Monday, February 20, 2012

Guest Post Tutorial and Giveaway!

I would LOVE to introduce you to my dear and  super talented friend Snoodles!   She is smart, sweet and as you can see, a super crazy genius with 3D embellishing!   To celebrate her fantastic tutorial, I am offering 2 giveaways of my hand dyed fabric.   If you sign up to follow  (ie. a new follower) leave me a comment telling me.  If you are one of my super awesome regular followers, tell me that.  I will have 2 draws to celebrate the old and new followers with a stack of my hand dyed fabric=)




Hi everybody! This is Snoodles, from Lilypadquilting! I'm so excited to be here at Jackie's Art Quilts! When Jackie asked me to prepare a guest post, I had a lot of conflicting emotions --- I was happy, but I was also intimidated! I think she is an awesome art quilter, and I love seeing her creations here on the blog!

Jackie, Sunni (from Love Affair with my Brother) and I had all posted tutorials at the Lilypad, for 3D embellishments for tote bags and other projects that needed a little WOW! added to them. (If you would like to check them out, you can click on the Tutorial page over at the Lilypad.) We had a ball, and I was still thinking along those lines when I came up with the idea for my project for you today. I call this wallhanging "Spring Dreams" and I like how it turned out!
 

If you would like to create your own Spring Dreams just hang on tight, because the directions are below! Usually when I get ready for a tutorial, I make sure we have a little something to eat and drink. You may wonder why? My tutorials are usually fairly detailed, and picture-heavy --- I'm a visual learner, so I come at it from that angle! So, let's make sure you are prepared for this tute . . .
Would you prefer tea or coffee? Me? Oh, I have plenty of adrenaline pumping right now . . . I'll stick with my herbal tea. But here's a cuppa for you.


And here is a light, airy, calorie-removed, no-fat goodie for you, too! (I'm spoiling you, I know. Grin)


OK, now settle back in your chair, and away we go!

I see so many people that are doing "wonky" right now. It's really creative, and to me, it's artsy. I have created my own larger pieces of fabric before, from small scraps, so I thought, "How hard can it be?"  Since then, my patooty has been a little sore from my kicking myself there.  It was harder than I thought!
You see, I have been sewing matchy-matchy projects for a long time. You know the drill --- line up the pieces, get perfect corners if you can, etc.  It was a real stretch to start with this:


and get this:


and cut it like so:

and to stitch that down onto a muslin foundation with a blanket stitch:


and then make this part:

And then put the "yellow" fabric and the "green" fabric together . .


But then I had a background for my wallhanging.  Some people would have whizzed through this process and never looked back. Some might have thought of this as "pushing the edge of the envelope" of creativity, but to me it seemed as if I were climbing out of a sealed envelope! Whew!

Well, I looked at that for several days and made friends with it, and then started on some flowers. After all, it's the flowers and buds and greenery that make spring so awesome, right?  I drew a small pattern and cut into some (out of print) fat quarters that had been lolling on my shelf, daring me to cut into them for some time. Those cheeky buggers finally got what they deserved.


You can see that I chose some fabrics that had a pretty good bit of contrast --- I was thinking inner and outer surfaces of petals. At this point we begin the saga of "A Tale of Two Flowers" . . . it was the best of plans, it was the worst of plans . . . kinda takes you back to college literature class, doesn't it? (Grin)

Anyway, you will see as we travel along, that the best of plans can go awry and be changed. Now, I took the two petals and laid them right sides together, and stitched along the curved edge. (My sewing area floor had to be worked on, so this was all hand-work. (Imagine my AAAUUUGGGGHHHH!!! sounding exactly like Charlie Brown when he is frustrated by Lucy's antics.)




See how they look now? Next I ran a line of gathering stitches around that long curve, and pulled in just a little. I was thinking fluted edge here. The fabric was not thinking along the same lines.


When I pulled it just a little, I wasn't happy with the result. When I pulled it in a lot, it looked kinda like a yo-yo, and that was not what I envisioned. So, I changed the plan!

I took some rickrack and sewed it around the edge, and flipped the petals around. (You know, the outside became the inside and vice versa. Work with me here.) Here is what I got:


A contrasting button sewed in the middle finished it off. Hmmm, kinda like that one; now let's see what else we can do with these petals . . .

On these petals, I ran a gathering thread along the bottom of the petals and pulled. Hard. They kinda ended up looking like cute little mouse ears, didn't they?



