Thursday, May 22, 2014

Dolly Quilt Top

Happy May!! What have you been sewing? Or has life and spring swept you up? I've been on a happy whirlwind with prom, my oldest daughters wedding, two younger kids wrapping up their first year of college, graduation is this week, it's endless!

The weather was gorgeous for the wedding. 

I have been sewing. I stitched 3 vests with neck ties for my daughter and son in law. I feel like I have altered, hemmed and added straps to a million formals but I'm sure it's a few less.

Click to go to Handmaids.com 

Today I assembled a cute little quilt top with Janet Wecker Frisch's She Who Sews line of fabrics. It's part of the Handmaids Challenge. The first 30 people to agree to the guidelines and respond to the posting, were sent 2 random fat quarters of She Who Sews fabrics. You should have seen me sprint to respond, LOL. I LOVE this line of fabrics!


 

 I received a fat quarter of the peachy doll fabric and another fat quarter of the white ruler fabric.


 


I needed two more of the fabrics per the guidelines and went to the two local quilt shops (20 minute drive) and found the yellow ruler and the pincushion fabric. With the family on a roller coaster of activities, I didn't have time for the hour plus drive to the city to search those quilt shops. This is the negative side of sewing in a rural area. 

On a side note - Are our red pincushions tomatoes? If they are, why does it look like they have a strawberry hanging off of them? Does anybody else wonder about this stuff?

I was hugely disappointed that the local shops did not have more of the She Who Sews line. I really wanted some of the coordinating floral fabrics. I had an idea but it hinged on the florals. I am considering shopping online to buy the florals and stitch up my idea. For now though, I needed to create something for the challenge. 

As I pondered my bad luck and the beautifully detailed peach fabric I decided to make a dolly quilt. Something primitive. A dolly like a very young girl might make and enjoy, with or without her mother's help. I drew a simple pattern mimicking the doll on the fabric. Then drew a few dresses because little girls love to dress their dollies. 

I have to say this fabric is excellent. The weave is tight and firm enough to make it easy to work. The colors are deep. I really, really like it. It's fabulous quality. 



Here is my doll block. Its a simple cut and applique. I considered using black as a background so the peach would pop more but a young girl wouldn't be using black, so I stuck with a neutral tan. Even after stepping back, the doll is clear. I did a satin stitch all around the doll. 

 


The dresses were kept simple with the style of our young girl creator. More satin stitching. 

This is what I get for leaning over to take a picture. I promise the dress is NOT this wonky. 



The quilt is a simple 9 block design - 3 by 3 blocks. The center block is a dolly in a dress. 

Another bad angle. I was rushing pics so I could cook dinner. The story of my life, LOL. 
I used the yellow ruler as sashing and the pincushion as corner stone blocks. I love the vibrant colors. I took the flimsy picture outside on my clothesline. I had to bring clothes in anyway, LOL. The wind was blowing hard, so the quilt is leaning :)

The Oklahoma wind sure pushes my quilt top back, LOL. 

Tomorrow I will work on basting, then quilting. I want this dolly quilt done before Memorial Day weekend. I'm crossing my fingers that nothing explodes in my face. Have a great day!!

No comments:

Post a Comment