Friday 1 November 2019

Dream A Little

I had to dream a little when it came to this challenge. I think I had two other ideas for the quilt before I settled on this one. How to interpret the theme dreams - should it be dreams in my sleep, or dreams I have - like what I hope for? Since my sleeping dreams are fairly fractured and rarely make any sense after I've woken up, I decided to go with the other.

It is interesting to me how things often come together at the right time. As I was pondering this challenge theme, I began reading and working through The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. My reading has made me ponder how I dream. Well, actually, why I don't. I've come to realize that through the years I've been so busy with family stuff and helping my husband - supporting their dreams, if you will, that I've quit dreaming. Don't misunderstand, I have enjoyed helping them and all that goes with that. I was just surprised to realize that when it comes to dreams, I have a difficult time naming any.

I have this sign above my closet in our bedroom that says "Dream a Little". Obviously, placed there, it refers to sleep dreams. I decided I should use those words in a mini quilt for my quilt room, to be placed on my wall of mini quilts, to remind me that it's okay for me to dream a little.




I used something new to me for the lettering, Crayola fabric markers. The gray was just the color I was looking for, and it didn't bleed at all, not even when I set the color. I'm not sure how it will wash up and may not ever know since this is a wall quilt and may not get washed; at least not often.

For the borders, I had some left over improv scraps from another project, so I stitched them together, cut them into blocks, and sewed them back together. The plan was to use them for another small mini. Then I realized I could rip the two rows apart again, cut the two rows of three in half the long way, and have a border for this mini. Perfect!

But what to do with all that gray space around the lettering? I pulled out a Sue Spargo book of creative stitches, thinking I'd come up with some stitching to use on the lettering. I was thinking maybe it needed something. Then I realized it might be fun to do pick stitching, or seed stitching, around the letters. It all came together when I realized I had a Valdani variegated thread that complimented the border fabrics. A little binge watching while stitching and, voila! What fun!


I'm pretty happy with the way the stitches make the wording pop a little better.


I had this leaf backing in my stash, and the colors coordinated. I used a lime green thread for the straight line quilting in the border. The binding is the same blue Grunge fabric that's in the border.



It's a good reminder for me. What a fun challenge this was. I can't wait for the next!



Wendy



20 comments:

  1. This is a beautiful quilt, Wendy. I know exactly what you mean about supporting other people's dreams. I often think dreaming about making things and then sometimes actually making them preserves my sanity! Your quilt is a great reminder and I wish you many happy dreams :)

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    1. Thank you, Janine! It will be good for me to look up and see it, so I remember :-)

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  2. What an inspiring view to have on the way in to your sewing space Wendy! I think we probably all know about supporting other people's dreams so your motto is perhaps one we should all aspire to :)

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  3. That's a great message to all of us who have to juggle all the different parts of our lives. :-) I love that you were able to ingeniously make use of bits from another project, and your crayola pen work and stitching are the perfect finishing touches.

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  4. Thank you, Catherine. It was a fun project, once I actually got to work on it! :-)

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  5. Gosh, your improv scraps worked so well for the border! Love your choice of seed stitching ..... I often find there are so many stitches to choose from it’s hard to decide on one, and I really like the font you used too! A super project and very apt sentiment, Wendy!
    Barbara xx

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    1. Thanks, Barbara! I enjoyed working on it, very much!

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  6. Like Barbara, I really like that font! And the way you outlined it.

    To me, if I was sitting in my studio looking at that banner while I pondered a step in a project, the various techniques and colors would offer lots of inspirational choices to send me off in a new direction.

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    1. Thanks! That just might happen here to :-) and I'm okay with that!

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  7. I like this quilt a lot. The scattered stitches really DO make the letters a great focal. Sometimes we do need a reminder to dream a little...a kind of escape.
    xx, Carol

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    1. Yes, I agree! The scattered stitches were so relaxing, and fast. I'll definitely do that on another project.

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  8. Wendy, like you I have trouble coming up with any dreams to speak of. The everyday chores, the duties of life...well, you know. But this quilt is a hopeful one. Dream a Little. A little dream is doable, right? Right. The seed stitching is something I have always wanted to try but never did. What if it doesn't look right? But yours is fabulous! Maybe I should dream a tiny dream of seed stitches for the next challenge!

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    1. Dream a Little - yes, start small and go from there! I think you are onto something for the next challenge! I'll wait to see what you create!

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  9. Your quilt is lovely. I think the seed stitching is the icing on the cake! So well thought out and executed.

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    1. Thank you, Nancy. It took me a long time to come up with it, but I'm happy with it now that it's done.

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  10. Your little reminder is SEW cute! I like the stitching you did. Consulting one of your very own (quilt) library books was a great idea!

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  11. I love the lettering and the seed stitches.

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