Alien Landscape 2012

Today I am entering my “Alien Landscape 2012” mini-quilt into the Modern Mini Challenge going on over at Ellison Lane Quilts.  I have spent the past 5 weeks working on this mini-quilt, and it is finally finished (and my kiddos are super excited that they can finally play with it!)

Alien Landscape 2012 was an idea I had after working on a quiet book for my children.  After watching Spunky (my 5 year old boy) play (at full-volume) with the book I realized that I would either need to rename it, or make something different for him.  Then I read about this challenge on Ellison Lane’s blog and decided this would be the perfect opportunity to try something new (and challenge myself!)

My goal for the mini was to have a functional playscape that would be fun to play with but also be bold and interesting as a wall hanging.  So flat aliens that fit into pockets was the way to go!

This space car has a license plate - Google Translate didn't have any alien dialects, so I used Russian instead.  It says “Hebrews 11:3”, which says “By faith we understand that the universe was created by God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”  That includes aliens, right?!!

Here you can see the house.  It is also a pocket, ready for aliens to come and go as they wish.  I wanted to make all of the lines in the mini a bit wonky, thinking that their gravity probably wouldn't be the same as ours.  (Side note: I had a bunch of fun playing with new embroidery stitches – I especially like that trellis!)

 This is “Salien” (short for Sunburst Alien). Spunky thought that this one was too fat to fit in the space ship, so he said we should make a "skinnier" one.  Funny thing is that now that I've made that change, he still wants to use this one.  What can I say – he’s 5!

Here is the back of the quilt – can you see the quilting?  It’s what Spunky asked me for – a spirally dotted line through the universe.  This is the ONLY stitching that I did through the entire quilt.  All of the other stitching was done after it was quilted – I added all of the appliques, pockets and other elements by hand on the front side.

Oh, by the way, I guess I didn't mention yet that the space ship actually unbuttons from the front so you can send the little aliens on adventures throughout the galaxies on the back!  And yet another moment of truth – this is the first spaceship I made.  I wasn't completely happy with it, so I made another one.  But when I showed it to Spunky, he had already made his mind up that he liked this one – something about the colors, trims, french knots… I don’t know, but again my first draft is now the “final” – kids just don’t care about perfection. They want “real”!

Here’s a closeup of the binding.  Its my first time doing mitered corners, and I was going to put in a slick rod pocket , but again, on the “get real” meter, that was a dud .  This is for a young child.  He needs to be able to hang it – preferably by himself!  So big loops fit the bill.  I’m actually quite impressed with the binding – the mitered corners look excellent, and all of the stitching is invisible (I did it all by hand – if I did it by machine it’d look terrible – I don’t do straight lines very well!).

Here’s the trio: Cyclopalien, Peanut Alien, and Salien the Skinny.  These guys look pretty inviting, right? "Come play with us!!!" (More pictures of this project are at my Flickr photostream.)

Here’s a closeup of the wonky water tower-satelite dish-house. This project took five weeks for a reason.  All of my embroidery and other details were done by hand.  I’m not saying that to toot my own horn, folks, I like to do hand stitching, I just wanted to show you the details.  It’s such a great thing to have something to give to a child.  My children are going to know that mommy made this, by hand, with tons of love and it is totally unique.  Maybe I should sign it.  Hmmm.  That’s probably not a bad idea…

The aliens were all made with wool felt, so they’re super soft, but they have a layer of Peltex inside, so they are stiff-ish (like spongy cardboard).  The alien designs, above, were made on a recycled t-shirt with fabric pen.  I like that they’re all unique, and all of them have some simple embroidery stitches.  (I’m teaching Spunky some basic embroidery, so I guess I could call this an “educational” mini-quilt – think that’s a stretch?  *ha!*).

Ta- Da!  All ready for play!  

:) Caren

PS – want more details?  They’re below.  If you get bored with such info, you can stop reading right here - have a great day!

DETAILS

Name:  Alien Landscape 2012 by cadamsCREATIONS

Finished Size: approximately 24”x 24”

Quilting: Spiral pattern done by hand with DMC embroidery floss (3 strands).

Batting: Warm & Natural Quilt Batting

Background Piecing: Crazy quilt style, done by machine.

Appliques: Big house (pocket), space car (pocket), two wonky houses.

Extras: Space ship made from quilting cottons and Peltex with ric rac and embroidered details.  Aliens made of wool felt, recycled t-shirt, and Peltex – hand drawn and embroidered.

Quilt Back: quilting cotton, one continuous piece (galaxies theme).

Binding: 7/8” pre-made double-fold quilt binding, sewn by hand.  Hanging loops made from tiny double fold bias tape in orange.

Wanted to share my top five "NEW" things I did during this project:

1. I researched color theories.  I am not a quilter, and choosing the colors was actually the hardest part of my design process.  Learned a BUNCH, though!

Sprout (12 months old) was intrigued by the fabric.

2. I researched "crazy quilting".  I knew I wanted the background fabric to be "haphazard", so I heard about crazy quilting and decided that I could give it a shot.  My kids loved the background fabric!

