Sunday 22 February 2015

Happy Village, or City rather, quilt

I have now presented my friend with the Happy Village quilt I made for her,  so I can show it here.

Now it is not a village, but a city. I made high rise buildings and billboards instead of quaint houses and cobbled lanes.




I cheated a bit and drew some windows and text with a pen.
The rest is done in the technique taught by Karen Eckmeier. Get her book and enjoy cutting up scraps, building a landscape, covering with tulle and then machine quilting.


31 comments:

Debbie said...

This is fantastic, Carin! I love it. The drawing is NOT cheating. It's part of the artwork!

Pamela said...

Very nice! I'm sure your friend is very pleased with your gift.

Renee said...

What a darling quilt! I just love landscapes and art quilts. This is fabulous. I imagine your friend must love it!

Julie Fukuda said...

No such a thing as cheating. It is a charming sea-side town, I think I have been there.

Queeniepatch said...

Oh, THANK YOU, Debbie! Trying to keep small pieces for windows still under the tulle would have been hard.

Queeniepatch said...

They were! I added some text, signs and business names related to them. I also used some kanji 'out of my head' and was asked 'what does this mean?' It was fun to play with Japanese that does not exist!

Queeniepatch said...

They did love it, and I have got ideas for making other Happy Village quilts (= more UFOs?)

Queeniepatch said...

You have, have you?! I made some signs out of kanji combinations that does not exist, and my friends had a great time trying to read them. I just wish I had added Mt Fuji or Tokyo Tower or something. Now it is a place that only you know where it is!

City Krafters said...

Love your quilt. Your friend must be delighted with it. Very clever

Queeniepatch said...

Actually, Hilary, this is a perfect way of using up smaller pieces from your stash. Cut them up and make any mosaic picture on top of wadding (first place the fabric for the back right side down, then wadding, then the small scraps). Place tulle on top and machine quilt. Easy peasy!

Ulla said...

Very good Idea to use mixmedias for the town.You med such a great town for your friend.Very indpiring too.Wish you a nice new week.

Annet said...

Such a lovely quilt. And writing with a pen is not cheating, it's mixed media :-) Love how you used the selvages!

Suztats said...

Fabulous creation! Making it pertinent and personal is a great idea.

https://linsartyblobs.blogspot.com said...

Great quilt Carin, and drawing on features is not cheating. I did a series of house/building pictures myself that I really enjoyed and it looks like you had lots of fun with this.

Queeniepatch said...

Thank you Ulla.
This was such a fun way to make a quilt, and the machine quilting made it fast.
---
Det var första gången för mig att sy ett litet täcke med den här tekniken, och det var både roligt och lätt. Tyllen döljer alla ojämna kviltstygn!

Queeniepatch said...

I love how closely you look at others' work - you noticed the use of selvages. Yes, I thought them made excellent signboards and the colour samples make great neon signs.

Queeniepatch said...

Thank you. This is a great way to become a city planner!

Queeniepatch said...

I did have lots of fun - and will enjoy making more. I regret that I did not add Mr Fuji or some landmark. It would be easy to make a series of Cities of the world with features from each place, Big Ben, Sydney Opera House, Stockholm Town Hall...

Janie said...

A fun quilt for sure and a really wonderful gift!

Queeniepatch said...

Thank you, Jan.ie. I just got a mail from my friends and they say the just love looking at the quilt, so I am very pleased

Ulla said...

Perfekt.Ha det så bra önskar en nybliven farmor till en liten gosse som föddes inatt.

Queeniepatch said...

Å, vad roligt! Stort grattis!

Stitching Lady said...

A beautiful and inspiring quilt - so well done and a lovely gift.

Queeniepatch said...

It was fun to make, but made in haste, I don't know about 'done well'!

Anonymous said...

This is a lovely quilt, I like how all the diffferent colours come together to make the buildings it gives the quilt lots of interest. Your friend will be very pleased with lt.

Queeniepatch said...

Some of the pieces were left from the kit I used at the workshop at FOQ in Birmingham. Among them were pink and mint green. How can you use them for houses? was my first thought, but it worked well, and as you say give the quilt a lot of interest.

crazyQstitcher said...

I easily see I'm not the only one who thinks your quilt is fabulous. I recognized the selvedges as I have some myself. Great idea to use them as you have.

Why is the backing laid right side down? Is that so you fold the edges over as binding?

Queeniepatch said...

I have often seen selvedges used in ATCs and thought they would make good signs in the cityscape.

Why the backing is laid right side down? Isn't it always when you stack a quilt before basting? Backing right side down, then wadding on top, then the piece or appliquéd top, right side up. In the Happy Village quilt technique, you build up the picture right on top of the wadding, fix the pieces with a dollop of glue (or you can spray glue on the wadding) then cover all with tulle and start machine quilting.
The binding on this quilt is made up of four straight strips of checked fabric.

carorose said...

A great quilt Carin. I wouldn't worry about drawing in features this has been done on fabric since medieval times.

Tanya said...

Your city is amazing! I love all the details that you included. I'm showing Yuma-kun tonight!

Angela said...

What a happy village! I want to go there!