Saturday, April 24, 2010

Psychotic Seagulls and a Message in a Bottle...

Some people make quilts using Flying Geese and then others of us have to do Psychotic Seagulls. They're made the same way, sewing 2 squares onto a rectangle, on the diagonal, but when you're making a beachy placemat, geese just didn't seem fitting. And the effect you get is different, too, as you end up with chevrons or arrows in bright colors, instead of a colored triangle surrounded by white or some other solid. Where the one in the link is a blue triangle with white below it, mine would be blue with blue below it, making the arrow. The process is exactly the same, though. In retrospect, I could have done them a different way, faster and easier, but this started out differently and evolved as it went along and turned out OK. Next time I think I would just sew strips together into a long row of piano keys and then cut them on an angle and piece the 2 rows together down the middle, forming the chevron that way.

Anyway, this is the placemat I made for the swap at Flickr. I sent it to Sudi-Laura and she received it yesterday which means I can show it to you. I had so much fun making it, I tried new things and they came out well, I think. The flying geese/seagulls were new for me but very easy to do. Only problem is that the strips of them are very unstable as to staying straight and I ended up with a placemat that doesn't want to lie down really flat, it has a couple of little waves in it. Hence the term- psychotic seagulls. Psychedelic would work, too.


I free-pieced the houses and the tree trunk and figured out a way to keep the cabana flaps open all the time. That was all a little tricky due to water/sand/sky horizons needing to match up. I have to give credit to Lynne, of The Patchery Menagerie for house and tree help, she taught me how to do them. I machine appliqued the fronds. And I did a little hand embroidery for the flying seagulls and the cabana flag, because it was all looking a little drab. :)


I did some hand applique on the back- the bottle and sand covering it.


And when you tug on the cork- out comes the label. This part was SO fun for me, I love doing quirky, odd things like this. And I just adore hidey-holes, and I think this qualifies as such!


Inspector #7 was doing a great job, too!



All in all, I am really pleased with how it came out and I think Sudi-Laura is, too. It was a little hard to send it away, but I know I can make another if I decide to. And I knew it was going to a great new home! Enjoy it, Sudi-Laura! Think of your beach when you see it or use it. xox

My husband was helpful in the making as I kept running ideas by him and asking advice about the bottle/label construction. And he said an emphatic yes to the bit of black separating the houses from the bright colored seagulls- and he was so right! Thanks, honey! You have good taste in more than just wives. (Well, wife- you didn't choose so well the first time, now, did you?) lol

Have a great weekend, everybody! Make something fun. I was kind of sad when this got finished up, it was a great weekend project!

11 comments:

Rafael's Mum said...

Oh WOW!! That is so lovely and colourful!! I had to have a good look to see what you meant first but I have worked it out how to do that border!! very clever.

Totally blown away by the message in the bottle. How ingenious! You are amazingly creative!!

sallgood said...

Such a cute and clever design, and the message in a bottle is SUPER clever!!!! What a creative person you are!!!!!!

carol said...

This one won't be forgotten for a long time, Sooz! It is simply amazing...front and back! Bravo to you for your marvelous creativity!

Sandra said...

What a great placemat! Love the colorful border and the bottle on the back. The tag inside the bottle just adds to the fun! Such a creative idea.

Susan R said...

Another work of art...er Susan, ah Flossie. Well you know who I'm talking about. You are certainly blessed with the artistic eye and a creativity gene. The artistic eye is your third eye that sees the world in a magical way. Whatever you decide to touch turns into a treasure!! Aren't we all lucky that you have a passion for fabric ? (I've seen some of your other endeavors and they all turn out beautiful!)

For a three-eyed chick you do okay! Maybe that's one reason your hubby picked you. Love the shot of NP.

Susan

Catherine said...

Wow Susan this is a great placemat. So colourful and I love what you did on the back with label. Very clever!!

Lynz said...

Bloody hell!! That is magnificent!!! Really, I am jaw droppingly stunned over here. You're so good at the wee fiddly bits, I don't know how you have the patience. And the piece de resistance is that cork and label. Where did THAT idea come from?!?!? Smartypants.

P.S. I laughed good style over the first wife dig!! I don't get away with comments like that yet - it's been 15 years but he's still touchy about Mrs G. number 1!!

Lisa said...

You never cease to amaze me...what talent you have.....

Cathie said...

This is so fun! I love it. And kitty - well just seems right at home there. Gotta love fabric and pets!

Tonya Ricucci said...

very fun! the houses are fab and I love the bright colors.

Deborah in Atlanta said...

Love, love, love your imagination. But I have a question...how did you determine the size of the geese in your border so you didn't split one in half? And did you paper piece them? dmj53(at)hotmail(dot)com