“Childhood Memories” – finished quilt

On July 22, 2018 By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Applique, Batik, Pets, Quilting, Scrap Quilt, Trees2 Comments

When designing a quilt, I like to plan the quilting at the same time as the piecing. This allows me to think about adding something unique to each quilt. My recent project for the two sided tree quilt was no exception.

The quilting of the tree, leaves and background would be fairly straightforward. Wanting to add something special to the quilt, I thought about what I could add to the tree. One idea was to place flowers or shrubs at the base of the tree. Another was to add some animals.

My final idea, and the one I actually used, came while reviewing some photos from my childhood. These photos brought back memories of things growing up. I decided to add theses memories to the quilt.

I needed to invoke the idea of a memory without overwhelming the quilt. To do that, I planned to used only thread to make the images appear very faint. After stitching, I realized that the images were there but extremely hard to see. Having recently purchase some textile medium (InFusion Textile Medium) that was very lightweight (did not stiffen the fabric) and shiny, I decided to use this to enhance the visual effect of the memories.

I am really happy how they turned out. If you look closely at the images, you will see a boy leaning against the tree reading a book, a girl on a tree swing, and their faithful dog laying on the ground near them.

Painting

Here are the full images of the quilt front and back:

Hand applique and embroidery

On July 19, 2018July 19, 2018 By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Applique, Batik, Quilting, Scrap Quilt, TreesLeave a comment

How do you applique a two sided quilt?

You think, think, plan, think some more, plan again and then finally jump in and do it. That kinda describes the process I went through when contemplating the idea of embroidering an identical tree on both sides of a quilt.

Idea #1

adhere light weight fabric adhesive to the back of two pieces of fabric for the tree trunks
draw the tree trunk onto the fabric and cut out two identical trees
adhere the tree to one side of the quilt and baste in place
adhere the tree on other side and then machine embroidery through all layers of the quilt and tree
machine quilt the details onto the tree
Concern – machine quilting will cause the quilt to be “flattened” and lining up the edges of the tree on each both sides of the quilt would be difficult

Idea #2

baste stitch the outline of the tree onto the quilt
cut out fabric to match the tree
use needle turn embroidery to stitch the tree onto each side of the quilt
machine quilt the details onto the tree
Concern – it might be difficult to control the amount of fabric involved while doing hand embroidery

Idea #3

pin large pieces of the tree fabric to both sides of the quilt
machine quilt the tree details onto the tree
trim the fabric approximately 5/8″ – 3/4″ away from quilting details
use needle turn embroidery to stitch the fabric to the quilt
This was ultimately the idea I decided to use for the trees, sun and moon

DayNightTree

Daytime detail:

I decided to hand applique leaves onto the daytime side of the quilt. To do this, I pinned pieces of green fabric onto the quilted tree. Then I machine quilted the outline and veins of a leaf onto each piece of fabric. After cutting around each stitched leaf, I used needle turn embroidery to secure the edges of the fabric.

Nighttime detail:

I did not want to use the same technique on the nighttime side of the quilt. So, after completing the daytime side, I used the quilting lines as a guide to paint faint green fabric dye onto the leaves and then hand embroidered outlines around the leaves.

DayNightLeaves

Unfortunately while quilting the leaves onto the daytime side, my long arm machine handles fell off the machine while I was working on a leaf. When this happened, the needle broke and the broken needle tore the fabric through all layers of the quilt. This picture shows that even on the backside of the quilt, the broken needle tore the fabric. I was really bummed!

To fix the tear, I could applique a leaf onto the daytime side. But, how do I fix the tear on the nighttime side. I could applique leaves on this side as well. However, that was more applique then I really wanted to do. And, I had really wanted the two sides of the quilt to use different techniques. This was really frustrating.

Ultimately, I decided to add a bit more detail to the quilt. By appliqueing an owl on the nighttime side and a cardinal to the daytime side, I was able to repair the quilt and no one can even tell that the quilt was torn.

BirdOwl

A good repair and some nice details for the quilt! I have added more details to the quilt that were really fun to do. I will post about those soon.

Custom Footrest For My Craft Room

On July 7, 2018July 8, 2018 By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Home Improvement, Life, Pets, Sewing Tools1 Comment

Lately, I have been doing a lot of hand stitching – applique, embroidery and quilt binding. When hand stitching, I like to have a place to rest my your feet higher than the floor in order to make myself more comfortable. Unfortunately this was something that I did not have in my new craft room.

Wanting to add one, I starting looking around the room to see where I could store the footrest when it was not being used. The size of a place to stash the footrest would be the limiting factor for the size of the footrest itself. With the room maximized for storage, I was not finding a good spot to keep one. So, I put off purchasing one.

WIN_20180707_18_07_34_Pro

This past week I have been working on binding a quilt. As a temporary measure, I pulled out one of my storage boxes from under my long arm table and used that to prop my feet on. It worked out fairly well, just the right size, but a bit too low. So, to get the height right, I put a folded flannel quilt on top of it.

Unfortunately the quilt I used was a favorite of my cat, Onyx. Most times, when I went into my room to sew, she was sleeping on the quilt. So, I needed to figure out a more permanent option.

A trip to Hobby Lobby to purchase a few items (2″foam, 5/8 yd print canvas fabric and elastic braid) and I was ready to make a slip cover to place on the storage box. First, I cut the foam to fit on top of the box lid (10.5″ x 14″). Then, I cut the fabric to 20.5″ x 24″. A few box seams in the corners, a hem with the elastic into and I was done.

Now I have a colorful and comfortable foot rest. When not in use it fits nicely into the original storage spot without taking up any space in my room.

I even had enough leftover fabric to make a nice throw pillow for my sofa.

Happy Independence Day!

On July 4, 2018 By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Fused glass, Holidays, QuiltingLeave a comment

FlagPlate

In honor of our American Independence Day, I am posting a picture of a glass plate that I made which combines two of my favorite crafts, quilting and fused glass.

The design is based upon the Friendship Block. The pattern is two of these blocks of different sizes superimposed upon one another to make a single block.

Pattern

It is possible that the resulting block design has another name. If so, I am unaware of it.

Supplies:

Spectrum Blue and Clear Wispy Coe 96 glass, cut to match pattern
Uroboros Clear and White Streaky Coe 96 glass, cut to match pattern
Uroboros Clear and Grenadine Coe 96 glass, cut to match pattern
Clear Coe 96 glass, 7″ x 7″
7″ plate mold