loving

Aurora of Touch the Spindle fame and I agreed to do a swap way back in September of last year.Theme: True Love or Love interpreted through cloth and needle.Due date: February 2008.I'm late I know.Thanks to my muse and a crafter extra-ordinaire I was able to make an attempt at emulating the beauty she produces in her work.Without beautiful inspirations like Calamity Kim I think the craft and sewing world would be a very sad place.I challenged myself with this quilt by trying a technique I've never tried before: Raw edge machine applique.

The Love is appliqued on by machine. I sewed on little gold beads on randomly. I had more fun embellishing this quilt than any other part of it's construction. Beside the Love applique is a vintage shell button I found in my button box and thought it'd be great to fill up that little empty space there. I think this will be Aurora's favorite part of the quilt. A sewn on ribbon rose on top of the cupcake. Beads and french knots for the center fairy. (Which represents Aurora)

I incorporated her love of Hawaii by symbolism through the little ukele playing mermaid. Again I love the emebellishments with the little hugging turtles and kissing fishies that surround her.

The whole center piece is a heart shape surrounded by many many appliqued butterflies. That is surrounded by purchased pre-beaded lace that I sewed on by machine. All the pink stitches you see are the quilting of the center of the piece. I had to stop the quilting at the edge of the heart because the whole of the little quilt was starting to get all wonky and would not lay flat.


My favorite part of the quilt is this little fairy. She has a garland of beads on her head. I embroidered her face so it would show more clearly. The wings are 3-D. She has little beads on her dress and what's a fairy without a little magic dust? In one hand she has a little bag that she stores her fairy dust in and in the other hand she's spreading the dust. I used sparly threads to simulate the fairy dust.You can also see how I sewed on the binding with a utility running stitch instead of the typical hand sewn invisible stitches. I wanted it to show just a little more detail.


The quilt in it's entirity. The photo isn't that great. I started out with a patchwork base. I then cut out a heart shape from the center of the patchwork. (I saved that piece to make something for myself. Then I can feel connected to this little piece because somewhere out there someone has the rest of it.) I then sewed down a white heart shaped base in which I sewed on all my appliques onto.

Finally after many weeks the Love quilt made it to Aurora. She has blogged about it here.

Her quilt to me arrived the end of February or the beginning of March. I like the good swapper I am (mostly) put it up out of the way onto the cupboard. I am of the belief Out of sight, Out of mind. This morning upon reading Aurora's blog that finally she recieved it I tore into the package that long awaited my opening it.


Oh the colours are bold and beautiful and spoke of love. Each little square is surrounded by rickrack, oh how I love me some rickrack! Upon closer inspection each square lifted up to reveal affirmations of love. This could not have come at a better time!

I deserve true love

I recognize true love

I embrace true love

I appreciate true love

I honor true love

I celebrate true love

I live true love

I dream true love

I am true love

~~~

This is my true love

I loved how he was using the couch like a desk and how the sun danced on him.