I set to work first thing this month getting February's walker banner underway, with the hopes I'd have it done before today (spoiler: I did). Other than President's Day and Groundhog's Day, there aren't many events competing for the iconic 'February Means: ' position, so I threw myself wholeheartedly into ... hearts. Foundation paper pieced hearts.
After completing these and sewing them to the 16-patches, I reviewed the patterns in their original color (I'd been using gray scale patterns to sew on) and was immediately struck by how much more interesting the addition of pink made these designs. To the pink stash!
I didn't want a thick piece of fabric at the top of the banner, as it would be held between 5 pairs of magnets and I wasn't sure how strong they were, so I pulled out some heavy iron-on interfacing and embroidered the month on it. All was fine until I went to iron it (using a teflon craft sheet underneath)--the iron pulled and stuck and made things pretty awful (yes, I checked that I was ironing the non-stick side!) I'm not at all happy with the resulting wrinkles, but from the back of a galloping horse....
Somehow, in the preparation, ironing, and construction of the finished banner (I blame the ironing stage) I managed to turn things enough that instead of having all red hearts on one side and all pink/red hearts on another, I ended up with 2 and 2 on both sides. I unwittingly mixed the blocks after all!
Here are both sides of the finished banner, ready to be delivered to my mom.
I delivered it two days ago and she was delighted with her pretty new addition.
The reverse side (in which you can see the magnets sewn into the hem of her name sleeve):
Plans for March's banner are already underway. I'm thinking a lion, a lamb ("March comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb"--having that saying embroidered on the header strip too), and shamrocks.
I like that you have an equally interesting side that faces her!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love your pieced hearts!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Katie!
ReplyDeleteYou are right, the pink really makes the whole thing pop, both the blocks and the embroidery. Once upon a lifetime ago I was making small quilts to hang on the little wall at the top of the stairs. The plan was one for each month and I did three before I gave up on it, some months were just too plain. The clocks change in March and maybe you can get your hands on some marching band fabric.
ReplyDeleteThe pieced hearts--especially the "radiant" ones-- are terrific! And Lois looks so pleased.
ReplyDeleteThe non-radiant one came from a book of easy paper piecing patterns, and after doing it again in the pinks and reds (having completed all the all-red blocks) I understood just how incredibly easy that pattern was! The radiant ones taught me a few lessons about piecing order.
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