silhouette quilt

I had so many things I wanted to include in my last post, I didn't take the time to really document my process for doing the silhouette quilts. Since this is a project that I intend to try again, I need to make note of how I went about them, what went well, and what I would do different next time. This is an essential reason why I started this blog so I need to keep up with that stuff. I think I will, but I never will, remember how I made them. I go back and look at some things I've made in the past and I have no idea how I did them. I know this would happen with these silhouette quilts. So here we go.

First thing I did was take a side view photo of the kids. I turned them to B&W photos and printed them out on regular printer paper. I carefully drew around the profile with a black pen and then held it up to the window with another piece of paper on top and traced the whole profile outline. Then I used paper-backer fusible webbing and traced the outline one more time. I then ironed the fusible onto some black fabric and then very carefully, with very sharp small scissors cut out the silhouette. Everything up to this point is going good, looking good.

Here is where I have some concerns about my design. Because I wanted the silhouette to be set against a white background, I ironed/fused it to some linen. This is something I think I should not do again, it just made for too much unmanageable poofyness in the end. So anyway, I small zig-zagged very, very carefully all the way around the profile. I ironed more fusible to the back of the linen and then cut it out in a big oval. Then I ironed the big oval onto the blue and white striped linen.

For the cross stitch I found some letter designs somewhere on the internet (can't find that link) and I used something called waste canvas to help line up and count the stitches. It's basted to the linen and then I did the cross stitches and when it was all done I undid the basting and the waste fabric can be pulled out thread by thread. I love the way the cross stitch looks, but woo-boy does it take a long time to do. I ironed this onto some more fusible, cut it into a circle and ironed it onto the striped linen. Again with the bad poof.So it's all ironed down, and zig-zagged down and I make it into a quilt sandwich. Here is where I made another mistake that I think many quilters probably think about doing, but don't try because they know better. Before quilting, I attached the binding. It just makes, yet again, for a lot of extra, unwanted poof. I hand quilted it in moderately spaced lines, but if I did more I think the poof would have turned into wrinkles. In a last ditch effort to control the poof, I did the black running stitch around each of the white ovals. It looks good at least. So finally I think that it looks good, but I need to go about it much different next time for a smoother result. Too much fusible web makes the quilt too stiff. Lesson learned.

Here is what I'm working on right now. Another go at a color wheel quilt. Of course the original idea is from Last Minute Patchwork, but I didn't use that pattern. I wanted something smaller like a wall hanging, and frankly I thought that I had I better idea for the construction. I used a 9 degree wedge ruler. In my world, math has always been much better as theory than in practice. It should take 40 wedges to make a circle in theory, but in my quilt it took 41. So maybe my construction idea is not really better. I thought these would make great teachers gifts. Jim's trying to talk me out of that idea. It always comes back to the same question of whether people really appreciate handmade or not, so why invest the time if you're not sure?

Here is a perfect example. I'm at a garage sale this weekend and see this darling painting for $5. I pick it up to pay and the woman is like, "Oh that's an original, I had papers, but I can't find them." So you're selling it for $5? It's obviously hand painted on a hand stretched canvas. The frame and matting are all done beautifully and by hand. There was nowhere in your home, or that of a friend, or your adult children for this painting? Am I missing something here? It's not ugly, right? What is wrong with people? What kind of price is $5?

I've got some big ideas

I've been in a big planning/inspiration stage for the past month. I have many great ideas that I can't wait to jump into once the kids go back to school. That still leaves me with one baby still at home, but she's easy. Ha! I know I am probably being too ambitious with these plans, but I'm gonna give it my best shot. I'm going to make a throw quilt for the family room out of the fabric pile on the far left. It is mostly inspired by Martha Negley fabric and the colors of late summer and early autumn. When leaves are bright green against a cloudless blue sky and the flowers deepen to jewel tones. Rather than using a quilting cotton for the background, I'm going to try using a linen/cotton blend in a natural color. I hope it works out OK.

The other piles are for quilts for my two older girls. I've gone crazy trying out various novelty prints combined with florals. I don't have the perfect combo yet, but I'm getting very close. I want to get started on these quickly for my girl Maria. She is going through a fearful stage and I'm hoping a little more nighttime security will help her. Oh, I feel so bad for her. Bugs, bees, snakes, water, dark! What is a defenseless 5 year old to do? Anyway, it has been fun looking at and choosing fabric. I don't think there is any category of fabric that I can't fall in love with given the right opportunity.

