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Friday, February 25, 2011

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe Wall Hanging
Every now and then, I will be shopping at JoAnn Fabrics and come across a fabric so unique and surprising that I just have to buy "a yard" of it.  One time it was a storybook "toile" of Jesus playing with children, teaching them, the children praying around a statue of Our Lady, etc.  A couple of years ago, it was a panel of quilt blocks of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  So I bought a yard of blocks (4 different ones, with three rows -- so 12 blocks altogether) wondering what I could possibly do with them, and so they have sat in my fabric collection.

I was watching a show on a local PBS station that has to do with crafting and I saw this lady quilting, without the tediousness of piecing blocks together, and thought, hey, I could do that!  This wall hanging is the result.  Currently, I have made another one and have another in the works.  Instead of piecing the quilt, I took the fabric and pressed under the raw edge and then layered the pieces on top of one another in the design I liked covering the raw edges.  (The lady did a "crazy quilt" pattern, but I liked the idea of framing Mary.)  Then I pinned the pieces to the backing fabric with the batting sandwiched between and top stitched on the sewing machine.  Lastly, I put on a binding and sewed a rod pocket on the back.  It now graces the space above our fireplace. 

The fabric I used to coordinate came from fat quarters and the remnant bin, and some I had from other projects.    Another idea I have had for using one of these squares is to quilt a Mass tote for my growing toddler to put in little quiet things for while we are at Mass.  I will post a picture once I finish it.

Once in the remnant bin at JoAnn's I found another print of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  It wasn't as fancy, but I have that as well.  In addition, I found an Advent Pocket Calendar on sale in January that I look forward to quilting together in time for Advent next year.  I think that the pockets will make a great place to hold our Jesse Tree ornaments.  What is even better is that in January, the $9.99 panels were marked down to $2.99!  Just goes to show to keep your eyes out for these "bargains" and for fabrics that may just surprise you to find it in a secular store.

In Christ,
Jennifer

2 comments:

  1. Its beautiful Jen!

    Is there a name for that type of quilting? How do you get the top pieces to stay together while you are working and pinning?

    So great to see your blog again!
    +
    JMJ
    ~allison

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  2. Hey, Allison!

    I don't know of a name, though there probably is one. On the show, the lady was making a lap quilt, so it was larger. She had the backing and the battling and put the pieces on top of that, so when she was top stitching, she was doing all three layers. I cannot remember correctly if she sprayed an adhesive or not - - I'd be afraid of jamming my machine. For this last one I am doing, I've actually ironed the pieces together using hem tape. The first one, I pinned profusely. The second, I topstitched the layers as I laid them down. I will see if I can find something on line that shows the technique.
    Jen

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