3. I researched binding and mitered corners.  When I began this project, I was clueless as to how folks got those pretty, sharp corners.  But now that I've done 8 of them I feel like I have a good handle on them!

4. I used Peltex for the first time!  It's really fun stuff, and easy to sew through.

5. I scoured my embroidery books for new stitches to learn.  I ended up doing too many to describe here, but it was a great learning experience.

A Note to Jennifer:

I appreciate your work on putting this challenge together, and for answering my many questions about it!  I feel like I learned so much during this past 5 weeks - it's been like an online class experience, but since I don't like school, I'll add that it was FUN FUN FUN!!!  So from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!!!  

:) Caren

Learning New Things

I am working on my project for the "Modern Mini Challenge" over at Ellison Lane Quilts.  Jennifer has been doing a blog series on Mini's so we can find our inspiration - there are some wonderfully talented folks out there in blog-land!

This is my first "quilt".  However, as you may be aware, I am a free spirit when it comes to design, so I have to admit that my mini will be functional.  Not as in "it hangs on the wall and looks pretty" kind of functional, but as in a "hey, that's way cool - what do you mean it hangs on the wall?!!" kind of functional.  Confused yet?

OK, I'll reveal a little bit about my project on this post, but I want to wait until it's done to reveal the whole shebang (mainly because it's not finished yet!).  Prior to being sidetracked into this challenge, I was working on a "Quiet Book" for my children.  So every page had "something to do".  That bled over into this quilt a little bit.  

These adorable aliens can go INTO the house and space ship.  Yep, those bits are not just for looks, they are actually pockets!  Yay for keeping kids busy!!!  

(Speaking of keeping kids busy, has anyone seen my third alien?  I think someone toddled off with it....)

I admit I am no professional.  I am probably going to be crazy enough to try to make another one of the space ships.  I learned a bunch while doing this one.  First off, I learned how to make buttonholes with my new (to me) sewing machine!

Not excellent, but it'll do for the kiddos.  (Thread snapped in the middle of sewing.  grrrr.)

I had some fun trying to figure out exactly how to make the space ship.  I added the ric rac with itty bitty French knots to add a bit of color.  I like how it turned out!

I also got to "play" with Peltex.  It's really neat stuff (of course - it's made by Pellon!).  It is a thick stabilizer with heat-activated adhesive on both sides.  It makes the aliens (and space ship) sort of stiff but flexible - like spongy cardboard!

Typically, after I put something together I look at it and think of all the embroidered bits I can add.  I was not sure about the Peltex, because it is so thick.  However, it was surprisingly simple to sew through - even by hand!  

Here are some of my house windows.  My original design has a porch, too, but I'm working on that.  I love that I can sit and do a bunch of hand-embroidered details on this project.  Makes it relaxing, fun, and doesn't feel alien to me (ha!).

I only have until March 5th to finish it up, but I'd better get cracking - especially if I want to re-do the space ship with all of my new found knowledge!

Quiet Book UFO (Part 2)

In Part 1 of my Quiet Book posts I mentioned that most of my pages were someone else's idea.  Most of the gumball machine pages I've found teach colors, but since I already have a colors page (see Ice Cream page, below), this gumball machine teaches patterns!  Stripes, swirls, checks, plaids, polka dots, and spots, oh my!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar counting pages (I want to add more "texture" to these pages, though they are quite busy...).  I love that I can use up some scraps that were gifted to me.  Makes it more precious to me!

Ice Cream Scoops (teaches colors)

Like I said, the pages are not finished.  This page is a maze, with a car and two "parks".  Sunshine is trying to get the car into the pocket, and the page is too flimsy at the moment for her to have much success.  Hopefully it will be much easier when the pages are finished.

Picking Veggies from the Garden

And here is the rocket in space page.  Spunky, my sweet creative 5 year old asked if I could make the moon into a pocket.  (Great idea, Spunky, but you'll notice that the moon is smaller than the rocket.)  He asked if we could make a comet, but since I didn't know what a comet should look like, he drew me one:

He picked out the fabrics and the trims, too.  Creative little thing, isn't he?  I love working with my Spunky!

So now the rocket has a comet to explore!

Which leads me to an observation.  I am not sure about anyone else's experience with Quiet Books, but Spunky was NOISY when playing with this page.  Anyone else out there have that kind of a kid?  He is a chatterbox!  I love him to pieces, noisy or not, but the irony was not lost on me.  Come to think of it, Sunshine had all of her 2 year old self in the middle of the floor saying "BUCKLE UP!" in her loudest voice.  Makes me want to re-think the "Quiet Book" title....

Can you imagine THAT at the doctors office, church, or (yikes!) at a funeral?!!!

Blessings to you!

:) Caren

Quiet Book UFO (Part 1)

When I was about 7 months pregnant with my youngest child, I started "nesting".  Most pregnant ladies nest by decorating or cleaning up for a nursery (or so I've heard).  Not me.  I started sewing.  Or at least, I started dreaming of ideas for "after the baby comes".  Ha.

