Shoes and Handbags

Polka Dot Fabrics

Here are the four polka dot fabrics that I have in my stash that I will be using in my little quilts. They were originally my mother’s; and then given to me some years ago (five or six or maybe more). I haven’t really done much with them; as I really did want to save them for a special project.

[Brown, Green, Yellow, Red]

 

SHOES Quilt

Now that my little SHOES quilt is well underway, it’s time to give you a sneak peek at some of the construction process…

 

Quilt Top with Borders Added

To begin, I had to decide on the main fabric colors for the background.  This was accomplished with some purple precut blocks I had in my stash. They were leftover four-inch squares from a baby quilt I had made in 2003. As I was going to use the brown and white polka dot fabric. I chose brown to go with the purple blocks.

Then, not wanting a boring outside border (trying to be more creative here); I decided on using black and white -- black lettering on white fabric; my projected vision of it.  

 

 

Templates--Fusible Web Ready for Fabric

Using fusible web, the templates have been traced and are ready for fusing to the fabric. It seems to be a rather messy process when I get out my fabric scraps and contemplate on colors and fabric choices. However, once that is done, the fun begins!

 

Initial Layout of Appliques

After the appliques are ready for the blocks, it was time to figure out their placement. This can also be time consuming; however, it’s best to just begin and see what comes of it. This is where a ready-made design speeds the process because the designer has already worked through all this.

I did change the order from what is shown here; however, you’ll see it next time once the lettering is completed. And you can decide if it works for you!

 

 

Auditioning Paper Lettering

After I had all the fused elements stitched down; I was ready to audition font styles and sizes that would best fit on the white border. 

 

 

Stitching the Letters with Zigzag Stitch

Once that was decided upon, I was ready to stitch the letters on the borders. [I used a zigzag stitch (2.0/0.5) in colors closely matching the fabric pieces.]

In most cases, I’d only need to change the bobbin thread if the top thread was changed from a lighter color to a darker color or vice versa. This allowed me to use the same bobbin thread on many of the applique design pieces.

 

TO COME:
   1.  Adding the embellishments I have in mind.
   2.  Final decision on fabric for the binding.
   3.  Creating a PDF pattern of this quilt project.
 

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