Thursday 9 June 2016

Disney Quilt Swap Part 2

After finding out my original partner was ejected from the #disneyquiltswap four days before the shipping deadline, I had to expedite my usual stalking/brainstorming/creating process to make sure I was done on time.

My new partner was a fan of the Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World since she got married there (lucky!). She had this poster in her inspiration board, so I decided to recreate it in her favourite colours. 


I added quilted fireworks in silver metallic, purple variegated, pink, and teal to match the colour story of the castle.

I also snuck in a hidden Mickey with glow-in-the-dark thread!


I made a Mickey Mouse label for the back again. Can't go wrong with the mouse! 



I made her a needlebook as well, from some Lady and the Tramp fabric, and included needles, wonderclips, a baby tiger needleminder and scissors with little pink Minnie Mouse bows.
Front
Inside
Back
I also made a pin cushion from a lion fabric that reminded me of the pride from Lion King. 

I somehow managed to get all this done in under a week, and got the package mailed out in time! Big thanks to my husband for taking the baby to give me the time I needed to finish. 
The complete package
From my partner, I received another awesome Ariel mini, this one with human Ariel walking out of the water in her shimmery dress. 

Now I have two Little Mermaid quilts; wouldn't you say my collection's complete?

Sunday 5 June 2016

Disney Quilt Swap Part 1

Before baby Stanley was born, I signed up for the #disneyquiltswap on Instagram. Since it didn't ship out until the beginning of April and baby was due mid February, I figured I would have plenty of time to plan, construct, and mail a mini quilt plus some extras to my partner.

My partner likes Mulan, especially Mushu and Crikee, so I dreamed up a mini quilt based on the first time they meet Mulan. That means fire, a dragon in shadow, and snarky quotes!

I created the background from 2" squares of yellow, orange, and red fabric placed in a gradient. Then I cut out silhouettes of Mushu and Crikee and used raw-edge appliqué to attach them to the quilt. I had to do a bit of embroidery for Crikee's legs and antenna, since they are way too skinny to cut out of fabric. 
Mushu
Crikee
I chose to use part of the Mushu quote "I'm not tiny, I'm travel sized for your convenience." I dropped the "for your convenience" simply because that was way too many letters to cut out! 

I had a brainstorm to try to make the quilting for this mini look like flames to evoke that first meeting scene even more. So using orange and yellow variegated thread, I free motion quilted flames all over the quilt. I used a black backing fabric to let the quilting pop. Last but not least, I made a quilt label in the shape of Mickey. 
The back with flame quilting
Mickey quilt label
Before mailing, I made a couple extra to include. I made a Beauty and the Beast needlebook complete with a rose needleminder, needles, wonder clips, and scissors. 
Front
Inside front
Inside back
Back
And because my partner likes Yzma from Emperor's New Groove, I recreated this scene:

I made an Emperor Kuzco flea, and painted two boxes to match the scene from the movie. This is such a fun and funny scene, that it deserved to be honoured with crafting! 

Then, with four days notice, I was informed that my partner had been kicked out of the swap! I had to start all over again for a new partner with less than a weeks worth of time and a newborn! My original partner contacted me and we agreed to do a private swap between the two of us, so this package still got to go to its rightful home.

In return, my partner sent me an Ariel mini quilt in the shape of a shell, a Mr. Tumnus cross stitched mini, and some awesome Harry Potter items. This was a super fun way to swap, as we knew that each other was sending to us, so we were able to post sneak peaks and get excited about our packages. 
Mini by Alyx Hashman
All these fabulous goodies!
Stay tuned for my next post showing what I made for partner number two!

Thursday 2 June 2016

Mini Mini Quilt Mania

Make Modern Magazine is hosting a mini mini quilt contest this month. Quilts can be no bigger than 6" square, which you would think would be limiting. But dang, I made one last night and the ideas just kept flowing!

When I first heard of the contest, the first words that came to mind were Mouse House. So I decided to run with it and create a mini mini with those words in mind. I knew right away I wanted to use the mouse on the bike from Mice on Bikes by Lizzy House. I explored my fabric collection for inspiration and started cutting and glueing away. In the end, I had a scene with the bike mouse leaving his house under the watchful eye of the cat in the moon. 
Mouse House
I laid the mini mini out with a tape measure and some sewing supplies to prove the size (5.5" square!). 

This morning I was all fired up to make another. Today I made a mini Polaroid block using a scrap of Briar Rose fabric left over from my B Rosie quilt. I embroidered Spring 2016 under the "photo", to replicate how people used to write on Polaroids, and I accented the photo with some French knot pollen dots. I finished this one with some mini pompom trim. 
Spring 2016 Polaroid
Again, I set up a little scene to show the size (3x4"!). I have a few other ideas rattling around in my brain, so this likely isn't the last mini mini quilt you see out of me!