My creative week...another quilt finished and a couple paintings

 

"baby it's cold outside" size 30" X 40" 

At the start of this week, having just finished the last challenge piece, I decided to pull out all the sweaters I made for rainbow scrap challenge one year. I think I just googled coloring book image of a sweater to draw one to use as a template. 

 They were all just cut out with fusible on the backs when I started this week. I played with a lot of ideas for setting them, kind of wanting a feel of a poster of mine

auditioned different background fabrics, decided whether to add sashing and if so what color, tried many possibilities

in the end I asked my husband, he said the pretty solid pastels. I decided on cutting those 6.5" and fused on the sweaters. While chatting with my friend Cindy on FT, I machine stitched a buttonhole stitch around each one with matching thread (there was enough going on, keep it simple). 

Then came the placement decisions... wait! while looking through my stash I found this bright bit

ooooo if I carefully fussy cut strips it could look like a fair isle sweater!  Lots of decisions, where to cut, which color to go in what location. I sewed the pretty blocks to each other on horizontal lines making 4 rows of 5 blocks. Then pieced in the strips to look like a big sweater behind them! 

it's all in how you look at a fabric isn't it? 

giggling as I sewed... and thinking of how to quilt this. I found a cute fabric I could piece to be large enough for the backing

I got this cute fabric about 25 years ago to make a kid quilt for my niece, fussy cut out some motifs, and never followed up. Now it's cute clothing is on the back of my sweaters quilt! (the stash is just as full with it gone) 

after it was ready to bind, I did what I used to do and added in the sleeve before the binding. 

I cut the sleeve fabric (since I'm not entering this in competition I just cut what I had, a strip 5". Baste the right side of it to the right side of the top of the finished quilt. A running basting stitch along the pressed line through just the open sleeve and backing fabric by hand. Fold it up so edges meet along the top making a finished encased sleeve, baste, and when bound it is all done. 

it's ready to hang in our walk in closet or the laundry room... but you know I want to embellish it!

wouldn't you know I have little hanger charms?

and tiny bright buttons

the hangers got lost on this so did those wee buttons. Maybe some well placed crystals? Excess is never enough. 

 

So finishing a rainbow scrap challenge block set is like finding a unicorn so I'm chuffed to get this done. The project bag is now empty. I'm sure it will get filled again soon. 

how do you feel with something is finished? I love that feeling! 

now for some things painted...

a background done quickly with watercolor, painted quite wet and allowed to blend on the paper. 

now the stress of drawing over it... what shall I do? really close up large flowers? a bird painted over the scene in acrylic? a landscape sketched in black ink? 

Lately I've tried to capture an image of my friend's dogs who have gone to Heaven before us... 

this week, I tried to paint Kathleen's boy Percy, which was a daunting task. I really just draw and paint what I see, what I can, and it's not professional. I worry that it's inadequate... but it's painted with love from my heart to theirs. 

life is a journey, learning and experiencing and doing what we can to share love with one another. 

I believe that's our task from God

I enjoyed these tutorials this week

 mind blown!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4Zr2rSIDBs

I love this woman's work, drawing with scissors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuZVxVuhBaA

 Linking with

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com

patchwork Sunday   

oh Scrap Sundays

https://quiltinglearningcombo.blogspot.com/ 

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

Midweek makers wednesdays  

http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/ 

https://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/ 

off the wall Fridays   

face off 

peacock party

tgiffriday

finished or not

https://beadwright.blogspot.com/ 

https://myblog-lunchbreak.blogspot.com/