Finished quilt "Gaze into Fantasy"

My niece’s quilt is finished just in time for Thanksgiving. We will give it to her in the next couple of days.  I have named it “Gaze into Fantasy.”

Here is a photo the quilt back or what my niece calls the top. It is a fantasy scene with a fire breathing dragon flying over the castle. There is also a unicorn in the lower right of the quilt.

This is the top of the quilt or what my niece calls the bottom. This is an Attic Window pattern. People often gaze out windows. I combined the idea of both sides to determined the name.

These are “Magic Pillowcases” (or burrito pillowcases) made from the left over fabric of the quilt. The pink pillowcase looks a bit orange, but it is made from the same fabric as the window pane sides. 

I doubt that I will ever be able to make a quilt in a day like some, but I find making quilts so much fun. So I will keep making them, not matter how long they take. 

Top part of niece's quilt

This is the top third of my niece’s quilt. I just need to connect the three pieces together and then add the other side to finish the quilt. The clouds are made from the same fabric as the unicorn (on the bottom third). The clouds were satin stitched to the blue sky with silver and gold metallic threads.

The dragon was drawn on fusible, ironed on to the back of the fabric and then cut. Then it was stitched to the blue sky fabric with gold metallic thread. The same thread was used to mark the lines on the dragon such as the wings.

 The fire was fussy cut from some fire fabric. It was stitched to the fabric with red thread. 

More of my niece's quilt

This is the bottom third of my nieces quilt. There is unicorn on the right side of the quilt. I places flowery bushes in various spots. They each have a butterfly in them. In comparison to the unicorn, the butterflies must be huge in this fantasy land that I have created. The size scale would mean that he fishes, shells, and sea horses are also rather large.

The water section of this piece was rather busy with all the fish, shells, and seahorses. I decided to leave the right side simpler and only added one unicorn, instead of the three that I was going to add. I also added only one bush so that the unicorn wasn't totally alone. 

The unicorn was drawn onto fusible and then sewn to a white shiny material. I cannot remember where I got the material or what it is specifically called. It does have a nap and will shine differently when someone brushes their hand over it one way versus another way.

The bushes were made in a similar style. I drew onto the fusible, added the fabric right side against the fusible, but I layered batting as well. I sewed around the edges and then cut a hole in the fusible and turned the bushes to the right sides were facing out. The batting allows the bushes to puff out just a bit.

The fishes were made by using an iron on fusible and cutting the shapes of the fishes. I first ironed them into place. Then I satin stitched them to keep them secure and help prevent the ends of the fabric from unraveling.

The butterflies, sandy beach, shells, and seahorses were fussy cut. I used iron on fusible to adhere them to the fabric and then satin stitched them into place as well.

I had previously wanted to use the blue that I turned into the water as the sky and the sky fabric for the water. My niece had requested a reversal. She said the darker blue reminded her of a cloudy sky as the sun was setting. She also thought the plants on the lighter blue fabric looked like they could grow under water. So I made the switch. I guess in this fantasy land, the ground and water glow lighter than the sky. 

Now, the grass and water were pieced by strips. I used my grid paper to determine the dimensions of each strip. You can tell the straight edges on the left of the quilt section. On the right, the straight lines are hidden by the curvy sand section.

Fun post about my exclusive quilting and sewing guild

I am a part of an exclusive quilting and sewing guild. The co-presidents are very interested in my sewing and often try to help or supervise my efforts. Here are the co-presidents.

Vex at his spot on the left side of my laptop. He often watches the curser as I type my emails.

This is Lathander on the right side of my laptop wedged in by the sewing machine. He often tries to keep me from straining my hand too much on the mouse by lying on top of it. (Both black cats are brothers from the same litter.)

Here is Lathander taking his job very seriously as he checks the comfort quality of my batting. Very dedicated, isn’t he.

This is their sister, Mystique, the vice president. She also likes to participate, but I can't always get a photo of her because she turns away and does this to hide her face. 

I (we) are doing some more work on my niece’s quilt and really didn’t have any new photos to share so I thought I would make this a fun post about my “exclusive” quilting and sewing guild.