Most of the month we have been visiting my parents and enjoying good times like this:

and views like this:

Baby-time

I have not been able to make much time for crafting over the past month. I added some embroidery to the quilt top that I am working on. I did it pretty much freehand. I was really stuck on how to do this. I don't have any software at all on my computer, so I couldn't type it out and trace. I didn't want to buy any more crafting books that might show some nice ways to do letters. So, I just made it all up myself. And it looks like it. Oh well. Sometimes road blocks in a project can be maneuvered with grace and finesse, and some just need to be plowed through. I hope I can get back some of the enthusiasm I once had for this quilt so I can get it done soon. I don't like starting new things when one is still lingering near completion.


I can't believe Tess will be six weeks old in two days. With a new baby in the house, time has taken on new meanings to everyone. I swear it seams like Tess was born last week but it was over a month ago. The kids think waiting just one year for her to walk will take so long. My mom remembers the cicadas of 17 years ago only being around for about 24 hours. Yep, we are in a weird baby induced time-warp. I'm hoping we will be out of it soon, so when she takes a 2 hour nap it feels like more than 10 minutes.

Completed spring projects

I've finished up two dresses for the girls this week. I don't have a lot of experience making clothes. I found making the kimono for Patrick pretty easy so I thought I would try some summer dresses. I used Butterick B4501 and it is an easy pattern to follow. The fit is not great in the bodice. Way too big. I made the orange dress first and I think it looks better worn over a tee shirt. I used a pretty fabric Jim got for me at Liberty when he was in London in January. When I made the white dress I sized down one size for the bodice and kept the same length for the skirt. This made for a much better fit. The fabric on the white dress was ordered from kitty-craft. Both dresses are really for Maria, but I let Betsy model the white one. She got very mad when I said she couldn't ride her muddy bike with the new white dress on. That's why she's not looking at the camera. She is very good at being three and a half.

I have, at this time, only one (but I'm not counting a lot of other things at this time:) unfinished project. I've been working on a baby quilt. I fell in love with the Freshcut fabrics and hemmed and hawed for a long time if I wanted to start a quilt, what colorway to go with, what quilt pattern to choose. It went on and on. I got it all together and made up a quilt top. But I couldn't leave it at that. No, that would be too easy. I looked at it and decided it needed lots of applique to make it cuter. I wanted the appliques to be my own designs and some to have special meanings. I started with fusible web applique, they were all cut out and ironed down, some even satin stitched down. Then I got fussy. I didn't want fusible web applique. I wanted them to be hand sewn. Gah! Why do I do this to myself? I pulled those appliques off and started again using the freezer paper method. Well, it is really looking beautiful and cute now but it is taking longer.
It will not be done before Tess comes. In less than a week! I have scheduled a C for the 23rd of May if she doesn't want to come sooner. I'm in a very surreal state during this last week of pregnancy. I spent about and hour in the grocery store yesterday trying to shop. I spent hundreds of dollars and when I got up to make breakfast this morning I had no syrup or milk. What on earth was I doing??? No milk? I'm pregnant and have three children in the house and I didn't even consider milk. Nice work. I hope my next post will feature a photo of my greatest work in progress for the past 9 months.

Making a blanket and a baby

I've been reading all these crafty blogs where everybody is crocheting blankets. Granny squares, ripples it all looks like so much fun it made me want to pull out my crochet hooks. I like the shell stitch and I found this beautiful purple variegated yarn that I thought would look great paired with a subtle neutral like white. Well as I got going I really didn't like the purple and white contrast. It was just way too much. I stopped and made it into a cute scarf for Maria. It is just her size.I still had a lot of this beautiful purple yarn to work with so back to the yarn store I went to pick out more yarn that might go better. I also went to my sketch book to come up with a better blanket design than stripes.
I have made it about half way through this purple/green with applique flower concept. It will be very pretty. When done. Wow am I slow at crochet! Is crochet slow? I'm sure it must be me, I am very slow at everything.

So my mind wanders off onto other future craft projects while I'm hooking away. When I heard that a friend just had a baby boy, I seized the opportunity to jump to another project. I grabbed a stack of wool scraps and started cutting. I did not get very far into it when I started to consider how well I really know this friend. I mean I have no idea if she would even appreciate a handmade gift. She might say, "eew! This was made from thrift shop sweaters?" But maybe not. I don't know her very well. I think I am really trying to come up with an excuse to keep it for myself. I think it came out really pretty. I love the colors. I was going to use a pretty light blue baby wale cord for the binding, but by chance I put a little black/sparkly gold next to it and changed my mind. I love it when fluky things like that happen and end up being a great idea. I never would have thought of it on my own.

I need to get back to this crochet project and finish it up fast. I have so many more ideas and so little time before this new baby comes. Honestly though, this baby girl is the project I have put the most amount of energy into over the past 8 months, and more than anything in the world, I can't wait to see how she comes out.