Tuesday 14 January 2014

Appliqued Colin

I think you all know that I have 4 lovely bunnies at home?  Last Saturday was a meeting of the fab East Midlands Quilt Guild of Moderness (I can't remember what it's called!  How bad is that!) at the fab Stitchcraft Studio in Grantham.  It's well worth a visit if you're in the area, as well as rooms for Guild meetings and classes, they have a shop stuffed full of fabric and a cafe.  Kerry wanted to do a demonstration and workshop of the Turned-Edge Applique method and our homework before the class was to find a photo.  Well it had to be one of the buns.  I chose Colin as he is white with brown patches.  Tiff is all brown, Ellis is all white and Harry is all black so I thought Colin would be easier.  I had no idea what I was in for!



That was my homework.  I had to find a photo, trace it and then enlarge it.  Kerry gave instructions on how to enlarge it in Photoshop to which my brain went "duhhhhhhhhhhhh?".  Luckily I had a brainwave and took it to work to enlarge on the photocopier.  I then traced this enlarged version on to freezer paper (which they no longer stock in Hobbycraft.  I went in for freezer paper, beading needles and grout and came out empty handed!  Sort it out Hobbycraft.)



Above is what it looked like by the end of the class, and after about half an hour at home later.  Yep, I had my doubts but you shouldn't doubt Kerry, she knows what she's doing!  I may have got more done than this other than for two reasons.  Firstly I'd taken my sewing machine, but not the foot pedal or power cable.  Secondly, and much more excitingly, Trudi showed me the basics of FMQ!  If you don't know Trudi, she is a master quilter.  No, scratch that, she's THE master quilter.  Seriously, go and have a look.  I desperately need to practice what she showed me and I had intended to do that on Sunday afternoon, but after finishing Colin, my machine threw a wobbly...


So this is the completed Colin from the back.  No the back of the bunny Colin, that would just be his great big round bum, this is the back of my applique Colin.


And here he is from the front!  I was so happy!!  I put it on Instagram immediately.  I've only just discovered Instagram.  I mean, I knew it existed, I don't live in a bucket, but I couldn't get it on my phone before.  I'm still finding my way round.  If you want to follow me (and why wouldn't you?!?) I'm thecraftersapprentice.  Think you need an @ symbol before that?  Or a #?  Or is that Twitter?


Here's Colin with his photo.  Not bad eh?  I think I captured him quite well. 


I put him on some background fabric.  I bought this fabric a couple of years ago, no idea what it is, but it seemed perfect for a bunny as it's a bit grass lice.


Then I turned him into a cushion.  It just has a basic envelope back and I decided against quilting him in the end, so no binding either.



Mr CA didn't notice until later that evening, but he was quite impressed and agreed it looks like Colin.  I might have to have a go at the other three, I need to get some good photos with shadows on them and stuff (according to wise-woman-Kerry). 

Disclaimer:  No bunnies were harmed in the making of this cushion.


27 comments:

Jane said...

What a wonderful cushion, well done on the applique, you did a brilliant job

pennydog said...

Love this post! I'm going to put my Moose in the Quilt and Stitch Show, y'know when I actually do something with it!

Fiona said...

I do like your Colin cushion!
Hugz

Maya Kuzman said...

Oh my Gosh!
This is such an original project!! Amazing - love how it turned out!

Chris Dodsley @made by ChrissieD said...

After seeing your IG photos of Colin popping up I've been waiting to read a post about it because it looked so like the pet portrait cushion I made of Tatty last August and I wanted to see how you'd done it. I hadn't guessed turned edge applique so that's a surprise - I did raw edge and free motioned the pieces into place. Same outcome though, a really fab cushion of a favourite pet. Looking forward to seeing you master fmq next :D

Just-Do said...

This is really fun and you did an awesome job! Can't wait to see all of your bunnies on a pillow.

JoJo said...

Colin came out great!!!! Did you show the likeness to Colin the Bun? Or is he still mad at you for the new hutch? ;)

JennyPennyPoppy said...

Always enjoy reading your entertaining posts. Your appliqued bunny turned out wonderfully well :)

Stacey @ bakercourt said...

This is super cute, I love your applique! Colin looks very dapper... but now you're going to have to create 3 more for his friends ;) x

Sandra :) said...

Heehee Colin Pillow is almost as cute as Colin Bunny!

heart of charnwood said...

Fabulous, great work Mrs! :O)

Second Chance Tan said...

This looks fab - glad it was a good day x

CeLynn said...

How cool is that? You did an excellent job capturing Colin's likeness! Have fun with the next ones :)

margaret said...

your piece looks wonderful and so good as a cushion. I so agree re hobbycraft, I have given up on them it all seems to be anything but stitchery these days and they put so many little good shops out of business when they opened slashing prices which needless to say are now pricey. Rant over

Sarah in Stitches said...

Hi Wendy! I finally got around to your blog. I love it! You make the most adorable things :D

Pam @Threading My Way said...

You've done an awesome job on Colin's applique, Wendy. Very impressive!!! Now you just have to do a cushion for each of the bunnies or they'll feel left out.

Maiden Jane said...

This is amazing. I want to be more creative in my craft and this inspires me!

Celtic Thistle said...

Brilliant applique Wendy, all this fame will be going to Colin's head :)

moira said...

brilliant! I'm glad it was a productive day.

CapitolaQuilter said...

Love the process and seeing the inspiration. Those are some little bits you've got! Nicely done.

Jillayne said...

You did such a brilliant job with this Wendy - I love how he turned out.
I think you definitely will have to make the rest of them, and then you'll have a sofa full of beautiful cushions!

Catherine said...

Oh wow - appliqued Colin is great!:-) A project like this is now added to the growing wish list.

SIMPLESEW said...

Succesful !!!

Anonymous said...

Colin the Rabbit Pillow is a work of art! That is soo clever. I wish I lived close enough to pop in for a lesson so make a Ted the Cat pillow!

Lorna McMahon said...

Your last line, "No bunnies were harmed..." Had me laughing out loud! Your pillow turned out perfect! I love applique. It looks like you are a natural!

Judy@Quilt Paradigm said...

Looks just like Colin!! You should be very proud! :)

Andrea @ Mouse in My Pocket said...

This is fun! I love the idea of making a cushion featuring each of my pets.