Inspiration Strikes

Season 10 of Project Quilting is under way. If you're unfamiliar with Project Quilting, it's a series of themed challenges that challenge the quilter to make a quilt in one week. Themes are announced on Sunday. Quilts must be finished by the following Saturday. After that, there is a week-long break before a new theme is announced the following Sunday.

This first challenge for Season 10 is based on the theme "Hope Springs Eternal." It's kind of fun to participate. We were traveling all of last year, and so I missed all of Season 9. Because of that, I was kind of excited for Season 10 to get under way. When I heard the theme, I had some ideas, but no thoughts about how to put it into action. As I drove into town to run some errands yesterday, inspiration came. It was all I could do not to turn the car around and drive back home to get started that very instant. When I got home, it was one of those times when I used both arms to shove everything on my work table off onto the floor to make way for this new little quilt.

So here's my idea, and what suddenly hit me...it's my favorite quote from William Shakespeare: True hope is swift and flies with swallows wings. I found this image online at a site called Paint the World Super Coloring where I could print an image of a flying swallow.

When I had it uploaded, I used my photo editing software to enlarge it and then add the quotation above the bird. Then I used this product to print it. This is a product similar to Sulky Sticky-Fabri-Solvi. I've used the Sulky brand for embroidery once or twice. I can't remember when I switched to this brand. It works just the same.

It prints the image onto a medium that can be peeled away and stuck to the fabric you're using.

I stuck it to a small piece of Kona white and then went to work. The swallow is thread painted, and the quotation is hand embroidery. I probably tried to use a too-fancy font for the embroidery, but there's not a minute to waste, and so it will have to do.

After that, I did a quick rinse to remove the sticky background and then sewed some borders around it. I had just a couple of pieces of the swallow fabric left over from another project.

Today I'll add the back and do some simple quilting, and my little quilt will be finished. 

This morning I'm walking with Sue. We're expecting dry weather and maybe some sunshine too. Hope Springs Eternal.