. He likes neutrals. His favorite holiday is Halloween. My least favorite holiday is Halloween. Somewhere along the way, I decided to investigate a skull quilt. I think I was inspired by some of the brightly colored skulls from Day of the Dead celebrations. The resulting quilt is a very close replica of this picture I saw on Pinterest. The picture did not link back to a specific source so I am not able to give full and proper credit. Most of my quilts are created from stash, but this one required a more limited, neutral set of fabrics, and fortunately a little bit of online shopping landed just the right combination for this quilt. It was fun to piece and fun to quilt. Using the inspiration photo as a guide, it became much like assembling a mosaic. The eyes, nose, and mouth are heavily quilting in hopes they would recede into the bones of the skull. The spirally eyes were especially fun to quilt. The pebble quilting that surrounds the skull is one of my favorite ways to quilt. Finally, I wanted to personalize the quilt so instead of a traditional label, I quilted Zack's name and the year right into the border surrounding the skull. We got together with Zack and family a couple of weeks before Christmas as they will be travelling to see his family on Christmas day. The backing is made from the leftover fabric. This guy makes a big quilt at 82 x 88 inches. I loved being pushed out of my comfort zone to create this quilt for my favorite (and only, ha!) son-in-law.
Introducing the whimsical Dragonfly Delight Barn Quilt Pattern, a fluttery ode to springtime magic! Dive into DIY fun with our Spring Quilt Block Kit, designed for both young adventurers and seasoned crafters alike. Immerse yourself in the timeless charm of classic quilt lines and blocks. Our DIY Kits for Adults bring out your inner artist, with wood craft kits that provide the canvas for your creativity. Where to display your masterpiece? Anywhere your imagination takes flight! From home to office, wreath to mantle, let your Dragonfly Quilt adorn every space in need of a touch of enchantment. Unleash your artistic vision with DIY Paint Brushes! Paint or stain, the choice is yours. Let your creativity soar as you customize your quilt to complement your beautiful abode. Crafted with precision from 1/4" maple plywood, our Barn Quilt Craft Kits are a testament to quality and detail. Choose your size, square up your space, and let the magic begin! Hanger not included? No problem! Whether it's drilling a hole, hanging a picture hanger, or opting for trusty command strips, displaying your creation is a breeze. At A Vision to Remember, we pour our hearts into handcrafting each DIY Kit. Nestled in the heart of Idaho, our small family-owned business has been crafting memories for over a decade. From handmade rag quilts to laser-cut wood products, we're here to make your home décor dreams take flight. Fly on over to our website at avtrbarnquilts.etsy.com and let your creativity soar with our Dragonfly Delight Barn Quilt Kit!
This dragonfly paper piecing pattern is great for mini quilts, or for incorporating into a bigger quilt! Three different block sizes are included (9", 12", and 18" finished). This pattern assumes knowledge of basic paper piecing techniques. For a free downloadable tutorial click here. You will receive: • Block assembly instructions • Full-size foundation patterns for all sizes (When printing your pattern, please ensure that scaling is set to 100% in order for all pattern pieces to print correctly.) • Coloring pages to test out your fabric choices The background uses approximately 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4 yard of fabric for Large, Medium, and Small sizes, respectively. Download: You will be emailed a download link after checkout. Please save the PDF to your hard disk immediately; patterns are limited to 3 downloads. EU/UK customers: In order to comply with VAT regulations, please purchase this pattern through my Payhip shop. This pattern is for personal use and for one person only. Please do not distribute. All digital pattern sales are final.
