This week's challenge theme was "Through the Eyes of a Child". Persimon Dreams has come up with some interesting themes this year. This one I didn't think I'd attempt....until Thursday afternoon when a photo I saw in an email inspired me! Yikes!
It's been a busy week with 3 rehearsals singing with the local symphony, plus working, plus getting this baby done! I finished it just this morning, just in the nick of time.
I'd love to give credit where credit is due as to where I found this inspiration. The blogger asked for permission before referencing her online, but she didn't reply to my request, so all I can say is I found her fabulous project online.
The photo immediately reminded me of when I was a little girl. We had a huge old crab apple tree in our backyard. The apples were never good for eating, but that tree held my wish for a swing. I asked many times for my dad or brothers to put one there for me, but my requests, like the one above, went unanswered.
So, to keep it simple, this project was made
through the eyes of the little girl that lives in me! <3
I started with going through my small scraps for pastel colored fabrics. I cut them into small squares and rectangles and placed them on a large piece of paper-backed fusible web. (Ya think I have enough small scraps?)
When I got the placement I wanted, I ironed them down to make it easier to sew.
Then I ironed them onto a piece of muslin to prepare for sewing. I used a free-style method of sewing around each block in white thread using free-motion quilting.
Using some wood-patterned fabric, I cut out a tree and added some red "apples", sewing around all of it with black thread, giving it a very creative look!
Note: when I was almost finished with the raw-edge applique of the entire project, I thought the tree looked off-balance and I added larger branches to increase its size.
Here is my little girl (ME!) in the swing I longed for. I often wore braids or pig tails, plus I've been a life-long purple lover, so she is wearing a purple dress!
Here you can see that the tree grew, too!
With a thin layer of batting and a lovely shade of pink for binding,
my little girl on her swing will joyfully hang forever on my sewing room wall.
My final project measures approximately 15" x 17".
It was created in my home in Dubuque, Iowa.
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