Sprout

Here's my "baby".  He just turned one year old this month.  And this week he started walking (for real), and drinking regular milk!  And this week I have finally started my Quiet Book (it is not anywhere near being finished, hence UFO, or UnFinished Object).

So here, my friends, is a sampling of my un-finished pages (so far):

Matching Shapes

Yep, I let the kiddos play with the pages - raw edges and everything.  I love that I can see Sunshine's binky in this picture.  It will remind us of how "long ago" this book was made (assuming it ever gets finished, of course!)

Picking Apples (unsnap & put them in the basket)

Ohio State Tic Tac Toe page teaches a little Ohio history, too!)  I love the ladybugs vs. buckeyes instead of X's and O's - they turned out exactly as I had envisioned them.  That little flag was a LOT of work, but on the bright side, I learned how to make French knots!  Added the state motto: With God all things are possible, and our state bird (cardinal).  That's a lot of learning on one page :)

Generic "Build-a-Burger" page

Most of my pages were made from someone else's idea.  I can't give credit because there are so many different variations floating around the world wide web, but I'm grateful for the start in the right direction!

Lace & Tie the Football page has the scarlet and gray (scraps from my Buckeye Princess dress) for the Ohio State Buckeyes, a subtle hint of what college team our family is affiliated with.  Now if I could only find those shoelaces I stashed away for this project a year ago....

Have any of you, dear readers, made a quiet book?  Do tell!

:) Caren

I am a Design Artist

[If you are looking for my giveaway post, click here]

I was contacted a couple of months ago by Pellon (yes, Pellon - the makers of the fabric stabilizers like Wonder Under!).  They asked if I was interested in becoming a design artist for them.  [Are you kidding me?!!!]  I was going to try to describe for you how excited I was about this, but there are no words.  Suffice it to say that I was doing a happy dance (for days!).

I did not consider myself "a designer", per se, but why not?  HELLO: my blog name is cadamsCREATIONS, is it not?  I guess I had never thought of it that way.  So now I am happy to introduce myself to one and all - yes, folks, I am a design artist!

So without further ado, let me tell you about the project I've just submitted to Pellon.  It is my very first, but there's more to come!  This project is a fun one.  It's all about making your kids artwork into an embroidered wall hanging.

My tutorial walks you through the entire process, step by step, with photos to help you along.  It looks complicated, but really it is not.  Your finished piece will use simple (yes, SIMPLE - I see some of you rolling your eyes) embroidery, reverse applique, a bit of machine sewing, and some bead work.  Did you know Pellon has a website with free tutorials?  It's at www.pellonprojects.com, and I'd love it if you were to check out my full tutorial on the Pellon website (click here).

If you do make a wall hanging of your kiddos artwork, please do let me know.  I'd love to see it!  I promise to oooh and aaaahhhh over it as if it were my own (though I'm not sure I could like anything more than I adore these little "space aliens" - they capture my Spunky's creativity AND his sense of humor - but I guess I am a teensy weensy bit biased!).


Have a fantastically creative day!

:) Caren


P.S.- I'm working on project #2 for Pellon, so stay tuned!

Uncomplicated

This blog post is a reminder to myself to keep things simple.  

At the moment I have a million (ish) fabulous ideas floating around in my head.  I start by drafting my patterns and adding elements, and by the time I'm sewing I realize that I have made things WAY TOO COMPLICATED.  Has that ever happened to you?

If you haven't noticed, I get pretty excited about uncommon animals.  You know, the ones that are totally unique.  Yep, teddy bears and stuffed kitties are nice, but they're fairly common.  A stuffed kangaroo?  Now that's not as easy to find!

See, it all started with a realization that I have a baby shower to go to this Saturday (eek!).  And yes, I do already have a gift to give, but it is not hand-made.  So I decided I'd make a small stuffie for the new baby.  Here's my sketch.  A bunny.  Not so difficult, right?

Ha!  Then I thought - oh, I bet that baby would like a crinkly toy!  So I added the crinkle factor (in this case, a sanitized pretzel bag).  Then I thought - oh, one is not enough!  I'll make a family!

  But even before I could finish one bunny, I had a "great idea" (anyone ever seen Wallace and Gromit?  "Don't worry, I have a GREAT idea!").  Yeah.  A kangaroo family.

Yes!  A pocket!  A little joey to snuggle in it's mommy's "pouch"!  Great idea!

But by then the crinkle bunny family was partially finished.  So now the kangaroo daddy has been finished.  So I'm kind of committed.  (Or maybe someone should consider committing me!)

I mean, really - look at those ears.  Gorgeous!  But ouch - they were fussy!!!  There's a bit of the "crinkly" in there, and then I gathered them, then the patch on the inside.... what was I thinking?!  And that's only the daddy kangaroo!

And since I was already committed, I decided not to leave this poor bunny family unfinished.  They deserve to be together, right?  So here's mommy:

Doesn't she look happy?

And if I ever get Mrs Kangaroo and little Joey finished, I'm sure they'll look every bit as happy to be a family...

...IF, of course, I can tear daddy kangaroo away from my little Sunshine!

Have a very blessed (and uncomplicated) week!  :) Caren