Focus Through the Prism - the Series

My Project Quilting Focus Through the Prism Challenge series is complete.  I hung them as a group over my dining table and they make me very happy.  I'm not very happy with the pictures.  There are windows on both sides to confuse things and the quilts all look like they aren't exactly straight.  Good thing I'm a quilter and not a photographer.

Cirque de Shreds

Cirque de Shreds was created for the Project Quilting Focus Through the Prism nine patch challenge.

I need to confess that the inspiration for this piece had nothing to do with nine patches.  I've made several quilts with 3-D flowers in the past and had a mad urge to make them again.  It's apple season here at Lapacek"s Orchard, and quilting time is scarce, so I needed to make my urge fit this challenge.  I started with a background of free form 9 patches using lots of scraps of greens.  Challenge requirements were now satisfied.  I sandwiched it and quilted it and started on the fun.

First, I added shredded flowers.  Shreds are those small pieces of fabric that you cut away whenever you square up a piece of fabric.  Any sane person would just throw them away, but I had an idea I could find a use for them.  So I created shredded flowers.

For Cirque de Shreds, I made lots of flowers and formed them into a circular wreath shape.  This was what was in my vision, but I thought it needed a bit more.  Maybe a bow?  Hmmmm.  Previewed a few things, but this was one of those times when I needed to go to my secret drawer of future quilting embellishments.

AHAAA!!!!!.  Mesh bags.  Probably from oranges or onions or a ham or whatever.  Then a few yoyos and a fabric flower on top.  Done.

Created by Diane Lapacek near Poynette, WI.

Circle of Friends

This is my entry for the Project Quilting Focus Through the Prism challenge for June.  The inspiration was the Friendship Star block and I chose violet for my color this month.

I liked the circular design I made for the first challenge, so I folded up a square and set about designing a friendship star version.  I soon discovered I really didn't like the way the friendship star worked when drafted the same way.  

Time for Plan B. Start with a background of "made" fabric using assorted violet fabrics including the Cherrywood violet.  Add just a few bits of yellow for some sparkle. Quilt it, then add the friendship stars on the top for a 3D wreath effect.

I sewed scraps of pastels together to make fabric for the stars, then drew some friendship star shapes in assorted sizes and cut a few of each size from freezer paper.  My first thought was to face and turn each star.  Bad idea.  Those little points are a pain to turn.  I decided raw edges would look better anyway.  I simply ironed the freezer paper to the right side of the fabrics, added a piece of heavy interfacing in back and stitched just off the edge of the freezer paper.  I removed the freezer paper and cut out each star, then layered them on the background.  A button in the center of each star in the top layer completes the look.

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Created by Diane Lapacek in Poynette, WI.