Rainbow english paper piecing mini quilt

Hi everybody!

 

It's been a very long time since my last entry on this blog!

 

Since Christmas I got hooked on English paper piecing (or EPP). I also took 2 patchwork classes where I got to learn the basics of patchwork and how to make the fancy fox pattern and also how to paper piece a log cabin block.

 

The motivation to take those classes was to learn how to make the binding for this project I hade in mind : a rainbow mini quilt.

 

 

 

I soon gathered all the colors I needed to make several hexies ans I started to baste them.

 

 

Then, I needed to join them... not bad at all for a beginner!

 

 



 

It took a very long time to join all those hexagons!

 

Almost done!

 

I decided to quilt it, it was my first attempt at it, it's not perfect but I like the result.

I used a fusible fleece for my batting.

 

A little close up on the quilting

 

 

And the finished mini quilt measuring 1 by 2!!!

 

I am really pleased with how it turned out!

 

this is the first one I've completed by myself from beginning to end! binding is getting a little easier!

 

Giant Rainbow Skull

Hey Guys!

I am super excited to present my entry for the Old Stitch New Tricks competition hosted on &stitches blog.

It's a giant cross stitch rainbow skull made on pegboard measuring 24 by 32 inches.

As soon as I saw the post about the contest, I knew that I wanted to make something big, bold and colorful, as usual!

I had this project for awhile on my mind to try cross stitching on wooden pegboard, so I tought this was the best moment to try it.

So! I had chosen cross stitching as my ''old stich'' but I was a little disapointed to find a couple of projects that looked like what I had in mind on the Web (mostly floral motifs) so I wanted to push the experience further and make it super challenging (yeah that's me!!). I tought to myself, why not use something different, something that wasn't meant to be used as a cross stitch pattern at all. I started digging for Lego creations and beading patterns and that is when I had the enlightenment! I found this amazing perler (or Hama) beads creations by Irina Hansen and it looked so great I wanted to recreate it! I found out that people sometimes use cross stitching patterns to make perler beads so I tought it would be fun and new to see the other way around!

I mean, this screams me!!! a skull, rainbowy, symmetrical, with a little something that reminded me of Darth Vader's helmet! that was it!



I really tried tracking down Irina to see if she had a website to give her the credit, but beside Pinterest I could not find other picture of her beautiful work, so here is the link of the picture I used as my pattern. 

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/91127592433273227/

*** edited on November 10th. I finally found Irina Hansen's board on Pinterest and looking through her pins, I saw that she was herself inspired by another artist named Denilson S. Medeiros to create her perler beads creation. I tracked him down and found this amazing pixel art he made on Flickr!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tolltroll/6353175011/

So what was digital art became perler beads and ended up being cross stitched! How cool is that! (end of editing)***

I started my project by painting the wooden side of a precut pegboard piece my husband bought for me at the home improvement center with cheap black acrylic paint. It gave it a nice matte finish.

I chose to work with my beloved worsted weight cotton since I always have every solid color on hand plus I thought it would look more like real cross stitching.

Each X stitch required a little over 2 feet of yarn, so a lot of yarn was involved in this project! I wanted the final look to be bright and bold so I used 4 strands of yarn. I used a regular metallic yarn needle to stitch.

At first I worked in rows, just like I would in a regular cross stitching design, but changing color after each X made it a little challenging so I started working on the left side of the pegboard and then switch to right side. It made my life a lot easier working in symmetry like that because I would prepare the colors I'd need in advance.

I had a blast stitching this project even if it was so bulky.  I took about 15-20 hours to complete it.

Here's a little close up of my bulky creation!

I used black duct tape to hide the yarn hanging in the back because it looked like a shaggy carpet.

I'm really happy with the way it turned out! At this point I picture it hanging from the sealing as a colorful room divider or as a statement wall art in our basement.

I would like to thank the ladies from &stitches for the inspiration! Hope you enjoyed it!

