‘Flying Goosey’ Quilt Number 2 – proving a point to myself…that I’m not getting slow in my old age (Not that old really) !!!

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In well under two weeks I have a result! From the humble beginnings of four cotton fabrics which I selected – to a finished little beauty! Lovingly hand crafted and hand quilted with ever so many stitches it could never, ever, EVER fall apart 🙂

My newest creation! Flying Geese and appliquéd hearts lap quilt number 2 actually finished yesterday, but my camera broke down – and here’s me thinking it’s the quilt design that is jinxed !!!  Maybe it’s just me…..!

My four chosen cotton print fabrics….after lots of hunting through mountains of materials at the fabric shop I eventually chose these four to go together. Tasteful, Simple, Rich, Stylish and Elegant! As soon as I had them in my arms all together, I could already see how the new quilt would look in my mind’s eye! The only thing delaying me from starting, was some good old fashioned hand washing of the fabrics to rid them of any excess dyes! No sooner dry and ironed…..let chopping, piecing and quilting begin 😉

I always think it is a good idea to make another ‘Goosey” quilt until I reach 5/31 geese border strips…then I sigh my way through the next 26….knowing, it WILL be worth all the effort – at the same time trying not to think of all the hand quilting to come ;-/ !!!!

A little hand sewn label, to let generations hence, (should it EVER become an Heirloom piece 😉 ) know who and where it was made! A little touch I probably should have already been adding to my lovingly hand-crafted quilts…better late than never though ! As a seller on Etsy I have become aware of just how many vintage quilts there are, and, it’s important to new makers like myself, and a must, to let people/buyers know that they are NEWLY made rather than vintage…..though, I hope and feel my own designs show a contemporary style anyway! As much as I love patch working I do feel sometimes people just add too much (colour/mix of fabric designs/ confusion etc,etc (this is my opinion only-others may feel differently and we should all have our say, I think), I do like some structure to what I design and make, though others may too have other tastes, which is of course absolutely fine too! Whilst I realise in the olden days, Patchwork items were made out of what was available and maybe in short supply, it is now a luxury to go and buy new fabrics to create such items today. Though it is my belief that by buying only small quantities of each fabric I am still forcing myself to create something out of very little – even if it is all new material!

I look out proudly at my latest achievement as it gently blows in the wind after its final wash before going off to my Etsy shop! I do hope it can eventually make someone happy…..and of course warm and cosy! 🙂 I certainly sewed many, many hours during its creation (on average, I reckon I work for 2 pence per hour including material costs!!!!! Minimum wage would make it only available to the Billionaires of the world – I’m not sure they shop on Etsy?!?) and incorporated lots of sweet dreams into it too! – they are include free of course!!!  😉

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My biggest challenge so far!!!

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Applique, Applique hearts, Art, Art and craft creations, Art and design creations, Artist, Artistic moment, Arty, Beige and cream fabrics, Broderie anglaise fabric flowers, Capturing a couple's memories onto fabric, Cotton patchwork fabrics, Crafting with buttons, Crafty creations, Creative crafting, Designer patchwork quilts, Embroidered Sharpei, Embroidered Shih tzu, Foundation piecing patchwork, Fun with fabric, Glastonbury, Great Hall Mains, Hand quilting, Handmade Patchwork and applique, Lap quilt, Matrimonial quilt gift, Memory quit, Original, Patchwork, Rome, Subtle coordinating colours, Trevi Fountain, Unique, Wedding gift

AND…HERE IT IS!!!! The GRAND unveiling of the commissioned designer handmade and hand quilted totally unique… Matrimonial/Memory patchwork large lap quilt made for two!!! 

Having been granted permission to do a post from A Lady who commissioned me, I can now, after the Happy Event of their marriage, of Nathan and Kim that is, show their designed and handmade gift as well as Wishing them a Long and Happy Life Together! 🙂

I was very recently approached by A Lady, who had heard of me, by word of mouth (always the best recommendation I feel !!!) to see if I could create something extra special as a Wedding Gift for her Son and future Daughter-in-law, Something,which they could treasure as well as being totally unique and relate only to them ?!? WOW – A challenge and a half…My sleeves were already rolled up! 🙂

During our  consultation session together, and having shown many examples of what My Lady thought she might like to have handmade for the excited couple, she finally did a ‘flip’ on her first thoughts, especially after seeing pictures of the two commissioned lap quilts I made for my friend Jackie, another WordPress Blogger with outstanding photography images, find Jackie at   http://iamlostinthot.wordpress.com/about/

”LOSTINTHOT” Personalised Designer Handmade and Hand Quilted Custom Order 36” x 48” ART Lap Quit.

Commissioned Elephant Lap Quilt. Handmade and hand-quilted with custom design applique elephants hearts and flowers.

So My Lady finally opted for a large lap quilt – big enough for two! YAY! What an opportunity for another creative moment  🙂 !

After My Lady’s decision was made, we talked through what the requirements for the quilt panels would be……..Here is my brief;

*A fabric panel of the Trevi Fountain, Rome (The spot of the proposal)….Gosh, thought processes are in motion! Then, some simple embroidery naming the  the venue and date of Engagement alongside…

*A fabric depiction of the Happy Couple enjoying Glastonbury 2014 in ‘Wellies’ and sun glasses!…A testy challenge!! Also, embroider  venue and date…

*An embroidered depiction of their two ‘babies’ a Shih tzu and a Sharpei with their names too….OMG I was getting a little worried…..;-/!!!

