Elephant Fascination

Can you see the sections I've outlined that will make up my version of the elephant?

Here it is from the back. This is the side I'll be tracing from.

Here I have placed the head, trunk and ears on top of my paper pattern to see if I like what's going on.

Sorry, I got so excited that I forgot to take more photos of the process. He's all done but now is the really hard part.

Auditioning background fabrics!!!

Auditioning background fabrics!!!

Did mention, auditioning background fabrics!!!

I'll be doing this for quite some time.....sigh.

I'll also need to do a bit more work on the elephant...more highlighting or something.

Stay tuned.

Honoring Veterans

Just a quick review of some of the quilts I've made to honor and give to the Veterans in my community.

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday I was able to honor and salute the Veterans in my community. They got to choose a quilt or wall-hanging. They were surprised and very happy that someone thought of them.

 

I am so thankful and happy so honor them & I want to salute all Veterans who fought for our country. I also want to salute all who are serving in the Armed Forces today.

 

And I'm Back To The Minis

So, I've had this guy in mind since before I lost my mojo. Then when I got my mojo back, I was off on another tangent but I had already pulled several fabrics that could possibly fit.

Using my favorite fabric adhesive and the chosen fabrics, I set to work pressing, cutting and sorting each piece.

I use a non-stick pressing sheet to arrange things.

The rabbit has come together very well.

Here is where I went off the deep end. I have some great brick fabric that I wanted to use and a neat sky piece.

I placed the rabbit atop the background to see if I like what was going on. So far so good.

I took great pains to make the pocket watch. I used a fine tip permanent marker. I'll add the chain to the watch when I quilt the piece.

As I stood back things looks really good but it needed something else. The sky area was missing a little something.

I've added a tree trunk and might add a few leaves but not sure at this point.

It measures 12 1/2 by 17 1/4 inches.

Mini Wednesday

As I mentioned last week, I am revisiting our Armed Forces as a salute to them.  This week I took on the Air Force emblem.

 

I searched Google images and came up with one I thought I could handle. I enlarged it 135% as I'll need each block to be about 14" square.

 

Next came one of the best parts.....choosing fabric. As you can see, I've chosen several but will probably add more to the mix.

 

Tackling the design piece by piece so that the design doesn't get overwhelming is very important.

The eagle is a favorite bird of prey of mine.

The Air Force was formed as a separate branch of the military September 1947.  

Looking good so far.

 

The cloud area which will appear behind the eagle.

This part was intense because of all the tiny pieces. I used black Sharpie to outline the head and claws of the eagle.

The motto of the Air Force: Aim High....Fly-Fight-Win

It always amazes me to see everything coming together. Taking photos helps to see mistakes/progress.

It's a bit hard to see but I've used the Sharpie to write in United States of America. It would have been very difficult to use fabric lettering for that part.

All done except for the quilting part. 14ish inches is the finished size at this point.

Monday, Monday

Here's the latest "just add petals" on my design wall.

It's a sunflower appliquéd over 9 1/2" tone in tone squares. This will also go to helping hands. This was a five hour project from choosing all the fabrics from my stash, to the finished top.

Pop over to Judy's for Design Wall Monday see what others are up to.

Back From Retreat - DWM

My "whacky" girlfriends and I had a blast over the weekend on retreat.  Needless to say we laughed and ate our way through the days and evenings while actually getting some sewing in.
Here's a look at what we accomplished.

Kathy was really driven. She made two Jelly Roll quilts within a 4 hour period the cutest fabrics. She inspired us to try the technique.

It's a Boy - Jelly Roll quilt.

It's a Girl - Jelly Rolls quilt.

Annie (no blog) showed off her skills with a Jelly Roll quilt of her own plus, she showed us what she's been working on for a while.

 

The Christmas tree is from a challenge from two years ago.

This layout is from Annie's request from a row quilt challenge the "whackies" did.

 

 

Molly, our hostess, worked on braided strips made from her scraps. It was amazing to see the rows develop.

Note the wonderful scrappiness, all from Molly's stash which seems to grow rather than shrink.

Kathleen worked on a quilt top from her stash and a hand embroidery BOM that is going to make a stunning finish.

This quilt top was from a panel - WOW!

 

These hand embroidery blocks are from a winter scene BOM.

 

And finally, here's what I was up to and was happy to get that far.

BTW make sure you pop over to Judy's to see what everyone else is up to on this Design Wall Monday.

 

One new mug rug. Look for it to be given away as I post the "A" is for Aardvark blocks.

I finally sewed my red teapots together. The girls suggested that I sew strips between each teapot so I took their advice and added the cornerstones, as well.

I'm sure you all remember this one. I thought to never get those shoes sewn down but it happened. Again, the girls suggested the black fabric separation. All I need to do is find a suitable final fabric for a 2 to 3 inch border.

And can you believe it, this baby is finally put together. I've been working on it off and on for two years. I need to find a border for it.

 I might change out that green fabric above the buffalo. I probably will because it is bothering me just looking at it. What are your thoughts??