Skip to main content

Patchwork Play

Thanks to playing with my Fabscrap fabrics I'm almost 100% sure I want to make a Dresden fan quilt now; it's a fun way to use lots of different fabrics to produce pretty patchwork. Right now I'm still making practice pieces to figure out the exact design. I've never worked much with wovens or plaid, so this one was fun to make.

I'm learning, too -- using prints for the background fabric means it shows through lighter fabrics, as you see here with the stripey linen I used, so some strategic trimming is needed. I like using feather stitch embroidery rather than straight hand-quilted stitches on the blades of the fans, too. I'm still not sure how I want to finish the base of the fans. I like the lace and the yo-yos more than the usual fabric wedge, probably because they're easier and look better.

I have one more to make, and then I'll probably commit to a quilt. All of these fabrics in the Dresden fan practice pieces would have ended up in a landfill if not for Fabscrap, so I'm really grateful to have the chance to use them.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holiday Prep

For Thanksgiving this year we've invited some guests from Oliver's mom's side of the family, so I have to start prepping now to get the house in shape for the big day. The first major thing is having the carpets cleaned, which we've scheduled for next week. This weekend I'll be cleaning out four rooms to get them ready for that. I started with my front dining room, which I use as my sewing room. It was kind of a mess already, so it felt good to get everything cleared out. We'll be having ten people at dinner plus two babies, so this will give me a chance to figure out how to arrange two tables in this space. I think this will be my last time hosting a big Thanksgiving gathering. Mike has started his family with a lovely girl who has a huge, close-knit family of her own, while Katherine will likely be off at grad school out of state for the next several years. I'm also not getting any younger. My guy and I will always celebrate Thanksgiving, but ...
6 comments
Read more

T-minus Day

This was our little Thanksgiving dinner last year, when it was just the three of us. Time keeps whittling down my favorite holiday; this year it will be just me and my guy, and we likely won't even have a turkey.* That will be a first in 35 years. I feel about Thanksgiving the way other people do about Christmas, and while it's a lot of work it's my favorite holiday. Of all the Thanksgivings I've had in the past sixty years, only three were truly terrible: one when I was a kid that I don't talk about (#1 most miserable); the time I roasted two turkeys together and hosted fifteen people whom I cooked for and served with zero help (the largest and #2 most miserable); and the one I spent in basic training (the #3 most miserable.) I have no pictures of any of those, thank heavens. In addition to doing all the cooking I'm the one who takes all the pictures, washes all the dishes and puts away all the leftovers. I suppose no one else cares because to them it...
5 comments
Read more

Fell Off the Wagon

I did cut up that plastic dollar tote to make into something stronger, but got caught up with work and set it aside. Then last night some hand-dyed silk and pretty threads called my name, and, well . . . Felt SO good to do some handwork, except my neck began hurting about an hour into it. I tried changing the way I sit and work, but it's pretty obvious that the doc is right.
7 comments
Read more