An update on my dragonfly. I am not sure if I should save it for a quilt or frame it…
Adrienne’s dragonflies…e2e pattern…
This quilt started as a pursuit for a baby quilt for a coworker. She has a woodland themed nursery in gray and teal. This is her first child. When I was seeking out information about what she would like, the first animal mentioned in the description was a fox. I'm not even sure I heard any other animal that was named. A fox is what I wanted to make. So off I went to find the perfect woodland fox quilt inspiration. I did not want cutesy or realistic. I wanted sweet. And then I found this blog post by 3rd Story Workshop. Not only was I in love with the quilt but also drawn to the designer. I did not want to be inspired by her quilt, I wanted to make a replica of it. And fortunately, she generously shares her fabric choices and her techniques. I typically like to use as much stash as possible for any project but this time was different. I went shopping and matched as closely as I could the quilt she made. The fox is paper pieced and was easy to construct. Fox colors are among my favorite so anytime rusts and oranges are in the mix, I am extra delighted. The birch trees on the original quilt were improv pieced. There is even a tutorial for how to construct them. I was intimidated by these trees. I love some good improv but generally any improv I have tried before was abstract. This improv was actually supposed to look like birch trees. I studied the tutorial and studied her quilt. These trees were constructed at around one a day, and each day I had to tell myself to keep moving forward. A tree alone looks very strange but together in a forest, maybe it would work out. This is the pep talk I gave myself each day during this process. It wasn't until the background was added that I started to see that it really might work out. The black strip was to show where the horizon line should be. Because the trees were gently curved and leaning one way or another, each background piece was scissor cut and carefully stitched in so the trees could maintain their natural stance in the quilt. Finally, the top was completed. At this point, I was cautiously optimistic. The next step was to hand stitch some eyes on the fox and then to layer the quilt. If this had been my own design, the is where I would have choked. How should this be quilted? The trees, the sky, the ground, the fox... so many elements to quilt. Thankfully, 3rd Story Workshop went with an all over design using wood grain quilting. Please, yes, and thank you for that. This is a quilting design I had not tried before, but as the quilt was evolving, I was studying. There are quilts on Pinterest, and tutorials galore. The most helpful one for me was Angela Walter's Three Common Mistakes When Quilting the Woodgrain Design. I bet I watched that video five or six times, which is good because I made all three mistakes at some point on this quilt and was able to quickly correct them. I was even able to find the same backing fabric as the original quilt. It is so perfect. The only aspect of the quilt that I did not copy was the binding. Andrea of 3rd Story Workshop used white binding just on the corner where the fox is sleeping. I liked the design element, but I knew the recipient of this quilt would not appreciate the extra effort so I kept it simple and bound the quilt with the same blue that is the sky. You might also say I was being a bit lazy with that step. I was ready to see the finished quilt. What I love most about this project is that it pushed me to try new things. This one helped me grow as a quilter and conquer some of that irrational fear that creeps into my quilting world from time to time. This quilt took 19 hours to complete. It was started on February 1 and completed on February 17. It is 39 x 46 inches. Sleepy Fox will be gifted at a baby shower on March 5. Linking to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.
This dragonfly template is perfect for kids arts and crafts! Grab our free PDF and checkout our ideas for dragonfly crafts you can do using it.
This quilt started as a pursuit for a baby quilt for a coworker. She has a woodland themed nursery in gray and teal. This is her first child. When I was seeking out information about what she would like, the first animal mentioned in the description was a fox. I'm not even sure I heard any other animal that was named. A fox is what I wanted to make. So off I went to find the perfect woodland fox quilt inspiration. I did not want cutesy or realistic. I wanted sweet. And then I found this blog post by 3rd Story Workshop. Not only was I in love with the quilt but also drawn to the designer. I did not want to be inspired by her quilt, I wanted to make a replica of it. And fortunately, she generously shares her fabric choices and her techniques. I typically like to use as much stash as possible for any project but this time was different. I went shopping and matched as closely as I could the quilt she made. The fox is paper pieced and was easy to construct. Fox colors are among my favorite so anytime rusts and oranges are in the mix, I am extra delighted. The birch trees on the original quilt were improv pieced. There is even a tutorial for how to construct them. I was intimidated by these trees. I love some good improv but generally any improv I have tried before was abstract. This improv was actually supposed to look like birch trees. I studied the tutorial and studied her quilt. These trees were constructed at around one a day, and each day I had to tell myself to keep moving forward. A tree alone looks very strange but together in a forest, maybe it would work out. This is the pep talk I gave myself each day during this process. It wasn't until the background was added that I started to see that it really might work out. The black strip was to show where the horizon line should be. Because the trees were gently curved and leaning one way or another, each background piece was scissor cut and carefully stitched in so the trees could maintain their natural stance in the quilt. Finally, the top was completed. At this point, I was cautiously optimistic. The next step was to hand stitch some eyes on the fox and then to layer the quilt. If this had been my own design, the is where I would have choked. How should this be quilted? The trees, the sky, the ground, the fox... so many elements to quilt. Thankfully, 3rd Story Workshop went with an all over design using wood grain quilting. Please, yes, and thank you for that. This is a quilting design I had not tried before, but as the quilt was evolving, I was studying. There are quilts on Pinterest, and tutorials galore. The most helpful one for me was Angela Walter's Three Common Mistakes When Quilting the Woodgrain Design. I bet I watched that video five or six times, which is good because I made all three mistakes at some point on this quilt and was able to quickly correct them. I was even able to find the same backing fabric as the original quilt. It is so perfect. The only aspect of the quilt that I did not copy was the binding. Andrea of 3rd Story Workshop used white binding just on the corner where the fox is sleeping. I liked the design element, but I knew the recipient of this quilt would not appreciate the extra effort so I kept it simple and bound the quilt with the same blue that is the sky. You might also say I was being a bit lazy with that step. I was ready to see the finished quilt. What I love most about this project is that it pushed me to try new things. This one helped me grow as a quilter and conquer some of that irrational fear that creeps into my quilting world from time to time. This quilt took 19 hours to complete. It was started on February 1 and completed on February 17. It is 39 x 46 inches. Sleepy Fox will be gifted at a baby shower on March 5. Linking to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.
