This & That: Twice the Fun!

Now that the Christmas gifting is over, I can share with you one of the projects that occupied my time this fall.
As a bit of background, one of my sewing/quilting bee friends, Chris Z., brought a felt appliqué project to show off at a bee meeting early this fall, or perhaps it was even late in the summer. Chris followed the Crab-apple Design "Frost Flowers" exactly, doing her usual exceptional appliqué of wool shapes on a linen background and embellishing it with beads so that it was an exact replica of the pattern picture. (I believe that the pattern was designed to be a pillow top.)
I was immediately attracted to the design, since it featured a basket (I love baskets) of flowers that were actually stylized snowflakes. I immediately thought of my friend Barb, who also is a basket maker, and who loves anything related to snow. I did not especially want to invest in linen and wool felt and thought I could adapt the design and recreate it as a wall quilt in cottons. As I started to gather my materials with the intention of making this for Barb for Christmas, I realized that it was something that I would like as well. So soon I was doing every step in duplicate!
So here are the two finished pieces:

They each measure about 16 inches by 16 inches. I had originally planned to do them on a blue background because Barb loves blue, but when I went to the fabric store I couldn't find a blue combination that I really liked and I thought the green would give the piece a more seasonal feel... or maybe a warmer feel. Barb is the snow lover, I am not!

Here is a view of one of the pieces:

I'm not sure if this is Barb's or mine. Like identical twins, there are some subtle differences that only a mother would notice, so I could compare this to the one on my wall and see if it is mine or hers. But I don't really care.

And here is a close up so you can see some detail:

The construction is primarily fused raw edge appliqué that has been overstitched with various decorative stitches that are programmed in my sewing machine. Originally I had planned to do some more hand embroidery, but once I got going with my sewing machine, things started to fall into place easily. I ended up adding a layer of felt on the snowflake flowers because I thought the sparkly white cotton flowers looked a little too transparent. Once I made the decision to add the felt layer I realized that it also created a nice texture and really made the flowers pop. I did add some extra bling with tiny pearls nested on iridescent sequins to give the flowers a little sparkle. The original pattern also had a few hand embroidered snowflakes, but I found these snowflake buttons that I also think gives the background a little more texture and interest.

So it was a fun project from start to finish. I'm always delighted when I get something done, as I am much better at thinking up projects and starting them than I am at finishing. It does help me to have a firm deadline!

So a couple of weeks ago, I hung my "Frost Flowers" on the

thermostat wall in my dining room. It's a small section of wall that has a couple of shelves and I think the wall hanging looks nice tucked under the bottom shelf.