Tag Archives: winner

Another Chopped Block and Crumb Star Pillow

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I showed you guys a chopped four-patch in my last post. This month, in the Stash Bee, Bonnie asked for a chopped and resewn block called the intersection block. You can find a tutorial for it here. 
 feb stash bee block cut upAdd two borders to your center square then cut it into fourths. feb stash bee block flippedFlip the sections around and you get this! The block was so fun and easy that I made two. feb stash bee blocks completedMy second project for the Stash Bee is a prize. Everyone in the entire Bee (not just my small group) who sent their blocks in on time got a chance to win. I volunteered to make the winner, Amanda, a 12″ crumbs pillow sham. Her favorite color is blue and she chose a star.

crumb star on blue templateI made the template and traced it onto the fabric, which is larger than needed and cut down to size after appliqueing.
stack of crumb blocksI have quite a large crumb-block stack to choose from! auditioning crumb blocks for blue star pillowI audition blocks with the star template. This one looks good.

crumb star on blue zigzagI pinned the crumb-block under the blue then zig-zagged twice around the star. The fabric inside is cut away revealing the crumbs. This method is called reverse applique. crumb star on blue finished pillow sham

Ta-Da! Isn’t it wonderful? You can buy these in my etsy shop and, as always, I love doing custom orders. Letters, symbols, numbers and even the shapes of states are available.

The next post will feature some cute baby quilts and a guest blogger!

 

 

Linking up to Main Crush Monday.

 

 

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Bad Ass Quilt – It’s Not a Fish

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I’m the guest blogger today over at Bad Ass Quilter’s Society. Don’t be alarmed by the title over there. The naked quilting series is about quilts, not bodies. I wrote about my quilt, “It’s Not A Fish,” which was made after a miscarriage. Check that article out and then head back here for some bonus information.

not a fish whole

 

 

Children are often asked what they want to be when they grow up. My two answers, invariably, were an artist and a mommy. So, of course, this baby was wanted.

mom not fish

The two silhouettes in the last column were traced from family photographs. Mom is looking forward with hope and my cousin Jasmine is screaming.

jas not fish

The guild challenge was to make a row (or column) quilt. It had to use three floral fabrics and have at least five rows. Do you see the flowers? The fabric used for the fish is also floral.

fish flowers

This quilt told me that it needed to be mostly grey. (Does your art speak to you? This piece was very specific!) Since I only had one grey fabric in my stash, I reached out to friends who were generous with their scraps. Thanks guys.

I designed the paper-piece pattern for the hearts. They gradually go from mostly warm (browns) to mostly cold (greys) without completely becoming one temperature or the other.

pp hearts

 

On the day I lost my baby, I wanted absolute quiet. No activity or noise at all. Certainly no conversation. Later, talking would become important.

When I told my aunt what happened she suggested that I change my labels: a miscarriage, rather than my miscarriage. Words are important. It’s not my fault.

I started seeing a therapist a few weeks after miscarrying. It was one of the best things I could do, deciding actively focus on healing. Our sessions included dealing with the loss of my mom when I was 14.

What’s your experience with art? Creating is one of my healthiest ways to express loss. It’s also a delight to make things about connection and new beginnings.

 

 

 

25% off most items in my Etsy shop through the end of August. Enjoy!