Silhouettes!

I was given the honor of making two silhouette quilts.  They wanted the quilt to be different than the standard black and white silhouette.  Something that would accent the diversity of the classroom.  They turned out beautifully.  It was a fun and exciting project to work on.

This is going to be a photo heavy posting and I'm going to briefly go over how I constructed them.  This might be a bit dry and technical.

Each black square is about 9 by 9.5 inches.  The silhouettes were sent to me via email.  I went ahead and fit them to a custom sized page in Microsoft Word.  That way, they would all be similar size and would fit in the black squares.  Initially, I had the black squares larger but there was too much empty space.  I traced the heads, backwards, onto Wonder-Under and then fused onto the batik.  I, then, cut the heads out, peeled the paper off, and fused onto the black block.  Each child's name is stitched onto their silhouette, using the letters on my Baby Lock Symphony.  That completed the silhouettes

I also did blocks for the school mascot and class information.  The class information blocks are sent out for embroidery by a local company that I use.  The dragons were done by printing on fabric.  I will share how I did that at a later time.  The dragons were fused in the same manner as the silhouettes.  

The blocks were sashed with 3 inch wide strips of a blue batik.  Then a 6 inch red border finalized the quilt top.

I backed the quilt in black using a wide backing.  FMQ in black and red.  I did some SITD with clear thread on the top.  The quilt was bound in a plum.  When I FMQ around the silhouettes, I didn't want to actually stitch on the heads.  So, I loosely went around them and meandered to fill in the space.  I really enjoyed the effect on the back.

The Wonder-Under did a great job of stick through all the washing and quilting.  A few silhouettes had to be fused on again, however, they reattached with no problem.  I use Wonder-Under for all my applique needs and love it.  

I finished off the quilts with a hanging sleeve using the method found here.  Since I didn't stitch the silhouettes down, this quilt is considered a display quilt.  It just wouldn't hold up, long term, to daily use and multiple washes.  

Let me know if you have any additional questions.  This is something that could be easily made for your child's class.  I have thought about doing one for our family.  I bet the kids would love to have it, when they are grown up with families of their own.

~SLBY

Valentine's of Yesterday...

Valentine's Day is very different from what it used to be, for me. Heck, every day is different from what it used to be. Kids just do that. It isn't a bad thing. It isn't horrible. It just is. I saw a couple today walking through the store hand in hand. They were young and, I'm assuming, college age. It took me back to when Rick and I were first dating. I remember those days so fondly. We met in college. We would walk around the store hand in hand, all sorts of lovey dovey. Our Valentine's Days were surrounded with as much sappy sweetness as expected. Flowers, chocolates, love songs, slow dances, and on and on and on.

And while those feelings are just as strong now, as they were then, we just don't have the time to display them like we did. *If* we are in a store together, there are usually two small children with us. Instead of walking hand in hand, one of us is attempting to control the children and the other is trying to quickly throw things into a cart and get us the heck out the store, ASAP! There is no more wandering around, gazing deeply into each other's eyes, and dreaming of the day we are married with kids. That day has arrived like a thousand galloping horses!

And while it never quite turns out just like you expect, I have to say Rick and I ended up pretty lucky.

We have this sweet boy who just smiles non-stop:

This incredibly talented little girl is going to do a kick ass job decorating my nursing home room, when I'm old:



Sometimes I feel bad that Rick and I aren't still those two college kids anymore. I definitely long for the pre-kids Saturdays, where we slept in, laid in bed til noon and watched way too much MTV Room Raiders.

Friday night is our date night. Maybe I can find some Room Raiders on DVD or something and we can recreate those Saturday mornings....

NAH! I'm not turning down a kid free meal for lazy bed time.

I did get these beauties this morning:


The colors are perfect. I love purples mashed with yellow and orange. They are quilt inspiring.

And Emma and I turned this:



into this:



We used a Tasty Kitchen recipe. You can check it out here. I used semi sweet/white chocolate swirl chips and coconut creme pudding. And I refuse to admit how much has been eaten.

My Valentine's Day definitely are not the Valentine's Day of yesteryear. And I couldn't be happier about it.

Namaste
~SLBY

Fear not, for I am still with you...

Oh loyal blog readers, please know that I haven't forgotten you. Or left you.

It started with two sick kids last weekend.

I think this one started it.

This picture was almost a year ago. She has gone with short hair, ever since. I miss those curls and chubby face. *sigh*

Anyway, she goes to school. Picks up germs and brings them home to share with her little brother.

I want to reach through this picture and just snuggle him. *double sigh*


Anyway...

Then a busy week of filling some orders. (You'll see those items over the next few days)

And now, as any good mom would, I have the dreaded plague. The kind where your skin hurts and your eyelashes are tender. It doesn't help when your husband has been working non-stop. Today is his first day off and I am spending the evening in bed. Alone with my laptop.

I plan on reading blogs, where people actually update. ;)


I have finished quilts, finished eReader covers and a rag quilt in process, to share with you over the next few days.


Namaste
~SLBY