House Beautiful Contest - 01.08.-31.08.2020

[Iminei]

Do try and include pics of the back with your entry @elisep  That cushion is divine ...
I didnt even know you could do that by hand.

[elisep]

Thanks Manuela! I’m really happy with it, so nice I just keep on stroking it  worth all the time I put into it!
I’ll take some photos tomorrow for you   Hopefully if I’m lucky the sun will be out and give me better lighting, so you can see the colour better!

[elisep]

Oh and Iminei if it interests you to look into it further, it’s called Canadian Smocking, there’s heaps of tutorials on YouTube.
It’s worked on the back side by drawing out a grid for your design and then pleating the fabric and securing It with hand stitches. Very time consuming, though not so bad if I had made the pleats larger.
I’ve seen a really beautiful round cushion design that I’d like to try next!

[StitchinTime]

Finished - a write up and proper photos will follow later as I’m heading into a sunny garden to do some weeding.
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[RJR_38]

@elisep that cushion is beautiful. I can’t even begin to fathom how it is done so I am going to go and google now, to satisfy my curiosity. A real achievement though!

[Iminei]

Can we have your entries in now, with pics included within the text please ... thank you Ladies

[Syrinx]

I made a couple of FMQ sampler placemats out of some very old inherited fabric, old duvet cover for the top, and wool and bamboo battings for the innards.

There is some trapunto work in there, and FMQ design placements are my own. Some traditional FMQ in there and some more modern designs as well. The whole thing was a nice way to use up some stash and get back into the swing of FMQ pre present making and a couple of big wholecloth projects that are in the works.

It was a little tricky coming up with a design that didn't look too messy and made best use of the weird shaped offcuts. I was also using embroidery threads and struggled with the colours in the first one coming out too bright and brash; the second one I managed to work out the more pastel colours which work better.

They have both been bound with satin ribbon and I'm quite happy with them.

Unfortunately, only got pictures in artificial light.


Here is a close up picture of the FMQ


pre bound close up


trapunto


Finished fronts


and of the back which shows how the inherited fabric informed the design.

[Iminei]

Is that your entry @Syrinx  ????

If so Im afraid you're gonna have to redo it as I need the pics embedded within your entry ...

Sorry but thats the way its got to be.

[Syrinx]

Sorry Imi, was a placeholder until I got to my computer! Should be all fixed now.

[Iminei]

No problem @Syrinx  all entered for you now...

So Ladies anymore for anymore ??????

 I need your entrys as soon as possible Ladies/Germs ?? The Door to the Voting thread will snap shut at midnight on the 6th September so make sure you (and your hat) are inside when it does ...

[Efemera]

I recovered a box cushion for the unit in the porch.

A simple box cushion... no zip just slip stitched after putting in the seat pad.
Fabric is linen by Baker from Stead Mcalpin mill shop in Carlisle.

[StitchinTime]

StitchInTime’s entry – a “Zoom Quilt”
 
In normal times this would be more “office beautiful” than “house beautiful”, but these are not normal times. Like many others I have been working from home and am likely to do so for quite a bit longer. After months of camera-off Zoom meetings, I have some meetings coming up that have to be camera-on but unfortunately the bookcases are in the wrong place to act as the usual Zoom background. I needed something that could be put away when not in use and would hide my home (and occupants!) from view, so I bought a photography background stand and made a simple quilt with minimal piecing and minimal quilting to act as a background for these meetings.
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The four coloured blocks are the logos and colours of the four research groups of my work and have been positioned to one side of the quilt allowing me to sit on the other side. The white shapes were fused to the coloured squares and then machine appliqued using zigzag. The horizontal quilting to the top and bottom of each block is in the same colour as each block (though this does not show clearly on the photos) and the rest of the quilting is in a neutral colour matching the main fabric of the quilt.
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Below the blocks I quilted words associated with these times which explain why the quilt was made, (these will be out of camera shot during meetings).
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The binding and hanging sleeve were made out of the same fabric as the backing so I can use the back of the quilt if I need an “unbranded” background. Hanging the quilt was a bit of a challenge as it needed more clips than supplied and the design of the supporting bar meant a single hanging sleeve would not be suitable. However, splitting the hanging sleeve into two and leaving a gap in the middle allows the quilt to be hung from the T-bar.
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[Iminei]

Wow!! @StitchinTime ... You kept that quiet!!!!!

[Acorn]

What an excellent idea!  We spent a long time trying to find somewhere for Mr Acorn to sit for his Teams meetings that didn't have a background that we wanted to keep private!  Not a problem for me because my laptop will put up a custom background for me, but his won't do it.  He ended up in the guest room.

[toileandtrouble]

Just voted on these.  I was going to enter with a recover of my tatty Poang chair.  I have some lovely quilted fabric for a cover, but could not find it in time.  In fact, I still can't find it.  How can 2metres of nice thick quilted furnishing fabric hide?