Tuesday, December 16, 2014

What are you going to make with that fabric?




What should I do with this fabric and my other precious (It's quite a collection!) Christmas fabrics?


Well, I made these little
 6 inch Friendship exchange squares!
Click on the image to see details...
 Our sewing group makes 6 inch quilts with a theme about twice a year. This time it was Winter/Christmas

I knew I wanted to do snowglobes this year, and got the idea from SewMamaSew. I didn't use her pattern but she has one.

I started with fabric motifs, and cut them with this circle template and my new fave turning cutting mat, and great care not to slice off a finger.

on this one in particular, I cut out the Santa, fused him to snowy fabric and cut that into a circle...
using this mat.


I considered using plastic to cover the globe, but didn't want to work with it, so I used gossamer thin but shiny organza...
See? I cut it out with the same template which was hard as it's hard to see slippery and hard to control.
I didn't want to fuse it down to the globe shape as I wanted it to stand out a bit and reflect the light.
I started with a 6 inch square of peltex stabilizer, background fabric, globe fabric. Then held the organza on as I satin stitched around it with hologram Sulky mylar thread.

Then put on a backing, free cut out a base, either satin or buttonhole stitched around it in the quilting, quilted more on the piece and started with the embellishments.
 Just let me say, my studio looks like this after making 18 of these!!!

Toward the end, I was working on a 12 inch open space!

Anyway, I added binding, either fused (see my tutorial page for my technique (click)
or single turned binding pulled to the front and buttonhole stitched into place.



 I also paper pieced teapots fussy cutting motifs, that I printed from my sewprecise software, sizing to 4 inches. I also did winter tree's with the same software, sizing them to 4 inches, and let me tell you, by the end of making the first one, I was SURE I wasn't doing 12 of these to share. The angles were annoying, but led me to develop a terrific technique for dealing with paper piecing angles. I'll share that another time...
After they were quilted and bound, it was time for embellishments! 
I stamped snowflakes on most of them, stitching over them with halogram silver mylar thread, and putting on crystals in the center. I added other crystals, including some hearts. They were already sparkly with metallic threads sparkling over them. I cut out some words printed on ribbon for the globes and stitched them on. One teapot has some of the gold mesh. Others received specialty stitches. 



The exchange was yesterday and I'll show you what I received later. For now, I made extras for you!!

I love to know you are out there, sharing my creative journey and reading my words. I love your comments on my adventures. I want to celebrate my connections with you with another giveaway.

Please leave a comment and a way to contact you, if you would like one of my friendship squares to prop up on your shelf. Tell me what your perfect globe would hold! Tell me merry Christmas! Let's celebrate friendship!
 I will hold open the giveaway til Dec 21 (Sunday)
Tomorrow I will be doing a Dog Globe post and another giveaway for those with pet blogs.Here is the link to that giveaway
**A winner was chosen by drawing and it's KC!! Congrats, contact me! ****

20 comments:

Terri said...

Love your snow globes. I think I'll make some next year using the magic Crystal Ball paper pieced pattern from Fandom In Stitches. Her patterns are free to use - just can't sell them or the resulting product. I've made the Crystal Ball a number of times, and it's one of the easier patterns to do. I just need the "right" fabric now... a year to collect.
Thanks for the idea, and showing your results.
Hugs

Glen QuiltSwissy said...

LOL - LOL Even before I read your last paragraph, I was already thinking, DOG GLOBE! LOL. I guess mine would contain my beloved Swissys........yes, the bassets are just pain in the buttinskies, but I love them anyway.

Val's Quilting Studio said...

Ingenious!! Seriously! I would have never thought of that!!

Joanne said...

Hi LeeAnna!
Wow! How creative! Super! They all look so nice!
You know I always enjoy and can use one more teapot! LOL!
Maybe I should make a themed post about teapots?!
Take care,
Joanne

Maria said...

Merry Christmas! The snow globes are amazing!
A bulldog would sure look cute inside that globe.

Jasmine said...

Your little quilts are way too cute! My ideal globe would have little boys. Mine fill my life. And I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Serena @ Sewgiving said...

What a lovely idea!

Mary in Boulder said...

These are so cute! I'd love one with a sleigh ride or a dog sled team since we'll be doing both when we go up in the mountains for New Year's.

Anonymous said...

What?! No Pomeranian dog globe??? Oliver is insulted!

Kathy said...

Brilliant! The snow globes are so wonderful. My grandson is fascinated by them this year so I may need to make one to commemorate the year. Great way to use that special fabric!

Norma Schlager said...

You did it again. What a clever idea! Merry Christmas!

Lorna McMahon said...

These are fantastic! I especially adore those snow globes. Adding the organza was a brilliant idea. Thanks so much for sharing at the Let's Bee Social!

Marly said...

Merry Christmas, Lee Anna. What a terrific idea your globes are! It's funny, not an hour ago I had some winter scene fabric similar to yours in my hands, and asked almost the same question, "What could I make with this?"; my answer, "Nothing!". So I didn't buy any, but could kick myself now!

Chiska said...

As I'm reading this I'm thinking about my little girl who loves all things winter. She would love this! I think my dream snow globe would have woodland scenes. I think they would look amazing with family pictures in them. I have one from my childhood when my brothers, some cousins and I were "skating" on ice--a rare occurrence where we lived. It would be fun to hang onto some of those memories that way.

Sheri said...

Hi. I'm so delighted to see your snow globe squares! They are darling and I especially love the snow scenes! Thanks for sharing your technique and the wonderful variety! I will try it out soon.

Stacey K said...

This is such a neat idea! I may have to try this!

Tenacious Little Terrier said...

A city landscape with snow falling, I think. I love the one with the sleigh though! And the last one. tenaciouslittleterrier (at) gmail

Cassandra said...

These little quilts are so sweet! I really love the tree block, but I also am intrigued by the snow globe concept.

Created by Kathi said...

Wow.. love your work! I would choose the Laugh or Enjoy snowglobes for my dd who collects wild and unusual snowglobes... I quilt but have no idea how to make such even though you explain it quite well.. I sew vintage and my straight stitch machine won't zig zag for the edges of the globe well you see. Would love to win one or even BUY one from you :) Please let me know after your giveaway if you have any for sale. I would def be interested in one. Happy Christmas and I hope your holiday is all you desire! Kathi kathibc@yahoo.com

legato1958 said...

Your snowglobe blocks are amazing and beautiful! Thanks for the inspiration! How fun to put them with the trees and teapots!
Merry Christmas!
Susie