Art using pretty bugs like dragonflies, lady bugs and butterflys, june bugs etc. My revulsion to ugly bugs like pototoe bugs and earwigs.
This quilt started as a pursuit for a baby quilt for a coworker. She has a woodland themed nursery in gray and teal. This is her first child. When I was seeking out information about what she would like, the first animal mentioned in the description was a fox. I'm not even sure I heard any other animal that was named. A fox is what I wanted to make. So off I went to find the perfect woodland fox quilt inspiration. I did not want cutesy or realistic. I wanted sweet. And then I found this blog post by 3rd Story Workshop. Not only was I in love with the quilt but also drawn to the designer. I did not want to be inspired by her quilt, I wanted to make a replica of it. And fortunately, she generously shares her fabric choices and her techniques. I typically like to use as much stash as possible for any project but this time was different. I went shopping and matched as closely as I could the quilt she made. The fox is paper pieced and was easy to construct. Fox colors are among my favorite so anytime rusts and oranges are in the mix, I am extra delighted. The birch trees on the original quilt were improv pieced. There is even a tutorial for how to construct them. I was intimidated by these trees. I love some good improv but generally any improv I have tried before was abstract. This improv was actually supposed to look like birch trees. I studied the tutorial and studied her quilt. These trees were constructed at around one a day, and each day I had to tell myself to keep moving forward. A tree alone looks very strange but together in a forest, maybe it would work out. This is the pep talk I gave myself each day during this process. It wasn't until the background was added that I started to see that it really might work out. The black strip was to show where the horizon line should be. Because the trees were gently curved and leaning one way or another, each background piece was scissor cut and carefully stitched in so the trees could maintain their natural stance in the quilt. Finally, the top was completed. At this point, I was cautiously optimistic. The next step was to hand stitch some eyes on the fox and then to layer the quilt. If this had been my own design, the is where I would have choked. How should this be quilted? The trees, the sky, the ground, the fox... so many elements to quilt. Thankfully, 3rd Story Workshop went with an all over design using wood grain quilting. Please, yes, and thank you for that. This is a quilting design I had not tried before, but as the quilt was evolving, I was studying. There are quilts on Pinterest, and tutorials galore. The most helpful one for me was Angela Walter's Three Common Mistakes When Quilting the Woodgrain Design. I bet I watched that video five or six times, which is good because I made all three mistakes at some point on this quilt and was able to quickly correct them. I was even able to find the same backing fabric as the original quilt. It is so perfect. The only aspect of the quilt that I did not copy was the binding. Andrea of 3rd Story Workshop used white binding just on the corner where the fox is sleeping. I liked the design element, but I knew the recipient of this quilt would not appreciate the extra effort so I kept it simple and bound the quilt with the same blue that is the sky. You might also say I was being a bit lazy with that step. I was ready to see the finished quilt. What I love most about this project is that it pushed me to try new things. This one helped me grow as a quilter and conquer some of that irrational fear that creeps into my quilting world from time to time. This quilt took 19 hours to complete. It was started on February 1 and completed on February 17. It is 39 x 46 inches. Sleepy Fox will be gifted at a baby shower on March 5. Linking to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.
This free quilt pattern is called “Spring in the Pond”. Download it today. Download
It's been a very busy past week here, so I haven't been able to sew or blog that much, but thought I'd share a new quilt that I'm starting to work on. I've been so driven to finish up my UFO's that new projects have taken the back burner. I was asked to make this special quilt last week, and was told the recipient's favorite colors, and that they like dragon flies. They also are more "traditional" in their quilting tastes. After looking on the web and in local stores for dragon fly fabric with very little success, I found this dragon fly quilt block among some image searches on line, but no instructions or patterns, so I made up a test block using graph paper and fabric scraps. It's been a goal of mine to learn the EQ7 program that my husband bought me almost a year ago. I've been trying it out with each project, with only limited success, but for some reason, it all seemed to click this time!! I was able to draw the quilt block, then put it into a quilt!! I can not tell you how excited I am about this!! I think EQ 7 is best suited for these traditional styles, or at least it's best to start out with these designs to learn the program. It's even pretty easy to export to a blog (whew hew!!) I quickly realized that the block makes a beautiful pattern when they are rotated in a certain way!!! I'm so in love with this design!! I think I like it best above, but also did a mock up with sashing to separate the blocks a bit more. Which version do you like the best? I hope to get it done by Christmas, and thankfully, my "schedule" will be slowing down a bit next week (hopefully). Finally, I sent these "use your selvages" postcards off into the world for my last postcard swap. I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced WIP Wed. Come see what others are working on!