Then I took all five of the mouse ears, er, petals, and ran a thread through the base and pulled them all together into a flower. (Forgive the poor lighting on this one.)


Blah. Uninspiring. I could swear that in the fine print, Jackie had asked for something better than that for this blog post.  (Drumming fingers on sewing table.)

Eureka! Remembering my botany class in eons past, I fashioned the "innards" of the flower using a huge button and some tiny rickrack. Voila! Any self-respecting bee would be proud to stop and visit this beauty!


Now those other petals were calling to me, ready for their chance to wow the audience. I took a couple of stitches in the top of the petals, to pull them almost closed.
See?

Next, I gathered up the bottom edge of that petal . . .


Then I took some of that tiny rickrack and made a little bundle, like so:


Bet you are wondering what that is for, right? Well, lookee here:


Isn't it sweet? After I admired its cuteness, I wrapped a short length of green, grograin ribbon around it's base, and finished all five of the other flowers the same way.  (Sorry about the blurry picture, but I think you can make out what it looks like.)


At this point, I had all of the ingredients for this wallhanging recipe. I used my grosgrain ribbon to make stems, and leaves, too. I just looped the ribbon to make leaves that stood out from the fabric. I think you can see that in this picture:


I added stems for the large flowers, and made loopy leaves for them, as well. 


I wasn't finished yet, though! I stitched some little butterflies in the open areas, just because I like butterflies! (Giggle) Can you see this little guy?


So, my wallhanging was done. I was exhausted from "stretching my boundaries" but doing something new is a very good thing, I decided. At least once in a while. 


Thanks for inviting me to post on your blog, Jackie! I had a ball making this project, and I hope that you and your followers like it! (And in the words of the immortal Mae West . . . "Come up and see me sometime!"

Love,


Does Snoodles not just rock?   Her blog is crazy fun too, if you don't trust me, check her out!  And if you want to win some super scrumptious fabric, be sure to tell me if you are a 'new' or good ol 'regular' follower.

64 comments:

B Greene said...

I am "regular: follower - Thanks for the chance to win the beautiful fabric! Love the 3D effects in the tutorial. I never think about adding elements, but I will from now on!

Kelli Fannin Quilts said...

I am a regular follower, and I LOVE those flowers and the tiny ric rac. xo

Samantha said...

I've been a follower for a bit now. I have absolutely got to try this. When I saw this tutorial it reminded me of my mother in law, she loved flowers and had almost all purple flowers in her yard.

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

I'm already a follower.

Terry@ a quilting blog said...

I'm a regular follower...fun tutorial..TFS!
~Terry~

LJ said...

Yep, I'm a good ol 'regular' follower. I also follow Snoodles. Wonderful art quilt.

Mom2RyandSis said...

Cute project :) I'm a regular follower!!

Cecilia said...

I'm a regular follower and I follow Snoodle's too.

Lynn said...

I'm a regular follower! Great ideas! I've got a project on the horizon for which I will need to do some 3d embellishing. I'm collecting ideas at the moment. Love these flowers!

Ella said...

I'm an "old" follower! I love the details in the quilt!

Janet said...

What a lovely tutorial from Snoodles. I am a regular follower.

Unknown said...

I'm a regular follower and really liked the tutorial and found it good for the crazy quilt backing aspect. Thanks!

robin said...

Already a follower! Thanks!

QuilterLaura said...

I'm an "old" follower! Thx for the chance to win such lovely fabrics!

Sunnybec said...

Hi I am one of your super awesome regular followers!!

Barbara said...

I'm a well-used follower. Love those flowers.

Gill said...

I'm a regular follower (I follow snoodles too!)
Great tutorial! I love the chatty/picture heavy format! Just one thing - could I have coffee instead of tea??

Kathy S. said...

I am a regular follower. The flowers look so springy. Cute tute!

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

I am an AMAZED follower and now I'm headed over to Snoodles blog to see what other cool stuff she does!!

Gene Black said...

I am a super awesome regular follower! I also have been following Snoodles for a while now too.
This is a great tutorial that she did. Thanks for hosting it.

Dana Gaffney said...

Love those flowers, thank you Snoodles. I am a long time follower.

Lisa England said...

Very clever! I've been following for a while now.

Belinda said...

Wow Snoodles! Some of those look like calla lilies...my favorite flower! You rock woman. I love this.

Leah said...

