Hannah's hands - Instructions for Hand block

I have a some request about how we did the hands for this quilt. The hand prints were collected from family, friends, school teachers etc

We drew around the hands on paper - keeping then with a 20cm square (approx 8 "). If you daughter has many friends with big hands - a bit bigger would be better.


We then traced the hands onto double sided iron on (Visofix) ironed this onto the hand fabric (approx 8" square) . Cut it out, removed paper backing and ironed onto the backing square (approx 8.5 " square). I then zig zagged the edges and embroidered the names on each hand.

The embroidery was particularly slow. For speed you could make the hands out of a plain light coloured fabric and get people to sign their own hand print. I have done this on another quilt (no photo sorry). To do this you iron the visofix onto the hand fabric before taking it to people as it makes it stiffer. Ask them to trace and sign their hand print using permanent marker directly onto the fabric (not the paper backing)

Wedding quilt

This quilt is for a couple at church - White and red and considered the right colours for weddings in her culture (Phillipines). I came up with the pattern after looking at traditional weavings from the Phillipines. I dont know if my design would have any echos from home for her - but this is the one she chose from a couple of tops that I showed her. 

I am really pleased with the design and I am now working on a similar quilt in greens and cream - this time recording what fabrics i use.

Monochromatic Challenge

The patchwork times has started a monochromatic challenge where each month a colour is drawn and the idea is to make something basically in that colour and some neutral background colour.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2011-monochromatic-challenge/

January colour is Yellow.

This is a genuine challenge for me as I have a perceptual sensitivity (Irlen Syndrome) with the colour yellow. The first challenge I dont buy much yellow - and I am on no buy - most of what I have tends to be bits of plains I have been given.

Well I have begun experimenting and at the moment it looks like I will end up making 3 quilts.... but I am not sure any of them will be strickly speaking monochromatic.

1. My fist attempt was a kids print that is dominantly yellow - however after playing around with the fabric I think that it would look better with rainbow colours as contrast .... not exactly monochromatic.

2. Using antique doillies - but many of them are aged fawn and that does not look that good with yellow

3. Botanical prints with yellow flowers... not totally yellow but the background can be so this is probably as near as I will get.

Well lets see how I go