My First Giveaway!

I am so excited today to be featured in the sewmamsew Handmade Holidays Giveaway for the month of November.

Hop on over there today and comment on their post for a chance to win one of my mini quilt bookwraps!  

Be sure to visit my shop to see the different styles that I have.  If you win, you will be able to choose any one you like. They make great gifts for booklovers, teachers, and and hard-to-buy-for teens. And they are ideal stocking stuffers!  Good luck to everyone.  I can't wait to see who wins!

Doll Quilt, Cont'd

I'm back to share the last little bits about my doll quilt (see previous post here). 

As my goal with this quilt was to use nothing but scraps, I did so for the batting as well. 

 I gathered bits of leftover batting and zig zag stitched them together to make one big piece (click here to see different methods). 

I backed the quilt with a piece of flannel from an old receiving blanket. The thickness of the flannel gives it a good amount of structure as a wall hanging.

The quilting is a combination of wavy lines and some free motion quilting (tree trunk and clouds). 

I added some hand applique and simple embroidery. 

 The bird and butterfly are based on some old drawings made by my children. 

Some mother of pearl buttons from vintage button collection and finally a heart to welcome everyone into our home!

I will be linking it up to the Lark Doll Quilt Contest on flickr.

A First Doll Quilt

In celebration of the release of the book, Pretty in Patchwork: Doll Quilts, the folks at SMS are hosting a doll quilt contest.  

Since I was in the mood for a quick project I've decided to play along. And since I am currently enrolled in a scrap busting class  at Courtepointe Claire, I have also challenged myself to use nothing but scraps (the class is called "Vive Les Retailles!" in French). 

The inspiration for the design of this quilt came from the following lines borrowed from a song by John Howard Payne:

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, 

Be it ever so humble there's no place like home! 

Here is a series of pictures that showcases the process so far:

 I started by auditioning the fabrics for the background (sky and land).

 Then I added the other elements into the landscape:

  Some colors and shapes were switched out for those which better suited the overall design:

 Then I sewed up the different elements into 'blocks':

 And then I sewed the blocks together:

That's it for now!  More to come!
BTW, the class that I am taking is given by quilt artist Dominique Ehrmann. Be sure to visit her gallery of art quilts.  They are beautiful!