Project Reveal: Elsie the Elephant

 The theme for the Project Quilting challenge this week is A Happy Handful. We were to make something small, that would fit in your hand.

I tend to have a hard time keeping my projects small and simple, so I thought it would be nice to make a hanging, Something like a row of prosperity hens but maybe something else.  Since I have a bunch of elephants in the house, I figure I could just make those. The picture is a set of elephants I already own, but I wasn't planning on making anything that elaborate. And I am only making one elephant for this challenge, not the whole row.  It can be a bowl filler or a hanging, depending on how it goes with one.

So I dug up some directions and made one.  There are lots of directions; this one had a nice visible pattern that I liked so I printed the template and got to work.  Some of them, like this one, doesn't quite explain everything for someone like me who has trouble sewing straight lines and hasn't made a lot of three dimensional stuff.  I also didn't read the directions as carefully as I should have, because the tail is on the wrong side. I didn't know it at the time I took this photo, but I sewed the other side of the legs wrong.

I fixed the tail and some seams that were too small and turned it right side out.  The curves are really tight and needed to be reinforced.

I stuffed it with batting scraps.  This piece uses a lot of batting, which is a good thing.  Although the supply isn't technically unlimited, it does replenish itself pretty often.  I do have some batting that I cut up in small pieces so it wouldn't be lumpy, I decided this scrap was soft enough that I would just use as is, and it worked out just fine.  At first I didn't want a really fat elephant, so I used less, but eventually I kept adding more.  There is probably room for more, but I didn't want to overstuff it. I don't trust my seams. :)

I hand sewed the opening and since I didn't sew the legs right, I didn't wind up with four separate legs as the pattern indicated and therefore it doesn't stand on its own.

Here are some glamour shots.

The tail is from some packaging and the ribbon was in the room already so I didn't have to hunt for just the right thing.

Here are the two legs.  The extra pieces did leave little pockets that I could add stuffing to, so maybe it helped with that (?).

I thought I would make the ears fancy by using a decorative stitch on my machine, but those curves are hard to manage.

The eye was another piece of scrap fabric. It was a long rectangle so I just folded it in thirds to cover the raw edges and sewed it on. I really couldn't see since everything was underneath the presser foot so I just blindly sewed to secure the eye in place. I didn't want to do any more hand sewing than necessary on this piece.  

And here is the finished piece. I am calling it a quilt because it has a front and a back and batting in between.

It is reversible. The other side is similar. This is the last Project Quilting Project of the year.  Even though I didn't follow the pattern exactly, I am happy with this. I was debating whether to make a 2-D one and just thought I should try to make a 3-D one.

Here it is in my hand so you can see the size. The pattern had three sizes and I chose to make the largest one. I don't think I would have had much success with a smaller one. She's a handful!

Wait, there is more. There are plenty of other quilts left to see and make.

15 Minutes to Stitch Week 12

 

Besides making Elsie, I have continued to make progress on other quilts.  

I started a green Sawtooth Star quilt on Saint Patrick's Day. Ever since I wanted more green on the Lupine and Laughter Quilt , I've been wanting to make a green quilt, and a simple Sawtooth Star quilt has been on my mind. The plan was to start after L&L was turned into a top, but I couldn't wait.  So it is now crowding out the L&L quilt and maybe urging it to get finished faster.

I have three blocks done. Elsie is made from the scraps from one of them.  They look like they would fit right in with the L&L blocks, maybe with some help of some sashing.

I also worked on quilting the Dresden blocks and have started binding them.

• 15 minute days / March = 21 / 21 days
• 15 minute days / 2026 = 80 / 80 days
• Success rate = 100%

Quilt Reveal: Raggedy Heart

  

It's time for another Project Quilting Reveal! This week, the challenge is to:

PQ 15.3 Inside Out

For this week’s project, I want to see what’s normally hidden!

 

Make a project with exposed seams or a raw-edge finish. Take on a bag pattern or other project that is constructed inside out and then literally “birthed” as part of the process. Or use this as a theme and demonstrate your unique inside-out perspective.

Rule One: Some part of your project must thematically or literally be inside out.

I had decided before the challenge was announced that I would make a journal quilt if it was possible with the challenge requirements. A journal quilt is the size of a piece of paper. Even though I don't think the size of the previous projects were too big, I thought a smaller project might save me some time. I have another quilt I am making for the blog hop which I will show you on Thursday and I wanted to save time to make it.

I started out with a quilt sandwich. The top is a fabric I used for the Improv Portraits quilt. The batting and backing are leftovers from other Project Quilting quilts. I sketched out a heart on it using a heat erasable pen. 

I used strips of fabric that were trimmings from the blog hop quilt and cut some more to applique onto the heart shape I had made. 

After I finished sewing all the strips on, I trimmed them to make sure they combined to make the shape of a heart. This was scary to cut while the pieces are sewn on the quilt. Instead of using the shiny ribbon I had planned to use to cover up the raw edges on the outside, I tried a trimming of the fabric I had used to make the heart, and I really liked it, so I cut more that size to add as a border/binding.

