Words

I have been busy working on my wall-hanging for my challenge group. Last time's challenge was to use photos, and this time's is to use free-pieced letters. (Guess whose idea that was!) Here are my efforts.

The first word went well, but as I proceeded, I realised that I had chosen two fabrics which both read as mediums, and I should have had one of them as a dark or a light. Never mind.

The next problem was that I had forgotten how much fabric is needed for free pieced shapes, and I was in danger of running out of the floral fabric. I searched all my scrap boxes to no avail. Would I have enough to finish the letters?

Only one more word to go, and I think I will at least have enough for the words.

But I had intended to use the floral fabric around the letters, and there was no more fabric at all.

By careful piecing (and a rummage through the waste bin!) I managed to find enough scraps to at least make a background for the words. Can you see the desperation-piecing on the bottom left corner?

Hooray! With a bit of juggling and fudging, the words are complete! Now to decide on borders etc. Do you recognise the quote? It's written by my number-one hero, William Shakespeare, and is from Sonnet 18 - usually known as 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day'. Whose words would be better to make in fabric?!

I've also finished my next stitchery from Caroline's blog. Very apt!

Shakespeare returns!

This isn't a recent quilt, but it has returned from London and I love it so much, I wanted to share it. It's been displayed on DS's wall for the last few years - very appropriate for a house of stage managers and theatre professionals I thought! They were also pleased, because it brightened up a rather drab rented house in Wood Green.

It's made using Heat and Bond, and is a technique used by Therese May. She used it to make just faces, but I wanted to do something special with the technique. I spent a while trying to think of a recognisable image, and finally came up with old Shakey here. I used some of my collection of fabric with writing on it, including some with Japanese, to signal his world-wide influence.

I wanted to machine quotes about sewing round the border, but surprisingly, although Shakespeare seems to have lots to say on lots of issues, he doesn't say much about the needle arts. However, he does have the best things to say, and one quote I love is this, 'The spinsters and knitters in the sun.' How I aspire to be one of those! I sewed it along the bottom border.

And the title of the quilt? It had to be - 'I love my Willy!'