* A small vine of 3D fabric flowers running around the Wedding venue panel, Oh! And a couple of random 3D padded hearts…

*A fabric constructed panel of the ‘Great Hall at Mains’ a slightly wonky wooden beamed Tudor barn which was to be the Wedding venue….Plus ”Mr & Mrs…and the date… ””””’fainted!!!!!!!!!!””””’

After picking myself up….and a few good deep breaths. I felt I could attack this challenge!  I agreed it would be perfect as their totally unique Memory Quilt, all we had to do now was discuss a colour scheme ;-/…

to which, the conclusion was to be;

*Creams, whites (for the bride’s gown (no clues as to which the Bride would be wearing ,so let’s use both..)

*beige/ deeper creams (to match their living spaces and their décor)

*A pink flowery headband (as Kim wore at Glastonbury …Oh, and wellies and sunglasses too!)

*Grey (for the Groom and party’s suits)

now came the ultimate challenge……!

*was it, Pistachio, or mint, or jade green, or light sage, or… or…My Lady gave it so many descriptive terms ??? My lady wanted a colour match as close as possible to the ribbons on the invitations, which in turn matched the waistcoats of the Gentlemen party, to be the main accent colour in the quilt…

All nice choices! But, I was running on a very tight time scale, five weeks to a completion date and still awaiting a colour swatch before I could start, or, even buy any fabric… OMG… the perspiration was stating to bead as I awaited a colour sample, Could I get it done in the time frame? Would My Lady be happy ???  Now, I was really worried!  Had I taken on, for the first time, something I thought was more than I could chew….. ;-/ ?

At last, I got to see the colour of ‘green’ which was to symbolise the waistcoats and be the accent of the whole quilt, as fast as I could I was off to the fabric store, all I needed to do now was to find ”that green” beige/creams and greys that would go together….only a small extra challenge then. 😉

I picked my fabrics VERY carefully and used a perfect piece of fabric for the hearts which just by chance and good luck, was a deep grey with just a flecks of brown and cream on it but which also went extremely well with the ”green”, I hope you agree, the overall colour effect is quite subtle and coordinated ?!? I set about designing, and came up with a simple eight panel design surrounded by border strips of different sizes, in order to bring all the fabric colours together. My Lady had a specific order to which the panel pictures should be on the quilt, though with a gentle suggestion I sent out my first draft for the design and her approval, meaning her original choice of wanting four large panels had been developed and divided up into eight . A picture panel and smaller appliquéd heart panel alongside to include all the requirements and requests which My Lady wanted on the quilt 🙂

My suggestion was approved!!!YAY!!!  So, my  cogs of creativity were set in motion…

All the fabric applique shapes are turned back double fabric pieces, thought the Great Hall has been foundation pieced starting in the centre and working outward, incorporating some of the beams into the foundation and appliquéing the larger final ones. The hearts, dogs and Trevi Fountain have simple embroidery done in a ‘sketch style’ with little stitches here and there, apart from the Glastonbury panel, which has pieces so tiny, so I used a type of double sided adhesive before hand stitching the applique pieces in place! A simple cream cotton backing and unbleached soft 100% cotton wadding was used to give a traditional feel. Once sandwiched together, I hand quilted the whole panel.I added the stem stitched vine around the Great Hall panel and made some Broderie anglaise fabric flowers attaching them with a coordinating button to the quilt  Finally I added a binding of the same fabric as the inner panel borders and hand stitched it down.

What had I been worried about ?!? I still had two weeks until the deadline and it was finished 🙂 !!! But My Lady was still to see it…..

Having taken a couple of photos, just to show My Lady her commission was complete, I contacted her, with full intentions of taking more and clearer shots of the quilt hanging from the washing line. But, as it turned out the weather wasn’t allowing for this, after the glorious weather, it had decided to rain…a lot! Then, My Lady couldn’t contain herself, she didn’t want a preview over the internet she NEEDED to come and see it straight away !!!!!

My Lady arrived early the very next day!  I presented my designer quilt for her inspection…and stopped breathing simultaneously….

Her face was a picture, she was totally ”thrilled to bits”’  🙂 🙂 🙂 YAY! Then she told me, ‘…..it is so much nicer than anything I could have ever wished for! The colour combination Is perfect, (bear in mind, she hadn’t seen the fabrics I had chosen) I love the overall design….the quality is superb and in such a short time too…In fact I am speechless, it’s just wonderful…PERFECT!!!’ 

 As well as all My Lady’s lovely comments, I did get quite a few hugs too 🙂 So I think she liked it 😉

 

I breathed a huge sigh of relief, It was simply the best feeling in the World, to know I had accomplished all My Lady’s thoughts and dreams onto a fabric panel and made her so, very happy too!!! 🙂 Just hope the Happy Couple like it now!

 

A couple more pictures of the panels…

 

The Trevi Fountain

 

Lexi and Marley

 

Glastonbury 2014

The Great hall at Mains, Lancashire UK

3D  fabric flower vine

Broderie anglaise fabric flowers attached with a coordinating button to the quilt panel and a stem stitched curly vine

 

Appliqué fabric heart

Appliqué heart

Appliqué Heart