A bit morbid?

 

This is another idea I had lately...and I'm not sure if it is just a bit too morbid for folks...or not? Several of my friends have lost their mother or another close family member lately...and that has got me to thinking about my own death. Hopefully, not for decades more...but, it is certainly something that will happen at some time...there's no escaping that. And...that lead me to thinking about all of the service members we have lost...and their caskets, covered with the American flag...traveling back home.  And...that lead me to thinking about a cover for my own casket...not a flag...but a quilt. After all, quilting has been a huge part of my life...so why not celebrate that along with my life as I am remembered by family and friends before going home myself. It would be in place of a blanket of real flowers (or silk flowers)...and my family could keep it or send the quilt off with me if they wished. What do you think? A good idea? Or too morbid for you? Also, wondering about what to do in the middle...leave it blank for some nice hand quilting? Or embroidery something in the center? If embroidery...what to do?...a hymn? a poem? a scripture? I can't decide about the center...so, am left thinking about that. The inside border will be applique flowers...my absolute joy of working on. The outside border will be crazy quilt seams...also, a purely blissful pastime of mine.  

I Wasn't Going To...But, I Just Can't Help Myself!

Early in the 90's I fell in love...with hand applique. As work, then grand-children took up more of my time...I tried more fusible (quicker) methods of applique...but, they never really "took". In my opinion, there is absolutely just no comparision between the two. I tried to fall in love with fusible...really I did. I "converted" the fusible method to a form of shadow applique...to make it more palatable. And that did make the transition seem somewhat better.   

 

I had a pattern company in the 90's that focused on shadow applique patterns...florals, fairies, angels...and odd/ends. But after a divorce...half of my team was gone...and I just didn't want to do design work any more.  

 

The patterns already done are used for current classes for the technique; and I did create two other small sets (hand drawn without Illustrator work) for the HGTV Group classes. Working on crazy quilt designs lead me to create my own workbook...which meant that I had to learn Illustrator (which my husband always dealt with before).

This year...I started working again on some hand-applique quilts (Merry Merry Snowman and Jingle) with purchased patterns of other designers...and that has put me totally back in the mood to do my own designs for regular applique again. And with my new Illustrator talent...I have the confidence that I can do this for myself and by myself.

 I am so glad to have that desire back again...thank you Lord! 

So, anyway...I digress. The real point is...look what came in the mail today. My first rough draft of my first hand-applique pattern! It is printed on 11x17 paper...at full size...which I love. The center medallion is so large that it will take nine sheets taped together to get the entire "picture" together. But, the cover is almost okay...just some tweaking of the photo and verifying the size against the layout when printed. Aren't the colors of the print so pretty!

  The full size sheets will have to be put together to check them properly...but they look correct at first glance.

  The full size pattern sheets with layout, color guide, and pattern pieces (reversed already) are looking great! Each section has it's own little mini-flower in full color for reference too.  

Next, I will write the instructions for layering the flowers together and completing the design. And, I'm going to include a "general tutorial" of the method I use to create my applique...because it's a little different than other methods. When you've been around a while...you can pick-and-choose what works for you from a variety of techniques...and combine them to create your own way of proceeding. So, I'll share mine since it works for me so well. Then, I have to find some hand-applique stitchers willing to test the pattern...and THEN it will be available for sale on Etsy. So, I had thought about NOT sharing this just yet...but, I just could not wait to tell someone. And who better to share with than my bestest cyber buddies!   p.s. (My muse has 3 more designs started in Illustrator...so, there is no stopping her now!)

Floral Passion

Okay, my muse went just a little too far this time. I spent two hours last night taping this together. The design is about 45 inches across and 55 inches tall. Too large to deal with all the printing issues...but, wouldn't this be a wonderful quilt! I might just try to attempt it in this size anyway. But, for marketability...I'll have to get it on fewer sheets. The largest I can get printed sheets for is 17 x 22 easily (and cheaply). That size is a good wall hanging or medallion for a lap quilt. If I print in across four pages, it would be large enough for a bed size medallion...right? Think I'll have to try printing out a smaller size (more taping pages together) and see if that would be a scale that I like enough to proceed. Here is the design in color markup...isn't it pretty? Can you imagine how that would be in applique...perhaps with some hand embroidery to accent...and some additional bits of lace butterflies, dragonflies, or embroidery fairies?  

This is a long-term project...and has to go to a back burner because I have to get back to my CQ Round Robin block and my upcoming CQ Class and my Merry Merry Snowman Quilt top and...the list goes on! I need a keeper...and a helper too!