Spring Bloomin’ House by Jamie Fingal

What you will need:

2 pieces of wool blended felt in black and a coordinating color

cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter

pre-fused scrap fabrics, and fabrics from your stash

Mistyfuse

parchment paper or Goddess sheets

Bamboo felt – in a few bright colors

Pinking Shears

Iron

Sewing machine

Start by cutting a piece of wool blended felt (black) for your foundation 12×12

 Select fabrics for the background – blue for the sky and green for the landscaping.  The sky fabric should cover about 2/3rds from the top.  I used pinking shears to cut the top of the green landscape fabric, to add some fun.  Iron into place.

Auditioning fabrics.  This is the main part of my stash of fabrics, and Batiks are center stage, because that is what I use the most in my work.  Select fabrics that are the same value.   The majority of my fabrics all go together, because ‘brights’ are my color palette.  There is not one pastel in the bunch.

I kept thinking of my theme for this house quilt, so it was easy to select the fabric for the house, something bright and cheerful.

Fusing with Mistyfuse.  This is a 12” roll, that is oh so easy to use.  Roll it out onto your fabic, and cut.

Place parchment paper or a Goddess Sheet over the top and press with an iron on the ‘cotton’ setting, no steam.  Press in a circular motion, making sure that all of the edges are secure.  As you fold back the sheet, you can clearly see what side is fused, because of the shiny appearance that is visible.  Cut the around the entire piece, trimming off the parts that are not fused.

Figure out the placement of your house

After looking at black and white fabrics, that I would usually use for the roof, I decided on a yellow roof because it was more Spring like. I cut the fabric edges with pinking shears, and ironed into place on the house

The Bamboo felt flower is about 3” in diameter.  Then I cut three other colors for the center.  I would recommend 2 for the center, because when you sew them onto the quilt, your needle will be going through 6 layers of felt, and this is where I broke a needle.  So please be careful.

The windows and door are made with solid robin egg blue fabric (leftover from another project).  I don’t use solids in my work, so this is a stretch, even for me.  You could add more windows, but I decided that I wanted to add shutters to the windows, so there wouldn’t be room for more windows.  Keep it simple, I keep telling myself.

How to cut the windows.  Small strips, and cut squares for each of the windows.  This is when Havel’s 8″ Serrated Scissors, really come into play.

After you have placed all of the window panes where you want them, iron carefully into place.  They don’t have to be perfect.

The Bamboo felt can be fused with Mistyfuse, and it adheres pretty well to the art quilt.  When it gets heavy, like the flower, it won’t stick.  Just know that going in.  Cut the stem and leaves, and the extra curvy pieces in the landscaping.  These add depth, color and texture to your piece.  Add a tiny circle to the front door.

It’s looking good!  Now you can add the walkway.  An inviting part to the landscape!

Now we are ready for the backing.  I am using a piece of wool blended felt from National Nonwovens TOY002, sage green.  Cut it a bit larger than your top piece.  You can pin it if you feel more comfortable in securing the top to the backing.

Take it to the machine, and using black thread.  I use Isacord 40 weight poly thread.  I started with the landscaping on the right side and then move onto the house.

Free motion quilting the landscaping, and making sure that the felt does not flip up, when sewing it into place.  You can secure it wtih one hand when you put the needle down, and then proceed to sew it down.

The house is loosely free motion machine quilted.  I am not about perfection, but more about having fun with what you are doing.  However, I seemed to have a little mishap on one of the windows and I am going to have to fix that window, because it doesn’t look good.

The window fix.  I cut out another window piece, that has Mistyfuse on the back, and I am going to iron it into place over that messed up window, and press it into place.

The window has been repaired, and sewn into place, and know one would ever know.  Whoohoo!

Sewing down the stems, leaves and flower onto the background.  I added fused fabrics for inside the two leaves, for added interest.  I used one pin, just so the leaf would be anchored in the right position, before free motion machine quilting it’s leaf design on the inside.

the flower

The center of the flower.  This is where you want to use less Bamboo felt for the center.  I was sewing through 6 layers of felt and broke my needle, because it was simply too thick.  You could have 1-2 contrasting color’s, and call it a day.

Free motion machine quilting the blue background, I just echoed the flower motifs on the blue fabric.  Easy peasy.  In and around the flower, and the leaves.  Alternate method would be to free motion machine quilt the background, before you added the flower, stem and leaves.

Finishing the edges, by sewing a zig zag around the entire art quilt, making sure to anchor your stitches in the beginning and at the end.

When you get to the flower, anchor your stitches before you skip over a pedal, then anchor again, when you start stitching.  Repeat to go over the next one. Cut the threads on the front and back that cross the pedals.

Cutting the edges.  Using a rotary cutter and ruler, trim the green felt, just so you can see it from the front.

Here’s what the back of the quilt looks like.  I think it looks so cool to see the stitching lines!

The finished Spring House!  I invite you to email me at Jamie.Fingal@gmail.com to share your own house creation!