Spot The Difference

Seeing as it's the Easter Holidays I thought it would be nice to have a 'spot the difference' competition to help keep your kids busy while they are off school. So I completely re-made the Red Riding Hood quilt that I made 2 years ago for the DQS9 just so we could play a little game!

I am, of course, kidding you. I did re-make the quilt (new version above) but not just to keep your children occupied!

I couple of months ago I lovely lady who reads this blog (Hi Christina!) saw the Red Riding Hood quilt (original version below) and asked if I would make her one exactly the same for her little girl. We decided on a price we were both happy with and talked about a few changes to make things a bit quicker for me and then, once I had my most pressing swap deadlines out the way, I started making it.

I finished it on Tuesday and it is now winging it's way across the Atlantic.
It is the first time I have tried to re-create anything. Luckily I still had enough of nearly all the fabric I had used in the first quilt (I am such a hoarder!). Including a full wolf and little red from the Kokka fabric I had bought especially the first time round.

Little Red and the Alexander Henry owl (made from home decor fabric), are both detachable and 'live' in little pockets.

As in the original, there is a little ladybird behind a secret door.
One of the main changes with this new quilt is that I machine quilted it to cut down the time (and so cost). But there was still a lot of hand finishing. All those felt apples were hand sewn. And as I had run out of the red apple fabric I used the first time, I had to sew a lot more on this time!

I had been a bit tricksy with the first quilt (showing off mainly - it was my first DQS!), and made some of the leaves as little 3D quilt leaves (they even had wadding inside!). But in the end they just looked like they had been appliqued. So this time I needle-turned them, then added blanket and running stitch afterwards to get the same effect.

Last time I used curved piecing to make the tree tops, but as that was pretty much hidden by the trees (and is always a bit hit and miss as far as I'm concerned), I needle turn appliqued the tree tops as whole circles this time. So, yes, lot's of hand sewing!

So let's take a look at the answers. Did you spot the differences on the holly tree?

Above is the new, and below is the original. I actually much prefer the new one. I outlined the leaf and the centre vein with backstitch instead of using a row of seed beads, and I think the leaves stand out much more. The berries are a better size too. And the trunk is also a totally different piece of fabric (surely you got that one!).

The owl has moved to a higher perch in the Autumn tree in the new version, above.

Here is the original apple tree, a lot less apples to sew on with this sadly missed fabric! Plus in the new one the apples are falling and landing on the other side of the trunk.

So how did you do?
Well I did very well, as I actually got paid for making a quilt, and, while I was photographing it in the shop yesterday, a customer came in and fell in love with it and has commissioned a version for her little boy! But I've told her I can't start it till July - I need to give my hands a good rest first!

My Doll Quilt has finally arrived!!

Yes, after a VERY long wait it is finally here! Some swappers got their's 2 months ago, but good things come to those that wait, and here it is! Isn't it gorgeous?
Made for me by Cara of Quiltnookgal and it came all the way from the USA. There were all sorts of problems with the mail, at Cara's end to start with and then at my end as it got taken to my old adress and then ended up sitting in a parcelforce depot (lost and alone!) until I tracked it down on Thursday (thanks to all the help from our fab swapmama Solidia).

I was starting to get very worried so I can't imagine how Cara must have been feeling!
I have been waiting days to get a decent photo of the quilt, but the sun just won't come out! Very depressing, and I can't wait any longer to share it with you. So apologies for the dark photos.
Here is the lovely umbrella fabric on the back and the binding.
 
 Here are some close ups of the beautiful yo yo flowers and the jumbo ric rac stem (so creative!).

Can you see how Cara has quilted stamen coming out of the flower? I really love it! The colours and fabric are so perfect for me and it look fabulous in my sewing room.

And look at these fabulous extra goodies I got!!
Amazing fabric which I love, braids, chocolate, lovely buttons and beads and wooden clothes pegs. And to top it all off, this adorable owl pincushion!

Isn't he just so cute! I love him. Thank you so much Cara, for being so kind and generous.
I think I need a special pincushion shelf to display all my lovely pincushions (this owl, the frieda ones from the last swap, the apple from Marg).
Well that is DQS9 all over for me now, which is a bit sad as I have loved taking part in it. Next round starts after Christmas so here's hoping I get a chance to join in again.

The Doll Quilt is finished!

Yay! All finished and ready to go!

I have loved making this doll quilt and taking part in DQS9, even though our house move (right in the middle of it!) did mean I couldn't be as active in the group pool/discussions as I would have liked. I would love to be involved with the next one, when my life will have (hopefully) calmed down a bit.

