Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Door Banners for Valentines!

The beginning of February means it's time to think about some happy Valentine gifts for my grands!  Since one of them has a nut allergy, candy is "verboten".
I was scrambling for inspiration when I noticed Lorna of Sew Fresh Quilts "salmon" block pattern that is part of her Canada 150 Quilt pattern. 
My grandson possesses the raw material to become a fanatical fisherman!!
So I purchased Lorna's pattern HERE and set to work to make him a quilted banner for his bedroom door!  The fabric pull was easy and her clear cutting charts make for quick work.
Now what would my granddaughter love? 
How about an owl -- but not just any owl -- it must be Hedwig, the (snowy) owl of Harry Potter fame.  She has read the entire series twice . . . and seen all the movies!
My thoughts turned quickly to Elizabeth Hartman's Fancy Forest pattern that is already in my collection.  Go HERE for her PDF pattern shop!
I made two modifications to the pattern eliminating the "ear tufts" and rounding the head of the owl just a bit.
When it was time to stitch, I appreciated the clarity of Lorna's graphics -- it's so easy to mimic her illustrations literally as I placed the pieces for each step of the construction.
There was one little setback -- operator error -- picked up the wrong pieces and stitched them and trimmed them and pressed them before discovering -- oops!  Time to de-stitch!
A few deep breaths, a little re-cutting and I was back on track.
The quilting went quickly -- meandering lines with my walking foot to evoke the flow of water.
And here it is, a 8" by 16" banner for his door! 
The owl went together with no de-stitching -- yea!!
Pretty good likeness, wouldn't you say?
There is a PBS Nature episode about Snowy Owls you might enjoy watching if you can track it down on-line or in your library -- it follows a pair of owls through their nesting cycle. 
Owlets are enchanting, if somewhat goofy, creatures!
I've can still recall my first sighting of a Snowy Owl -- winter, 1964 in the median of I-271 just outside Cleveland -- it hunted there for several weeks and we would head south along the freeway for a look, get off at the next exit, go under the freeway, and drive back north for another look! 
Here's the finished panel -- 12" by 18".  
I suspect my SIL won't be eager to mount these on the newish bedroom doors, so I'm going to send along a package of those Command "damage free" hanging strips in the hopes that the kids will be allowed to use the banners as intended.

I also came across a delightful book, Outstanding Owls, a collection of applique designs that I've bookmarked for the future when I have more time -- check it out for yourself HERE.

Happy Valentine's Day!!
Mary

Update: They have been received and installed!!  Looks great!!




















5 comments:

  1. Very cool, Mary, especially your fabric choices for the fish and the owl design. Neighbors a couple of blocks over say that there are two Great Horned owls living and hunting in the development. I keep looking out for them but, so far, no sightings. I am fascinated by them and I've only seen an owl in the wild once at North Chagrin. Soon, I hope, especially since the larger ones won't be so easily camouflaged in a housing development.

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  2. I am sure that with those magic Command things, the banners will be hung with pride.
    I have read the books twice and seen all the Harry Potter movies too!

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  3. Great banners! I love the owl especially. Would make a nice doll quilt, too.

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