Yes I am still here. Im sorry I havent been blogging. I tend to instagram and have ignored the blog. But I am here today to share my Season 5, Challenge 3 entry for Project quilting. And no I didnt finish challenge 2. I just did not have time that week.
Sweet Treats is the theme. When I first saw it Last Sunday I found this picture googling..
Pixie Stix!
It was what popped into my head. I remembered all the times when I visited my Grandma in Jacobus, PA. We would walk a couple blocks up the road to the small grocery and she would buy me a bag of pixie stix.
So Monday I picked some scraps I thought looked like pixie stix colors. On Tuesday and Wednesday I cut them into 2 inch strips and made the pixie stix. I pulled a stack of white kona scraps already cut into 2" strips. Using my ruler and the 45 degree line created cuts to make the stripes on the stix.
Then I felt like I needed more. Rock Candy popped into my brain. I ALWAYS would buy it when on trips from specialty stores. I went to itunes when a friend mentioned the song Rock Candy Mountain. I had never heard it before and it lead me to searching for pixie stix songs and I discovered Red Wax Lips & Pixie Stix! I was inspired as red wax lips was another childhood favorite I use to buy at the WaWa store near my house. So after looking at some images on google I drew up a pattern. I traced it onto fusible and then found some old red hand dyed that had lovely texture and color shading perfect for lips. I used a feather stitch to outline after adhering. It only took about 30 minutes on Thursday to make.
Then I was stuck. I kept arranging the pixie stix and red wax lips in a swirl pattern trying to figure out which way to go. Rock candy still was stuck in my mind but I wasn't sure how to make it. Then inspiration struck Saturday. I pulled a candy pink and blue from the hand dyeds. I freehand cut about a 9" wedge and then some small 3/4 to 1" squares. I fused everything down. The stick was another hand dyed, a thin strip pieced with the back ground.
I worked on the layout until I found one that worked.
I added a little button candy (another childhood fav) to fill in a hole in my border. Used Pat Sloan's selvedge fabric.
I quilted it in a large swirl. Its funny I knew how I wanted to quilt it before I had even had the top figured out.
I used a fun and quirky large scale floral for the back.
I tried a few bindings until I pulled a favorite stripe out. Funny thing is I cut it all up and ironed it and then realized I had a ton already made from a previous project.
I sat and hand finished the binding watching Monarch of the Glen on Netflix. I had been watching Psych but ran out of episodes.
title: Candy Dreams: Red Wax Lips & Pixie Stix, Rock candy Dreams
design: original by Colleen Charlotte Yarnell
size: 35" x 35"
Location: Lewisville, NC
Challenge: Project quilting season 5, challenge 3, Sweet Treats
Inspriation: My favorite candies from childhood and the title of a song.
Keep Dreaming...Colleen
ps I just remembered why I dont blog so much. Putting in pictures from flickr has become a real pain.