Blackwork colorwheel

Hey guys! It's been a long time! Life kept me busy in an unexpected way this summer so here I am finally back and creating! I had a blast creating this colorwheel, even if it was such a big project!

It was my first time trying blackwork and also the first time I was experiencing creating my own pattern! So I'm really happy with how it turned out! I brought it at work and everyday at lunchbreak I would add a few stitches! I started this project back in August and endend it on Monday.

Making this was actually really easy, I took my aida, a 12 inches hoop, a compass, took a few measurements so it would fit nicely in my hoop when finished, drew 4 concentric circles, took a ruler and drew 8 sections. I know a colorwheel usually has 12 sections, but it was easier to draw just 8.

I started by doing the black backtitch to separate each section and then I filled them up using 8 different blackwork patterns. It was easier to stitch the outlines first because I knew exactly where each section endend.

My goal was not really to create an ombre effect, I prefered having a row of dark, bright and pastel colors.

I used 4 blackwork patterns found on the Web, but since I wanted to match each color with a design that was appropriate for it, I ended up creating 4 for them myself. So the snowflake, pumpkin, heart and honeycomb patterns are my very own creations!

I had some requests on Instagram to create a pattern for this, but at this point I'm not quite sur if it will happen since I have no clue what program to use or how to do it... so will see!

Here are a few close-ups!

A Dishcloth Rainbow

I'm so happy to share my dishcloth rainbow as my first entry in this blog!

 

 

 

If you crochet, you probably have made dishcloths at some point in your crochet carrier too! They are easy and super quick to make. Since I often crochet on my lunch break, it's the perfect project to take to the office with me!

 

I love working with cotton, even if it's a litte hard on my hand. I'ts a cheap yarn and easy to get in my area. I like both Bernat Handicrafter Cotton and Lily Sugar n Cream, They are pretty much the same to me even if I find Sugar n Cream to be a bit softer. As you can see I prefer solid colors. In fact, it's the only thing I buy... I really don't like variegated or twists.

 

People who know me well know that when I'm passionate about something, I feel the urge of buying it in every shade available (Thank God I don't care much for cars!!!!), so for weeks, I went hunting for as much solids I as could find at my local Walmart and Michaels and on Yarnspirations. Having gathered all those gorgeous colors, I could not resist making myself a dishcloth rainbow!

You might have seen those photos on Yarnspirations Facebook page! I was so thrilled that they shared them!
 

 

Here is a list of brands/colors used

 

1- Lily Sugar n Cream (LSC) in Warm Brown

2- LSC in Wine

3- Bernat Handicrafter Cotton (BHC) in Country Red

4- LSC in Red

5- BHC in Hot Pink

6- LSC in Rose Pink

7- BHC in Chamomile

8- BHC in Peach Cobbler (from the Sweets & Delights collection)

9- BHC in Tangerine

10- BHC in Hot Orange

11- LSC in Tea Rose

12- BHC in Pale Yellow

13- LSC in Sunshine

14- BHC in Hot Green 

15- LSC in Sage Green

16- LSC in Mod Green

17- BHC in Mod Blue

18- LSC in Robin's Egg

19- BHC in Hot Blue

20- BHC in French Blue

21- BHC in Blueberry

22- BHC in Blue (from the Nautical collection)

23- BHC in Black Currant

24- BHC in Hot Purple

25- BHC in Soft Violet

26- LSC in Black

27- BHC in Stormy Skies (from the Nautical collection)

28- BHC in White

29- BHC in Off White

30- LSC in Jute

 

I havent decided yet what to do with them... keep those that fit in my kitchen decor and gift/sell the others... or perhaps make myself seasonal sets... because obviously, there is no way they will all fit in my rag drawer. At the moment, they just sit pretty in a big pile a in my bedroom!
 

 

Here is the link to the pattern I used. The only difference is that I don't do the embellished border and I use a size 7 (4.5 mm)

 

http://bubblegirlknitandcrochet.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/dishcloth-pattern/