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Art, Artist and crafter, Artistic moment, Arty, Ccotton flannel monkeys, Commissioned patchwork, Cotton fabrics, Cotton handmade quilt, Crafty creations, Creative crafting, Creative patchwork and applique, Cute unique Quirky designs and ideas, Designer Patchwork Quilt, Fun with fabrics, Hand quilted patchwork, Little Monkey Quilt
Where on earth does time go….???? ……..Even on a very grey day, this little patchwork and applique quilt certainly brightens up the garden !
Since last posting, just what have I been up to???? Well, lots of things ~ plus, a few out of the norm activities too….my world has been somewhat shaken and stirred of late ;-/ in between many new crafty creations!!
Around Ester time, I was dragged (kicking and screaming onto an aeroplane after 15 years of avoidance… on the grounds of health and safety, lol – much better to have your feet on land than the base of an aeroplane I think..but, in necessity and eagerness to meet lovely new in-laws in Serbia (after the marriage of our daughter to our new son-in law) it was a must 😉 Meeting our new extended family was wonderful! Though, having flown back into the UK in the wake of storm Katie, flying is definitely not on my agenda again any time soon! The plane seemingly hit a thousand and one ”potholes” on it’s roller-coaster style approach in the sky, as we circled the London Eye at least seven times waiting to land!! Very scary, even for seasoned travellers ;-/
Just before leaving for the trip, I was commissioned to do a little lap sized handmade cotton quilt for the grandson of a special, dear friend in the US 🙂 My lovely friend Jackie! She asked if I could make a patchwork quilt for her little grandson?? YAY.. Of course! I was super excited!!!!! Especially having been given free reign once again by Jackie, to create something unique. My only brief for the project …’Monkeys’ !!! I could choose all the fabrics, colours and design…WOW!!! Where should I start??
Pencil and paper at the ready, I sketched out some cheeky little monkeys. I wanted to make sure the background design was very simple so the blanket could grow with the little guy it was intended for, maybe even passed down to future generations !!
Finally, I went for a large geometric pin-wheel/triangle background to represent the jungle in different shades of green cotton fabrics, along with creating some large cotton fabric ‘jungle leaves’ which I appliquéd around the monkeys . Adding some more primary colours, bright red and blue borders, I think, made it feel more masculine too. The little monkeys are all made from super soft cotton flannel and backed with 100% super soft cotton too! In fact, All the applique pieces have been cotton backed, turned and then hand stitched into place, so, they will never fray! Following the jungle theme I added in a little cotton parrot and a couple of cute, crazy looking frogs 😉 A quilt designed and made to last!
A little close up of the hand-stitched parrot, monkey and a cute, crazy frog, ironed folded and packaged ready for shipping.
I know Grandma (Jackie) and mum are super happy with it…YAY! A little snippet from Jackie’s e-mail after receiving her parcel…
{Hi Caren,
}
Caren's Creative Canvas & Craft 
Very cute. How long did it take you?
Thank you 🙂 ! It did take longer than usual, due to having the trip in between, but, all told and sandwiched together, it would have been about a week in total hours, which is what I like to achieve for a commission lap quilt….PS usually I don’t sleep in the 100+ hours till it is completed 😉
Absolutely gorgeous Caren. I love this – you are so clever. And good on you for travelling to meet your new in-laws…that is very special.
Thank you Sue 🙂 I’m so happy I didn’t chicken out, it was a lovely experience (apart from the flying)!
I love it!!! and the little frog gives it the little extra special thing what makes it to an eyecatcher BRAVO!
Thank you Easy 🙂
Oh My … I’m not surprised the quilt had such a great reception from your good friend, it’s adorable x
Thank you Mrs. P 🙂
You are most welcome, glad to see you have found the time to take a breath and share with us all just what you have been up to of late 🙂
I hope life in ‘The Tangled Backwoods’ has been good to you and your Beloved of late. Time seems to be rushing by, especially when we’re all so busy! It’s nice to find time to get around to blogging ~ though to be honest another reason for hopping on the computer, is, that our neighbour has erected a scaffold right next to my crafting chair…well outside the window after removing the fence panel, so he can build up his extension (gosh that sounds a bit rude ~not intended ;-/!) anyways, I think we both feel a bit awkward me sitting there sewing, like…
http://etims.net/?attachment_id=7480
….while he’s being….
https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.gstatic.com/tv/thumb/tvbanners/8716307/p8716307_b_v8_ac.jpg&imgrefurl=http://google.com/search%3Ftbm%3Disch%26q%3DBob%2520the%2520Builder&h=1440&w=960&tbnid=QxmO07zRCmJ6eM:&tbnh=160&tbnw=106&docid=PSiZfhqXLFGTkM&itg=1&usg=__zHgTzULxUoiFi3rQQpKG7I_qX4o=
Hopefully he will be done soon 😉
Love the images LOL
Beloved is rescuing the cottage from a burst hot water tank at the moment – we caught it in time so not too much damage but living with only cold water is RUBBISH !! even Neurotic Cat only comes home once the pub next door calls time.
