A Little commission ~ Super soft cotton flannel appliquéd monkeys on a quilt

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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,

The quilt was delivered safely and I couldn’t be more pleased! It looks even better than the photo you sent.

 As soon as I can I will write a review in etsy. 

Again, thank you for the quilt! I hope you have a great week. 

Take care and I’ll talk to you soon. xx  }

Thank You so much Jackie!! It was a lovely little project and very exciting to be given another commission by you  (though always a little scary to have free reign) I’m so glad you love the finished quilt!!) I know you will see this post at some point ;-)It was my absolute pleasure to create another unique little art quilt for you and your little grandson!

Maybe in the future as Jackie’s little grandson gets older, he will give each of the little monkeys a name 🙂 Meanwhile, I hope he has many, many happy little naps and sweet dreams under the colourful quilt 🙂

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‘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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Applique, Applique hearts, Art, Artist and crafter, Artistic, Artistic moments, Arty, Bed topper, Black red cream patchwork, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Cotton fabrics, Cotton wadding for a traditional feel, Crafty creations, Creative crafting, Creative patchwork and applique, Elegantly designed patchwork quilts, Fun creations, Fun with fabric, Hand quilting, Lap quil, Lovingly handmade patchwork and crafts, Modern patchwork, Original, Original art, Patchwork, Patchwork and applique, Patchwork and quilting, Patchwork quilts, Patchwork throw, Printed cotton materials, Quality handmade items, Quirky, Something from nothing, Stylish quilt, Stylish quilt designs, Traditional quilts with new design, Unique, Unique creations, Warm and cosy quilts

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!!!  😉

Cute fabric art collages – Creative patchwork and applique pictures

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Art, Artistic moment, Arty, Bunnies knitting, Caren's canvas and craft, Creative artist and crafter, Creative collages, Creative imaginative art, Creative patchwork, Creative patchwork and applique, Cute art pictures, Cute collages, Cute framed fabric art, Felt applique, Fun creations, Fun fabric art, Fun with fabric, Knitting hen, Knitting on toothpicks, My Etsy Shop, Novelty creations, Novelty fabric collage, Original, Original fun art, Patchwork pictures, Piggies knitting, Quirky, Sheep knitting, Unique, Unique handmade novelty items

ARMCHAIR BUNNY KNITTING! One of my new collage creations…a scene inspired during a conversation some time ago with MRS P. http://craftodyssey.wordpress.com/about-3/ Mrs. P has constructed the most brilliant gigantic floral fabric bunny which travels with her as a front seat passenger to and from craft fairs, whilst talking about it she mentioned giving it some giant knitting needles and a pot of tea on a little table – well… this is my interpretation… on a tiny scale ! :-)Having finished my latest commission last week, a large lap quilt, designed as both a memory quilt and a Wedding gift for the happy couple to be, My Lady was uuuuber thrilled when she called to collect it..YAY!.. AND, I have permission to do a post about it after the Wedding when the couple have been given their unique personalised gift! So, after the 23rd of August keep a look out for that one! 🙂

Some of you may have seen my little creations of ‘Sheep knitting’ collages before, which include little knitted items on toothpicks, and, as they have proved quite popular, I thought I would down size my craft projects this week (but increase my table mess into the bargain!) to make some new ones, with a few new characters knitting as well! As mentioned above, Mrs. P’s bunny was the inspiration for me to create a couple of inside knitting character scenes. As ever, the couple which I planned…turned into a dozen unique original final framed works of art! 🙂 which are now resting for a little while in my Etsy shop!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/carenscanvasandcraft

Below are a couple more examples 🙂

Knitting piggies collage (with a close up of the fabric border before framing)

Sheep in Wellington boots collage
…’they told me it was the only pair they had!’ was going to be another option for a title after seeing the expression of the front left sheep! 🙂

Black sheep knitting collage

Knitting country hen

Armchair knitting hen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creative Patchwork and Applique – Stylish Shoppers

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Applique, Blue flowers, Butterflies, Colourful, Colourful bags, Craft embellishing, Craft ideas, Crafting with felt, Crafty bags, Creative craft, Creative patchwork and applique, Embellishing, Felt, Foam craft sapes, foam shapes, Geometric applique, Geometric shapes in patchwork, Hand applique, Hand made design, Hessian shoppers, Hessian shopping bags, Hessian shopping bags redesigned, Patchwork, Patchwork and applique, Pompoms, Three dimensional, Three dimensional patchwork

Stylish Shoppers

Simple Hessian shopping bags have been given a face life by adding geometric felt shapes, hand stitched to create a three dimensional feature. Whilst the bag to the left had little foam flowers, butterflies and pompoms hand stitched to it. Simple and effective!