Sweet Silhouette {Quilt}

This was the first time I have had complete artistic control from start to finish on a school auction quilt and I could not have been happier!

I saw Angela Pingel's Profile quilt tutorial on her blog, Cut to Pieces, and knew that I had to make it for Button's Kindergarten year!
 

Her instructions on taking the pictures were perfect.  The only thing I made the mistake of was focusing in on some of the kids, when you should, ideally, stand at the same spot and make sure your camera lens is the same distance each time.

 
I had this great stack of solids I had picked up at Quiltcon in Austin and had used some of it for a quilt I'm working on for Button....just enough to do a quilt for 13 students. I found larger scale Alphabet fabric that I've used before from Joann's for the backing.

  I struggled to figure out a layout and decided to just do some empty blocks to make it a nice lap size.

I liked the idea of printing on fusible, but I already had a bolt of Pellon Wonder Under in my studio.
 I also really wanted my profiles to face the original direction, so I used a sharpie around the printouts, then flipped them over on my light box and made a line on the back.  Then I laid my fusible (sticky side down) on top and traced.  I cut up close to the edge, then ironed on, and then cut the fabric with fusible out.

My longarm ruler base was cracked in the move, so I didn't feel confident I could get the crosshatch that Angela's quilt had.  So I fused and stitched my applique and then quilted with it with a piece of scrap batting on my domestic machine.

I then cut away just to the edge so that it would help the trapunto effect I was going for with this quilt.


Before I pieced the blocks, I added their embroidered names.  I went in to the classroom and had each child write their name in the same size space.  I scanned and digitized them in my embroidery software so that they could be stitched out their EXACT penmanship.

Here is my confession part.  I told myself that a neutral thread throughout would work.
 I didn't want to change threads constantly.

And it looked alright-ish until I got to the end of the first row in the dark fabrics.....

I have not been listening to my gut the past few weeks and have paid heavily for it.
I spent six hours unpicking and reminded myself that sometimes there is a reason we should do the extra work.

This was the second time I used double batting on a quilt and I LOVE IT!!!
I chose a wavy crosshatch quilting on the empty blocks to make sure the eye always returned to the profile blocks.  They were fun and will definitely do it again!

I decided to quilt the profile blocks with free motion "doodling" and making sure I did an outline around the profile to emphasize the trapunto effect I was going for. I think it worked well.

See all the fun colors on the back?!?!  I was too hesitant to tempt fate and use a neutral color.  I'm thankful the backing was busy enough to handle it.

Had to share Button's little profile!  Unfortunately, I did not have a matching thread color for his fabric choice.  I'm not totally in love.  But his little handwriting!!  I melt....

I tried to match the letter backing, but soon discovered the lines just weren't matching.  So I added three primary colored strips.  I like how it draws the eye to the label though.

A solid black binding seemed the best choice to frame out the all solid quilt.

And, of course, I had to embroider a label for the back!

The thing I love the most is all the texture!!!

Quilt Stats:
Measures: 56" x 60"
Pattern: Profile Tutorial by Angela Pingel
Fabrics: Moda Bella Solids, Kona Black, Joann Fabrics Alphabet
Batting: 2 layers of Warm & Natural Cotton
Quilting: Diagonal Crosshatch on Babylock Symphony
 and Freemotion and Wavy Crosshatch on HandiQuilter Avante

And off it went to Auction....
and was successfully sold for a VERY generous amount to my co-room mom!
 I couldn't think of a better Mom-Son duo to win it!!!

Nativity Tree Skirt {School Auction Quilt Project}

 "and she gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the living-space." Luke 2:7

 When we arrived to Salt Lake City, my friends all wondered out loud how long it would take the schools to find out about my quilting experience.  All it took was an Auction meeting in September to offer my services to the committee. The kindergarten room traditionally did a quilt for the class auction and they needed help.  How could I not speak up?

 I met with their room mom who had chosen coloring book images for the kids to color.  I sent her on her way with the approximate size, preparation of the muslin fabric with freezer paper backings, and my collection of fabric markers.  She chose the fabrics for the sky and background based on the fact that she wanted to do more "traditional" Christmas colors.

 She returned with two sets of Nativity scenes, unsure if I would need it to "fill up" the tree skirt.  However, it was too much, especially knowing that we had to keep the adorable drawings toward the edge of the skirt.  I saved the second set for the Nativity Wall hanging Quilt I made for the end of the year Kindergarten teacher gift.

I was really worried about the figures getting lost in the background and satin stitched them to some black felt and then appliqued them on the backgrounds.  It ended up being the part the parents loved the most.  The colors the kids chose and the fabrics the room mom picked evoked feelings of an authentic desert nativity scenen.  I made the creche oversized, had the shepherds gathered on hills of sand with palm trees, and the village of Bethlehem in the distance behind the Wise men.

This photo is actually from the wall hanging.

 I think I went a little crazy with the dense quilting, but I wanted to showcase the figures and also give the feeling of shifting sand dunes and swirling dense stars.  I can't seem to find a photo, but I made covered button closures at the opening.
 I also made a printed quilt label with the kids names on the back.  They were the main artists!

 Quilt Stats:

 Measures: Approx. 40" diameter

Pattern: none

Fabric: Kona Parchment, Kona Brown, Northcott Christmas Reindeer Prance, 

Henry Glass Beige Baroque, Moda Swirl

Thread: Omni Thread Natural Linen by Superior Threads

Quilted: Free motion on HQ Avante

I have to admit, I was pretty excited to hear how well it did at the auction! 
I hope that I can help them out to do just as well next year!