Such lovely flowers!! Great tutorial. I am one of your super awesome regular followers. :)

Jaime said...

I just found this blog and absolutely LOVE the flowers. Thanks for the tutorial. I think I may have to start a new project! And I will definitely be back to see what else you have! I'm so pleased to be your newest follower!

Diane H said...

What a fun tut! Love the flowers. Thanks, from an 'old' follower.

Anonymous said...

So lovely! I think that mini is just beautiful!

I'm a follower...thank you!

Rachel said...

LOVE the tutorial. Thanks so much for the opportunity! I am a new follower!!

Annmarie said...

I am a new follower. Love your hand dyes & loved today's tutorial. Thanks for the chance.

Lisa Cox said...

I'm a regular follower.
I love Lily Pad Quilting's blog. I read it every chance I can get, just like yours.

Melissa said...

I am a follower and I too love Snoodles! She is positively wonderful!

Needled Mom said...

I am a follower and Snoodles did an awesome job on a super cute tutorial.

Joy said...

I'm a new follower of Jackie's Art Quilts....

This is such a cute wallhanging... I think Snoodles did a wonderful job - it speaks "Spring!" every time I look at it!

kinter said...

I'm a regular old follower! Great job Snoodles! Jackie's art quilts could intimidate anyone (they are that good) but you did great! Thanks for hosting her, Jackie!

Kathy MacKie said...

I'm an oldie but goodie-wink, wink!

Sallie said...

I'm one of your super awesome regular followers. :) Thanks for the giveaway!

monika@mysweetprairie.ca said...

WOW - super guest post! Great tutorial. I am one of your super awesome followers. ; )

~Monika

ritainalaska said...

i am a happy follower :) and love snoodles wall hanging! thanx for having her.

charlotte said...

I'm a new follower here. I've been following Snoodles for almost a year now though and I do love her posts.

Aimee said...

Regular follower. Love the flowers, especially the lilies(?)

Marcia W. said...

I'm an old regular follower. This is the cutest 3-d art quilt. The gingham centers of the flowers are my favorite touch - enjoyed this nice guest post.
Thanks for the giveaway of your special fabric too.

Pat V. said...

I am a follower of both you AND Snoodles!

Susan J Barker said...

love the florals! I will keep them in mind for postcards too...

am a regular reader.

Glogirl said...

I'm an "old" follower.
Love the fabric!!

Jezibels said...

Im a regular follower Jackie, I LOVE your fabric - What a treat! PS is there anything cooler than scrappy landscapes?

MaryBeth said...

I've been a follower for a little while. Thanks for the chance to win.

Miss Hillbilly said...

Wow, great tute Snoodles!! I love the flowers and the background.

Renate said...

Oh this was a very interesting tutorial and such great pictures of each of the steps. thanks Jackie for inviting Snoodles. I am a relatively new follower of your blog, but I am a follower.

Sparky said...

wonderful written..you always know how to bring a chuckle....
oh dang word thingie...here goes ...lol

Brooke said...

what a great idea - love the tutorial and guest post!!

MrsV said...

Interesting tutorial. I am a regular follower.

Mitts said...

WOW love the tutorial and love the idea of your having another giveaway, who wouldn't want to win. I love this blog and I am an old time follower, and yes I am on my way over to Lilypad.

Jen said...

I am a regular follower :) thanks for the tute, your work is gorgeous!

Margaret said...

I am a regular follower. Thanks for the chance to win.

Rosa said...

I`m an old follower and love the tutorial so nice.

Sue Niven said...

So delightful and creative, I am a regular follower, thank you for showing me something new! I love it.

KatieQ said...

I'm a new follower. I am delighted to have found your blog. I love the tutorial, especially the loopy grosgrain leaves.

Kathy ~~~ said...

I'm a new follower and would LOVE to win the beautiful fabric! Loved the tutorial.

free indeed said...

I'm an 'old' follower in more ways than one :)
Like how you made those flowers...

Kate said...

Great guest post! Super creative flowers. I can sympathize -- when I started trying to do more "creative" free-piecing, I was astonished at how difficult it was!
(I am a regular follower...btw)

Rolanda said...

I've got to try to make those so cute flowers and buds...

Carla G said...

Very cute flowers! Thanks for the tutorial! I'm a regular follower! Thanks for a chance to win! :)

CraftyViolet said...

Love the wall-hanging and the tutorial. It is now on my "to-do" list.

Violet
www.craftyviolet.blogspot.com

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