I got an early start on this and had just about finished it a month ago. However the move really set me back, and even though it was just hand sewing left and I fully intended to get it done during the house move (over optimistic as always!) I have gone practically up to the wire with finishing it.

Anyway, here are some close ups of the different trees:

The holly tree. I was afraid that the felt leaves didn't stand out enough so added a beaded 'vein' down the middle.

 These '3D leaves' are finished with blanket stitch.

The 'autumn tree' with an owl nestling amongst it's leaves.

 Owl can fly out of the tree and around the forest!

 'Little quilt leaf' tree. Red riding hood is hiding behind this tree, she looks as if she is looking out for someone...

She can come out from behind the tree and walk about too.

And the tree full of pretty birds. But who is that next to the tree?
It is the big bad wolf! I decided to make the wolf stay put, that way red riding hood, the owl and all the birds will be safe!!

The apple tree which I blogged about earlier here. I was teasing you then by showing you the 'secret door' but not what was behind it. It isn't that exciting, but here we go...

 It is a little lady bird! I had to find a way of closing the door properly as otherwise it will flap open if the quilt is hung on the wall, hence the press stud.

I will show you my back label when I know the quilt is safely with it's new owner.

A big thanks to all the swap mamas for their faultless organisation.
I would also like to say a big thanks to Gwen at Celtic Fusion Fabrics who pulled out all the stops and got another piece of red riding hood fabric off to me before she went on holiday, as the first fat quarter didn't include a whole standing wolf.
She also very kindly sent some free small pieces of fabric, just because she is nice! Thanks Gwen, I will definitely be using your store again!

So that's it, I am packing it up now to get it in the post today, along with some treats including one of my 'little tree pincushions', which I thought would be appropriate.
It is hard to say goodbye!! but it is made easier by the knowledge that I will be receiving my own doll quilt very soon!

Doll Quilt Swap 9 update

This is how far I had got on Friday with my DQS9 quilt. It looks kind of finished, doesn't it? But I still have a way to go with embellishments. 

I really enjoyed making the trees. They are all machine pieced and then hand quilted. I even made a 'fancy' back (for the first time!).

I used all the quarter circles I had cut out of the background, mixed then all up and then needle turn appliqued them to some white sheeting. I tried to get them behind the trees on the front to make the quilting easier.

Here's a close up of the quilting, though I think you can see it better from the back.

I've had a bit of time to spend on the quilt this weekend so here is a sneak preview of some of the 'embellishments'. 

First of all 'The secret door"!

Can you see the little door? I wonder what lives behind it? 

And do you like my falling apples? They are made of felt and beads. Not sure I have done enough for the tree, do you think I need a few more?

Here is a little pile of mini leaf quilts! They are quilts because they have wadding sandwiched between 2 layers of fabric and are quilted!

They are going to get attached to one of the trees later.

I am having great fun making my 'enchanted forest' quilt and also looking at all the other amazing doll quilts being made. Some of them are even finished already! Take a look at the group pool for loads of inspiration.

Meanwhile I am off to make some holly leaves!

I'm off on my holidays!

Just a short break - 3 days in Ardnamurchan in the West Highlands. I have never been so far north on that side of Scotland before. We are taking a whole day boat trip round the Isle of Mull to see where puffins nest and maybe even see whales!! Jonathan is very into wildlife photography so he is really looking forward to this.

I am sure we will be very busy hiking and so forth, but just in case I should get a bit of 'down time' I am packing my latest crochet project to keep me busy. These beautiful little things are called African Flowers and you can get the free pattern for the African Flowers here.

I am loving making these colourful hexagons. I have even been back down to the cellar and into my massive stash of tapestry wools for more colours (you can read about this wool stash here).
I started this with the idea of making it in to a blanket for a certain person, however I am so in love with the way it looks that I may not be able to part with it!
Also I have learnt to 'join as you go'. If you look at the top photo you will see how I have added another row of trebles and joined the flower to the next one 'as I go'. It is a bit of a brain ache but I think I've got it now!

I may also get a bit of thinking time to mull over my Doll Quilt Swap 9 effort. They are very quick off the mark in this group and are already posting up initial sketches and even bits and pieces of finished stuff!
I was so inspired by the ideas on show that I have managed to jot down some of my own that have been rattling around in my head for a while.
I fancy using a mixture of piecing and applique and re-visiting my love of Drunkard's Path by piecing the top of 'trees' then appliqueing leaves and forest creatures over the top. This is very much in an initial design stage but I thought I would share it with you all.
Take a look at the DQS9 pool, where you can see really creative ideas blossoming all over the place and read VERY funny discussions!

I will now be very quiet for a good 5 days but hope to bring you some West Highland stories soon!