One of my very favourite things about being a designer, is watching what other people do with my design.. Their interpretation of something I made.
I think that's the greatest part about handmade things is that no two can ever be the same!
Last weekend I was at the 'Henzel Street Quilters' quilt show in Redcliffe.. We took the shop up and had a great time with all the girls
And whilst I was sitting, chatting, eating and stitching (as you do while at a quilt show :-), I was asked if I had seen Fay's quilt? Answer was no, but I soon found it..
Fay had done her rendition of my 'Quilting Mouse' pattern. Using more vibrant colors than I had in her fabrics, Fay had also meticulously coloured in each little part of the stitchery.
WOW..
So I just have to show you as it was just gorgeous!
Miss mouse goes shopping..
Then home for cake and a cuppa..
Does all the appliqué..
Then pieces by machine..
Quilts whilst in bed..
And then finishes with Show and Tell..
The quilt is made up using 2" squares and in amongst it I drew all the things that I loved about stitching with my own Grandmother, as a child..
My Gran always had jars of buttons for me to play with, an old tape measure is a must, and as a kid I used to play on an old treadle sewing machine.
Grandma carried all her sewing in a cane basket back then and only ever drank tea from a teapot and fine china cup (no tea bags were ever allowed :-)
I always stitched, sitting on the floor at night, under the big frilly lamp and loved to poke flowers into the tops of Grans cotton reels.
The scissors gran used were big red handled ones but here Fay made her own choice.. Whilst Gran and I never quilted together, I am sure she would have preferred hand quilting.
And finally, the one thing that always stuck in my mind as a kid, Gran was always so tidy but her reels of thread were always just tossed loose into a drawer..
So as you can see Fay certainly has done a wonderful job.. Sadly I couldn't get back far enough to take a photo of the whole quilt. (You can go onto my website to see my version if you like www.handcraftedbuttons.com )
I asked Fay about her technique for colouring to give us all some tips..
Fay used watercolor pencils and built the color up gradually.
She said 'the hotter the weather, the darker the pencil seems to come out. I'm not sure if the hot weather makes them softer.'
If any lines appeared in the coloring, Fay's comment was 'its just like drawing on paper. You have to be careful which way your strokes go and if you get too many lines in the drawing then, wet the tip of a paintbrush, remove the excess water on a paper towel and then carefully swirl the brush over the pencil to remove the lines.'
Then I asked the dreaded question about 'washing the quilt'. Fay assured me that she uses a color fixative over the top and it is colorfast. (Sadly I didn't ask brand etc of fixative paint) She did however say that it can make the fabric a bit stiff at first but it softens up over use of the quilt.
So there's a few tips on colouring quilts from someone who assures me she is no expert but seems to look like one to me!
If you are interested in doing this quilt it is a 6 month pattern set available either month by month or as a whole bundle on our web site.
Quilting Mouse
www.handcraftedbuttons.com
I have some photos hiding somewhere of other versions that people have made and hope to show them soon in another blog post.
This quilt is also available through different shops around Australia as a Block of the Month programme.
Hope you are having a happy stitching day
Nikki
