Hello lovely lovelies♡ I hope you are all travelling okay. Down here at my flowery little place, where sweetly fragranced, rose petals fall into heart shape patterns, it has been day after day of happy sunshine and lovely warmth.
This year I thought it might be fun to hitch my caboose to the monthly, mini quilt train, over at Wendy's place of The Constant Quilter. I thought it would be delightful if I joined Wendy and her merry band of mini quilt makers, and fashion a mini quilt each month. Fashioning a mini quilt, monthly, sounds doable and rather pleasant. I rather love the thought of designing and creating on a mini scale every month. It would be a delightful interlude from the everyday of making my bigger quilts. 'Tis always fun to have the thought upmost in mind of going with the flow and seeing where my playing takes me because when one skips down the path of creative play, you never quite know what will eventuate. AND...I'm rather taken with the thought of stitching small and only taking a month in which to reach the finishing line.
What to make?? What will I fashion for my first mini quilt?? With only a week till the end of January; yes I left it to the last minute; I decided to fashion a mini quilt with a vase of flowers taking centre stage.
Two years ago, before the world went into lockdown, I went to a Rachael Daisy, of Blue Mountain Daisy fame, Whizz Bang workshop, where we learnt all things burr cone, or as some might prefer, prairie point, pretties. At the time I bought Rachael's book, Whizz Bang which is a fabulous source of inspiration overflowing with wonderful ideas on the how-to's of all things folded triangles. Arranging triangles is really playing in the truest sense of the world. One folds triangles from an assortment of fabric strips and then plays; placing triangles around and around in dizzying, gloriously hued circles, ovals, rectangles, squares; or indeed any shape you can dream up. But, we will chat that about a little later.
I decided prairie point triangles skipping around the edge of the quilt would be rather fun. For the background I chose a pretty fabric with a collage of hearts, bows, roses, music, butterflies etc etc; all with a nod to Valentine's Day which lovers the world over, celebrate in a couple of weeks time. A perfect fabric. A fabric which was leftover from a knitting bag I made for a dear friend last Christmas.
But before I could begin making the prairie points I first needed to design and stitch the vase and flowers. From a suitcase overflowing with lace remnants I unearthed a lace curtain remnant.
The remnant had some vases and flowers which would be perfect for what was swirling around in my imagination. I carefully snipped a vase and flowers, placing these to the background fabric. Mmm....a tad bare, perfectly fine for some, but for me, a little flower magic from my 'Aladdin's cave' suitcase would definitely be needed.
Being a gal who considers more is never enough, I began to add flowers, leaves and whatever else was needed to make the floral arrangement pleasing to my eye. I happily played, placing a flower or two here, a leaf there, until what was before me caused me to smile. I had a party of a time as I hand stitched each sweet little flower and leaf wherever it landed. It has been an age since I have embellished with all my pretties. I have missed it. It is always a joy to reacquaint myself with all my vintage pretties.
BUT!!!! When all the flowers (probably a 'few' too many....if I was to tell the truth....but hey....you did not hear that from me!) were flourishing in the vase the more I looked at what was before me, I didn't necessarily see a vase of flowers per se; I saw what could be a girl's face with flowers flourishing all over her head!! Perhaps one of those fabulous vintage, flower-covered hats?? How fun!! Now, would I continue on with what I had originally imagined, or, would I play a little more?? Mmm.....what to do, what to do?? I am thinking the girl notion might just win by a nose. =) Funnily enough, while I was adding the facial features Cyndi Lauper's song, Girls Just Want To Have Fun, popped into my mind, so that is what I named my quilt, of the funky girl with the flowery hair....or hat....I cannot decide. Mmm....the hat has it! A mod 1960's girl wearing one of those fabulous hats which only a 1960's hip young thing could get away with! I must say though, the 1960's girl's lips look a bit pursed for a girl who's supposed to be having fun! Perhaps the weight of her flower-filled hat is heavy on her mind!! =D Poor darling, she looks positively worrisome!
Just look at those eyelashes♡
With all the stitching on the girl and flowery hat finished, I then hand quilted around some of the sweet hearts that appear on the fabric. I then proceeded to make the prairie points adding them to the edge. The prairie points dancing around the edge as a frame adds to the whimsy. For the back I found a polka dot fabric in a pretty green and machine sketched Girls Just Want To Have Fun on the back. For the binding I again chose a Tilda fabric.
I spent four days and today, Sunday, petting my flowery pretties, placing and hand stitching them here, there and most definitely everywhere! I have a feeling I got lost in LaLa Land where vintage, lacey flowers were raining from heaven. It happens to me sometimes. =) It was fun to just play. It was fun to change course midway and skip down another path to see where it led me. AND.....it was fabulous to sew on a mini scale. In my crystal ball I can see a few more mini quilts in my future. I have put my suitcase burgeoning with vintage lace pretties away for another day when lacey inspiration will again swirl and swirl around my muddly head. Hoping my mini quilt is acceptable to add to the monthly mini quilt party. I wonder, at 20 inches by 17 inches, if my pretty is mini enough. Well, for me who always seems to make queen size quilts, I should think this quilt is downright Lilliputian in comparison. I did look to see what was acceptable, and I read there were no rules. Well.....excepting of course the quilt has to be 'mini'. No rules....my very favourite stipulation when it comes to quilt making.
Bye for now. Sending all you lovely lovelies, a little love, and sprinkles of falling rose petals into your day♡ Hoping your week is a fabulous one♡
Until the next time..............
Linking up this week to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching and Wendy's Monthly Mini at The Constant Quilter, Frederique's Applique, Patchwork and Judy's Design Wall Monday.
