Swindler and Sons Florist Fabric Mosaic

This is the fabric mosaic that I made for a friend to give to her grandmother for Christmas. below is the photo I worked from, which is the family business. The photo was taken in December, but I decided to have a Spring/Summer version so instead of wreaths, I put in some hanging pots bursting with flowers.

The sign is hand-written since the letters would have been too small to try to make with fabric scraps, and the fabric that I used for the windows was hand-painted.

Table Runners with Mini Quilt Squares

I made this set of 5 table runners for a group of 5 women who are friends of the family. I wanted to use mostly neutral colors (light browns) as it is sometimes hard to predict which rooms people will use table runners in and what colors would be best for those rooms, but I also wanted to include a pop of color so the table runners wouldn't be just beige.

I wanted to explore the idea of traditional quilt patterns versus contemporary uses. Around this time I was looking through my February 2010 "American Patchwork & Quilting" magazine and found "Tiny Dishes" by Virginia Cole of Galloping Pony Studio. Virginia, who likes to make miniature quilts, had a pattern which had small, colored, traditional mini quilt squares arranged in a contemporary layout. My sizes worked out a little different that the ones in the magazine, and I decided to use a different square in each runner and to have the quilting lines (on the right side) be the same quilt pattern as the mini square.

I really liked how the striped binding sets it all off. If I have a solid colored binding I will sometimes sew it on with the sewing machine but since the stripes aren't a solid color, I sewed the binding on by hand.

I wanted all 5 table runners to be similar but not exact copies so I used 2 different striped fabric for the bindings and 5 different light browns for the background (3 on each). And with the exception of one of the striped binding fabrics, I was able to use fabric that was already in my stash.

Christmas Handkerchief Table Runners

December just flew by in a blur. I was fortunate to be busy with some custom orders including these 5 table runners using vintage Christmas handkerchiefs that belonged to my customer's family members. She had 13 of them and she also provided the other Christmas fabric and decided which handkerchiefs she wanted grouped together. She also wanted the quilting to be subtle so I used white thread.

All handkerchiefs and borders were stitched-in-the-ditch with some seasonal quilting where there was room for it. All of the handkerchiefs were stabilized by using fusible webbing to adhere them to a white cotton fabric.

This one is called "Santa's Sleigh" and is the largest at 18" x 45". It has 3 printed handkerchiefs that were almost all the same size and each one had a decorative scalopped edge which I left showing and carefully quilted just inside the borders.
The details of Santa's reindeer, the holly berry border and the houses was just exquisite and I used these elements to quilt around.

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This table runner, "Poinsettias" also featured three handkerchiefs although these were embroidered. The middle and left have poinsettias and the right shows a candle with holly leaves. The inner border of green offsets the white handkerchiefs and the white borders which has gold swirls printed on it.

Again really hard to see but there is a white poinsettia quilted in the middle of each of the handkerchiefs.

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The "Holly" table runner has holly in the borders and the sashing. Since the fabric is linear on it, I mitered the corners to keep the lines going around the quilt.

The handkerchiefs on this quilt are embroidered and more detailed than the poinsettias above.

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In "Golden Swirls" the handkerchief on the left had some gold metallic threads around the outside. There is a thin inner border and sashing that has gold swirl printed on it (also used in the "Poinsettias" table runner). The border fabric has holly berries and some more gold in it.

The holly berry fabric was also used for the backing of this quilt and when I quilted it I had the back part facing up and used the gold swirls to define where the quilting lines would go.

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This table runner is called "Candy Canes" because of the candy canes embroidered on the left and right handkerchiefs and also because of the candy cane print fabric in the borders (and also on the back).

The handkerchiefs with the candy canes embroidered on them weren't as large as the one in the middle with the printed Santas so they have a white sashing to make them the same size. And it's a little hard to see with the white on white quilting but there's a large holly berry quilted on the candy cane handkerchiefs.

Purple Pinwheels Pirouetting - Custom Art Quilt

"Purple Pinwheels Pirouetting," 21" x 32", made by Pam Geisel, March 2007

Did you know that I made custom art quilts? Do you have an idea that would make a good art quilt?

For this quilt the customer new the approximate size and that she wanted something with purple.

This was machine pieced and machine quilted stitch-in-the-ditch with hand quilting in the purple pinwheels and hand beading in the center of the pinwheels.

She Sews Seashells on the Seashore

"She Sews Seashells on the Seashore," 24" x 18", made by Pam Geisel, October 2010

For this art quilt I pieced blue fabrics on an angle from dark to light, then I pieced the blue fabrics to a tan fabric that had a small print on it that reminded me of sand.

I quilted the water part stitch-in-the-ditch then put some very small seashells on the sand part, covered it with a tan tulle, and stitched around the seashells to keep them in place. I attached a few tiny white beads along the quilting line.

I added some lace where the water meets the sand, which also covered the raw edge of the tulle then I added a binding to the quilt.

More about She Sews Seashells on the Seashore.

Xylo-Nebula-Phone and Crossings

"Xylo-Nebula-Phone," 24" x 15", made by Pam Geisel, March 2008

This background and sashing of this art quilt were pieced and the colored squares were turned under applique. It is quilted with black thread on the sashing with a wavy line and also on the appliqued squares.

I didn't have one large piece of the background fabric but I was able to arrange the smaller pieces so they looked like one big piece.

I made up the word XyloNebulaPhone because I thought this quilt looked like a xylophone but the background was kind of nebulous.

More about Xylo-Nebula-Phone.

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"Crossings," 25" x 17", made by Pam Geisel, August 2008

I made the same quilt using different batik fabrics. On this one the smaller squares are all the same fabric.

More about Crossings

Fabric Mosaic Flowers: Yellow Flower and Cone Flower

 

"Yellow Flower," 10" x 8", made by Pam Geisel, March 2008

I made both of these flower mosaics back in March of last year.

"Yellow Flower" is a fabric mosaic my arranging small pieces of fabric on innerfacing, covering with tulle, then quilting it in place and framing it.

I was inspired by a photo that I took of a flower on the colors didn't come out correctly and instead of the background being green, it looked blue. I thought it was cool so I went with it.

This piece was awarded a People's Choice of Merit at the Fairborn Art Association's Spring Fine Arts Show in May 2008.

More about Yellow Flower.

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"Cone Flower," 5" x 7", made by Pam Geisel, March 2008

"Cone Flower" is another fabric mosaic made from a photo that I took. Cone flowers are common in southwestern Ohio.

I love the way the different pinks add dimension to it.

More about Cone Flower.