Another quilter had made a raw edge border for the quilt and I loved that idea so the fabric is raw edge. I added the strips of fabric around the edge of the quilt using a heart embroidery stitch, then trimmed away the leftover batting and backing.

I think it looks good as is, and doesn't need any additional embellishment. I loved running my fingers through the ragged edges.

Here's a quote I found for it.

“You awaken your True spirit by way of the broken heart: ragged, vulnerable, fierce and finally compassionate. ”

                                        Jack Kornfield

I created a YouTube video for this quilt if you want to see the entire process. I resisted the urge to put suspense music while I was trimming the heart. It will be published Sunday Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. I am going to go ahead and publish this blog post now though, so that I can link it up right away to the challenge.

Uses for Fabric Scraps

I wanted to show you a couple of things I have made recently to use the fabric and batting scraps I have.

 

These hearts are made from the leftover batting strips from  the last quilt I made, Zou. This is the trimmings from the quilt sandwich. I covered the rest of the batting from other scraps and sewed them down, then cut them into shapes and added the rickrack. Pinking shears add a nice decorative edge. They can be used to decorate a holiday tree or a banner, used as prayer flags ,or given out as gifts. There is also a Facebook group called I found a quilted heart, where people leave these types of hearts out as a say to brighten someone's day and people can post the ones they find.

The rest of the batting strips and fabric waste can be used to make these Scrappy Balls. Basically just roll them into balls and decorate. This one is made from scraps of quilts I made earlier this year. It isn't finished, and other people are able to make really cute ones. There is also a Facebook group called Scrappy Balls that show you the pretty decorations people have made. They make great bowl fillers, pin cushions, toys for dogs or children, etc.

 Over the last few years, I have been following the Konmari approach to decluttering. Touch everything and decide whether you want it to live in your home. I have a big house and I am going at a slow pace, one shelf, drawer or box at a time.  I saved the sewing supplies for last because I knew they would be difficult for me. I haven't finished with the basement, but I think I will feel better if I do the sewing space first because it will be more useful to me.

The last few weeks, I have been working in the upstairs sewing storage room, a few minutes at a time. 

Yesterday, I grabbed a small box of fabric scraps and started processing them.  Most of the scraps in this box were things other people would just have thrown away as trash. When I make projects like the ones I showed you earlier in the post, I make them right away. I don't usually keep trash in a box, but I think this box was meant to be trash that was supposed to be thrown away, but I wound up having some usable pieces in it too.

That's what I did with them too, just throw them away. I don't store little fabric or batting snippets because I know that I can get new ones whenever I want.  

I don't like to cut pieces into certain shapes for the future because I always wonder if I might need some other size. What if I need 5 3/8" instead of 5 1/4"?  So what I do is cut for specific scrap quilts. That way, I know that piece has a place to be, and I know exactly what size I need. It is best to cut for scrap quilts you already have in the works. Do as I say, not as I do.

 

Most of my scrap quilts in process are 1 1/2" pieces and I wanted something that uses bigger pieces. I came across this quilt pattern by Michelle Mckillop called Unallocated. When you put it on point, the light and the dark triangles form lines which looks really good to me. My quilt may not look like hers because I am letting the fabric scraps dictate where they will fit in the quilt based on their size, so although I will have a light and dark triangle per block, the side strips are not all mediums. Hopefully it will work out though. And again because of the size of the fabric, I am not using the same fabric to sash the block. I will try to make it the way she did as much as possible.

 

 

I realize this new project just took me farther from my goal, but the year is young.

 

Day 23: Sewing for the Holidays

My daughter's pillow is finished. She can choose to not use the pillow form if she would rather have a wall hanging. She made this when she was much younger without any prompting for me. The kit was a gift from my mother, I think.

So it is fitting that I used some upholstery fabric my mother gave me for the backing. I used the pair of jeans I saved last week for the upper flap.  I didn't want to use more upholstery fabric because the patterns would clash with each other.

Random picture of the day: dog. Since the floor matches the pillow, I have to show it to you first.

I made some HSTs for the Garden Mosaic quilt. It is just a test to see if I can handle it.  So far, so good.

15 Minutes to Stitch

This week,  I finished hand sewing the binding on the Droid quilt. Also cut and pressed a few triangles for the Sunlight in Winter quilt, and made the pillow for my daughter.

15 Minute sessions of stitching this week:  7 out of 7
15 Minute sessions of stitching this year:  304 out of 357 sessions
Success Rate: 85%

Linked to:
15 Minutes to Stitch 
Monday Making 
Slow Sunday Stitching  My daughter did most of the slow stitching, putting in all the latch hook knots.  But I did stitch slowly by machine to get all the layers just right. It is my first time sewing a latch hook that I can remember.

Day 21: Gift Pillow

My daughter made this latch hook a long time ago. She said she was willing to take it off my hands if I finished it up for her. She is so generous! Since neither of us have any use for an unfinished latch hook, I am making this into a pillow and gifting it to her for the holiday. See, I can be generous too!