For some reason known only to myself I thought it would be a good idea to crochet a tea cosy … I’ve done the main body only to read the pattern to realise I have the roses to make … ALL 29 of them so I’m now at this stage
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj-68bajLzMAhXF1hQKHZsmD58QjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.livialovia.com%2Fblog-it%2Fhave-ocd-obsessive-crocheting-disorder&bvm=bv.121070826,d.d24&psig=AFQjCNE-VG9OnbAfHXUlXYlg48wJKTnXsQ&ust=1462302818028037
Other than that life’s just grand Hahahhahahahahahaha – sorry did I come across as hysterical just then ????
OH NOOOOO!!! I can just imagine Mr. P… wading around in flippers and snorkel after the deluge …as the weather is set to send a mini heat wave this week, perhaps you could opt for a quick soak in The Village pond until the tank is fixed ?! 😉
I must say, there was a little hint of hysteria when you mentioned the 29 roses lol love ALL the captions, especially no 15 ;-D I’m sure if you batten down your Beloved and add a gag too, until all 29 are completed, the tea cosy will be beautiful ~ can’t wait to see it 🙂
K9 says I’ll be glad when the mini heatwave shows up then it just might dry all this water up ..who knew a hot water tank could hold so much
I was going to send you a pic of Beloved in his speddos then reconsidered as you know you are of a fragile constitution.
I’m now on rose number 4 …bejesus I’m loosing the will to live.
Are you and Bob the builder still at swords drawn or have you taken up residency back in your crafting studio ??
It looks by Sunday we are set for a scorcher!! So, hopefully your residence will be dried out by then ?! If your Beloved is already in Speedo mode, he’ll be well set for sunbathing 😉 at the weekend…quite right, my delicate constitution would have had me reeling to the chaise longues I’m sure lol
Already on No 4 wow!!…. you don’t waste time, though by the sounds of things you’ll be ready to jump from the arm of your chair by No 29 ;-/ I’m sure it’ll be worth all the effort 🙂
Me and ‘Bob’…well, I made a stance today to carry on regardless in my chair in situ, then he appeared, so I disappeared (for a while) came back, he’d gone, so I carried on, then repeat the while situation a few more times…trouble is he needs to be building the outer wall, which really should be fine as neither would be facing the other, just it means butt at head height on the scaffold…I’m not sure my constitution is up to that (…especially in the hot conservatory…) I think I need a modesty curtain ;-D
Hahahaha the thought of you faced with a builders bum at head hight is just too much to contemplate… just wondering if ‘Bob’ has a blog and is telling his loyal following about ‘Sewing Lady’ in full crinolines who he is trying to avoid 🙂
If he is, then between the ”fortune telling” and ripping fabric, to then, sew it back together again, must surely have me down for a complete mad woman! Come to think of it…maybe that is why there has been no ‘Bob’ at all today??? lol
So ‘Bob’ has taken leave of absence to update all his followers of your daily rituals …if you get a sudden rush of folks ‘needing’ your fortune telling skills you know word has got around LOL
My crinolines have spent the best part of the day shimmying to and fro,to the front door….greeting a surge of people with packs of playing cards??! However, as I have been far too busy cooking broth for the week… I had to send them all off to shuffle decks between themselves!
However…Bob returned today (with a plus one!) would you believe it??? and on the hottest day of the year so far, I found myself confined to kitchen duties missing all the action! After nine hours of braising a cut of meat, which I can only assume to be of alien origin, as it has only now reached the tenderness of a shoe sole…..I missed all the fun..and now the wall is of an appropriate height, which at least means I can return to my little crafting chair – well, at least until the roof development 😉
Bob +1 ??? what on earth is that about ?? Ah shoe sole alien for lunch …how delightful – you must send me the recipe it would make a stunning change to the flip flop bottoms I normally serve up 🙂
LOL are you sure you want to torture your loved ones with my indigestible recipes ?? 😉 Flip flop bottoms sounds very exotic on the other hand !!
PS the whole of the ruddy page downloaded in the link it was number 15 only that should have been sent ….see life at the cottage is just hunky dory LOL
LOL still, they were all worth reading and so very funny 😀
The quilt is so cute! Gorgeous. Well done on getting on the plane.
Thanks so much Bekki 🙂 Getting on once was bad enough, especially knowing I had to get on again to come home ;-/ lol
😦
😀
P.S. I’m so sorry I have fallen so far behind in my blog reading. 😦
Please don’t worry Jackie!! Time seems to be at ‘super warp’ speed these days 😉
Thanks so much for being so understanding! And you are right about time. Whooooooosh – there it goes 😉
No kidding! I seem to have travelled through a couple of months again without posting ~ goodness knows where they went!! ;-/
This is just delightful – no wonder you were given free rein, your imaginings are far beyond those of most people. How very modern to have in laws in Serbia and good on you for overcoming your fears to go and see them.
What a lovely comment, thank you Sheila 🙂 Our new extended family were all such lovely people and it was very exciting to meet them. We had a few language barriers with those of similar age to ourselves and older, though the youngsters stepped in for both sides when there were way too many hand gestures and questionable faces 😉 lol
Love this. It is awesome. My wife used to quilt and we visited in many Quilt shows in Finland.
I’m sure you got to see some wonderful labours of love along the way! 😉