Creative Fun

This week I've been too sick to do any quilting (boo...) so instead I'm finally getting around to sharing a "fun side project" I worked on about a month ago. I'm also finally linking up with QuiltShopGal's #CreativeGoodness Linky Party!

I think creativity is a really important part of the quilting process, and we all need to find what level of creativity makes us happy. After all of the anxiety and stress I felt making my dad's veggie quilt, which entailed a relatively minor amount of creativity in plotting out the setting and design, I know that working from patterns is definitely my strong suit and where I feel happiest.

There is one exception, though, and it is landscape quilts. I love making them and they really get my creative juices flowing (and yes, I know I have made very few, but I plan to make more!)

So with that in mind, the backstory to this project is that we were creating pages for our college reunion "class book." I wanted to do something unique and brainstormed ways to incorporate quilting into my page. Of course I'm not the world's greatest quilter. But then it came to me..applique! I love fusible web applique because you can literally make anything with it.

And for some reason something else hit me...snowglobes! I love snowglobes and collect them from most places I visit. I wish I could show you a photo of my vast snowglobe collection, but most of it is in Alaska. I am starting to amass a new collection here though, with seven accumulated so far.

Making a snowglobe quilt has been on my bucket list, and still is. I want to make a quilt that is a bookcase full of snowglobes, and each snowglobe exemplifies part of my life. So this was kind of a mini/dry run version of that.

First off, I took a look at my Stanford snowglobe, and sketched out a mockup.

And then...we were off!

Here's the Stanford snowglobe:

Next off, I wanted to show something about moving to St. Louis and working as an engineer.

The snowglobe was supposed to have little engineer-y things around the bottom, but my boyfriend said the hard hat looked like a lemon and someone else said they thought it was a turtle, so I gave up on that idea.

I wanted the arch to be all sparkly, and I originally tried to use elmer's glue and regular old glitter. Well the glue just wouldn't dry and the glitter came off all over my hands. What I used instead, which worked really well, was glitter fabric paint that I bought while playing around with my last landscape quilt. I think it gives the arch some pop, don't you?

(Do you see the little piece of loose thread? Oh well...)

Then I decided to do a hockey snowglobe, as I play recreational hockey. I actually have two hockey snowglobes in my collection right now.

One is from the San Francisco Bulls inaugural season, which I just learned went bust. It's a bit of a shame because I had a lot of fun at their games, but I think they had a tough location because their stadium (cow palace) was not easily accessible from public transit. The other snowglobe is from the NHL Winter classic that my boyfriend and I went to two years ago. Here we are enjoying the snow:

For this one, I had to decide how much detail to go into, and what to make myself vs. get pre-printed on a novelty fabric. I also debated a lot what to show. Should there be skaters? Just skating equipment? In the end I chose something relatively simple. I bought a novelty fabric with hockey skates but decided it looked too out of place, and copied the skate design to make my own little pair.

Here's the net being made. Lots of tiny pieces!

Finally, of COURSE I had to have a snowglobe for quilting! For this one, I did just go with pre-printed novelty fabrics. It's a fun and easy way to get the design you are going for without working your tail off. This one also showcases all the cat rescue work I do.

And those are my four snowglobes! I took photos of them and arranged them on a pdf page with captions for my class book submission.

I did want to share one bit of advice from this. I normally use Heat N Bond Lite or Heat N Bond Ultrahold. For this project I bought some Pellon Wonder Under and was very disappointed. The web would constantly stick to the paper instead of the fabric, and when I tried to remove the paper it would often fray my fabric edges and sometimes rip off very small pieces (like kitty tails). I understand it is softer than Heat N Bond, and may be better for quilts that will be used, but for wall projects where stiffness doesn't matter, I will be sticking with Heat N Bond from now on.

This project was a TON of fun. I have no plans for these snowglobes and have set them aside. Their final purpose does not matter so much as the joy I got from making them. Another great joy was pulling from my stash and discovering all of the fun fabrics I have! I would audition fabrics and then throw them all over the floor. Rosie greatly enjoyed rolling around in the mess. :)

And I think that's what quilting is about, finding what makes you happy, what gets you excited, and going for it!

For more inspiration, check out the other linky participants of the #CreativeGoodness linky party.