The photo shows the back of the latch hook, read for sewing.

Random picture of the day from the archive: flowers ring and donuts rings

There are a lot of bloggers who have joined the challenge to blog every day in December, so be sure to click on this link to see what they are up to.

Housewarming Present

I made a belated housewarming present this week. I made a self-imposed deadline so I could get it done.

First I stuck a piece of muslin on a sheet of fusible applique without pressing it, and was able to print out the 8x10 photo of the house. I fused it to a background fabric for more stability.  I really like that the car is there so it dates the picture to a particular time period - when she owned both the house and the car. I should probably embroider the purchase date somewhere in there to be even more specific.

I chose brown fabrics to match the house. Then I bordered it the printed picture with the dark brown. The light brown is a flange that has been basted to the piece. I think it adds a nice lightness to the dark browns.

I wanted use this border fabric, but I had only bought a quarter yards worth, because I had bought it for use on a different quilt, and it must not have been on sale. I didn't think I would be able to line up the pieces properly so the join wouldn't show and decided to add a skinny sashing to separate the joins.

Look at me, mitering the corners! Nothing like a deadline to force me to skip the nervous procrastinating and worrying steps.  It actually worked out pretty easily.

I appliqued her name on the oval and attached it to the quilt.

Then sandwiched and birthed the quilt.  Then I quilted it.  I didn't want to overdo it on the house so I just straight stitched out some of the outlines of the house.  There was a big open space on the yard and I didn't think I could quilt grass very well so I added a couple of kittens.

I added charms on the little sashing strips in the outer border and that worked out so wonderfully. They add a real elegance to the quilt.

I didn't poke out the corners all the way because I like the rounded corners look.

Did you notice that the finished quilt lays nice and flat without the puckers shown in my previous fun quilts?

Our house is a very fine house, with two cats in the yard . . .

I enjoyed making this quilt too.  I had to be more careful with quality since it was a gift, but I enjoyed making all the decisions in designing this quilt, and am really happy with how it turned out.

Linked to:

Mail Call Monday #135 

Monday Making 

Let's Bee Social #247 Be sure to check out her new hammer quilt!

Wednesday Wait Loss 

Beauties Pagent 6

Fabric Mandala

My sister was inspired by my scraps for the On Ringo Lake quilt and decided to make a mandala out of them.

 

The mandala was made on a canvas board. 

 

She drew some concentric circles on the board. Then she cut up pieces of my fabric scraps and laid them around the circles.

She used variegated and non-variegated embroidery floss to highlight some of the shapes.

She painted the backgrounds, added teeny tiny beads and added texture in the corners.

As incredible as this mandala is, the best part is that she gifted to me. It's mine!

Linked to:
WIP Linkup - I know it isn't a WIP, although Sis did make suggestions on how additional things could be added. Besides WIPs are supposed to eventually become finished projects!

WIPs on Wednesdays - Second verse, same as the first.

Wednesday Wait Loss - what a sweet creative name name for a linkup! And there is green in this project!

Let's Bee Social!

Valentine Art Quilt For Swap

A while ago, I showed you the quilt I received for the art quilt swap that was organized by one of my Facebook groups, Stitching with Fibers, Paper and More. Today, I thought I would show you the quilt I made for my swap partner.

I made two so I could choose the best one for my partner. It would also show that I did give my partner a quilt that I would be happy to get myself.  I tend to worry that the quilt I like may not be a quilt the recipient will like. Making two quilts helped, because one of those was mine, so I could make it to please myself, and the other one just used the same techniques.

I started out with a variety of fabric and paper scraps.  I have been focusing on the blue/green turquoise/aqua color scheme from Ringo Lake and decided to keep with that, but most of these scraps aren't from Ringo Lake. There are lots of upholstery scraps, paper and fabric scraps. I decided to do raw edge to make it more artsy and less traditional.

I added a border fabric on two sides.

The stitching that holds them down also double as quilting lines. I added the heart stitching around some of the edges to secure the edges.

The heart is a separate quilt (three layers and batting) that was appliqued on. I glued on paper hearts in case there wasn't enough paper. One of the rules of the quilt is to use 25% materials that you are not familiar with, and there are only a few squares of paper, so I thought adding more would bring it closer to 25%, although the upholstery and other fabrics should also count in the "fabrics I'm not familiar with" category.

Here are the two quilts. Neither of these stand out better than the other one to me. I mailed the one on the left because I thought it had a neater looking heart, and because it was skinnier and fit the envelope better.

They both have different hanging techniques. That was also one of the guidelines for the swap. I usually use applique pins for quilts this small.

I made a mistake in the mailing address so my partner did not receive the original quilt. I mailed her the other one last week to replace the lost one, and the tracking number shows she received this on Saturday, so I can finally show these to you.

Linked to:
Ad Hoc Improv Quilter Share Your Improv #30