Stash Busting

I have not really been doing a lot of textile work lately and don't plan to enter any competitions. I decided I need to do a little stash busting, so I have a fun, colourfull bed quilt on the go.

Now, I must tell you I do not have what most quilters call a "stash". I rarely buy yardage, I buy almost exclusively fat quarters...usually just ones I see that I am drawn too. I don't buy with specific projects in mind. So my stash is limited to small amounts of each print/colour.....this is how I store my fabrics....one small dresser...3 drawers.  I am on a mission to use some of these up.

I am working on a modified version of a quilt contained in Kim Schaefer's book Flower Festival. The piece I choose should work extremely well for the sorts of fabrics I have and will definitely eat into those drawers. These blocks are not pieced, they are appliqued which means I will also be putting a dent in my stabilizer, fusible and thread supply.

The one pictured in the book is only a lap size, I wanted something closer to an oversized Queen,
so I scanned the image from the book...printed a couple of them in greyscale...cut those blocks up and made my own arrangement...this just may, will change again before I am done, but it gives me a good sense of where I am headed.

I love these wonky flowers, but they can be fussy to place. Even though they are wonky...I still want them all placed in the same position. So I created a template using clear plastic. I can lay the flower in the correct orientation...place it on the block and by laying the template on top, I can immediately see if it requires adjustment.

Good thing, cause there are lots and lots of them. oh....and since I am machine appliqueing these, I am gonna be a while    :-)

Doodling and Stitching

Sometimes I use a pen to doodle...and sometimes I use thread. Making simple lines and dots with thread through wool is just as relaxing as doodling on paper.
This is a small piece I did a while ago......I think it started as a test of the visual impact my hand dyed thread would give.

Recently, I decided to make some cards and thought this "look" would be perfect for creating many small one of a kind pieces

In an earlier post I showed the beginning of this project

 
Each little stitched section measures 2 inches square, once cut apart, each of them was then stitched onto a piece wool that had been given added texture with free motion quilting

those units were finally stitched on to some purchased blank cards

A closer look at the detail

Happy Easter