Rorschach van Gogh Mashup

Posted on October 23, 2014 by jeanswenson

Rorschach van Gogh Mashup
October 2014

This quilt was an interesting undertaking. To create the pattern, I started by sketching the butterfly on graph paper. Once I was happy with the outline of the butterfly, I chose the side that I liked best, folded the paper in half, and held it up to a window. I then adjusted the outline on the other half so that I had a somewhat perfect mirror image from left to right of the center fold.

The fabrics used in the butterfly were from leftover scraps of grey and black fabrics, while the white background was mostly new fabric. The butterfly is not appliquéd onto the white background fabric – it has been patchworked together. Many of the 3″x3″ quilt squares had to be custom made, since the overall shape of the butterfly is organic, to mimic an ink blot design. To finish the quilt, I hand stitched around the outline of the butterfly.

As I worked on the quilt, I knew I wanted to reference Rorschach in the name, but it wasn’t until I bought the fleece for the backing (shown in lower right where I folded the corner back) that I came up with the name Rorschach van Gogh Mashup.

I enjoy Fox’s program So You Think You Can Dance, and was inspired by the 2014 season’s performance of a Phillip Chbeeb’s hip hop routine that was inspired by Rorschach and danced by Zack & All-Star Fik-Shun.

I donated this quilt to the County of Ventura, Children & Family Services, via the Children’s Services Auxiliary of Ventura County, in October 2014.

Holy Guacamole

Posted on September 22, 2014 by jeanswenson

Holy Guacamole
September 2014

This is the Greek Cross design. The green was some fabric from Edith, and my guess is that it was from the 1970’s, when the color avocado was so trendy (yes, I remember!). The only new fabric was the blue edge binding.

Since starting my Love Hugs project, I estimate that I have used over 6200 yards of thread which is just over 3.5 miles!

I donated this quilt to the County of Ventura, Children & Family Services, via the Children’s Services Auxiliary of Ventura County, in September 2014.

Balancing Hippopotami

Posted on September 22, 2014 by jeanswenson

Balancing Hippopotami
September 2014

Life is a balancing act, and some days can feel more like a balancing hippopotami act!

This is Shar Jorgenson’s Crazy Quilt design. In the bottom right corner (shown in detail in upper right corner) is the pretty crocheted edging off of one of Granny’s hankies. I bound the top to the polka dot fleece backing by strategically tacking a ‘bow’ on each hippo’s head.

The majority of the fabrics used were leftovers from the Moms and Granny, while the star of the quilt – the hippos – was a new fabric.

I donated this quilt to the County of Ventura, Children & Family Services, via the Children’s Services Auxiliary of Ventura County, in September 2014.

Madagascar Foxtrot

Posted on September 9, 2014 by jeanswenson

Madagascar Foxtrot
September 2014

The design for Madagascar Foxtrot is based off of a basic 9-patch quilt. This one is a true patchwork quilt as I used scraps that were left from these prior Love Hugs quilts – Check This!, Shooting Star and Green Tetons. And, I still have more of these fabrics!

If you would like to donate a scrap of fabric to be used in a Love Hugs quilt, check out the donation form on the About page.

I donated this quilt to the County of Ventura, Children & Family Services, via the Children’s Services Auxiliary of Ventura County, in September 2014.

On a Coconut Island

Posted on August 30, 2014 by jeanswenson

On a Coconut Island
August 2014

This is the Winning Hand pattern. The solid teal blue and the blue polka dot fabric were from Mom and Granny’s past sewing projects, while the other fabrics were all new. The monkeys in the coconut trees gave the quilt the feeling of being on a coconut island, hence the name! Here’s a little something for your listening pleasure…

I donated this quilt to the County of Ventura, Children & Family Services, via the Children’s Services Auxiliary of Ventura County, in September 2014.

Twizzler Goes for a Ride

Posted on August 16, 2014 by jeanswenson

Twizzler Goes for a Ride
August 2014

Quilts seem to mimic life: you have a general plan of where things will go, and sometimes it doesn’t quite go that exact way. But, it is beautiful nonetheless. I had planned to carry the Irish Chain pattern all the way to the edge, but the fabric scraps I had chosen were just not going to stretch that far. So, back to the sketch pad, and I came up with the idea to use the animal fabric as a border. In the end, it turned out great!

The orange fabric was given to Jamie from her friend Jan, who likes the idea of my Love Hugs project. She gave Jamie a huge bag of all sorts of fabrics! The animal fabric was new, while the blue was some from Granny’s stuff, and the plaid was from the craigslist fabric I acquired last year.

As a big thank you for the fabric donation, I have named this in honor of Jan and her doggie Twizzler.

I donated this quilt to the County of Ventura, Children & Family Services, via the Children’s Services Auxiliary of Ventura County, in August 2014.

Jazzy Polka Party

Posted on July 29, 2014 by jeanswenson

Jazzy Polka Party
July 2014

This pattern is called Southern Comfort, by Jean Ann Wright. The fabric I used is predominantly pink polka dots, and so I named the quilt for a sweet girl I know who loves her pink polka dots! The shocky, hot pink and yellow flower fabric were new, but everything else were leftover fabric pieces from Granny and Edith. The green may look familiar, as this is the sheet fabric I used in my favorite Lemon Lime Twist quilt that is featured on the banner image on my blog. Jazzy Polka Party was donated to the County of Ventura, Children & Family Services, in August 2014. The quilt donations I make to the County of Ventura, Children & Family Services are actually handled through the Children’s Services Auxiliary of Ventura County.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Posted on June 30, 2014 by jeanswenson

Take Me Out to the Ball Game
June 2014

This is the pinwheel pattern. For the red pinwheels, I used a fabric that has baseballs on it, and the blue pinwheels are red and blue stars on a white background. Both these fabrics were new acquisitions, while the solid red, white and blues were all leftover pieces of past project fabrics from Mom, Granny and Edith.

As I am making a quilt, I will try to come up with a name for it. This one felt so much like baseball and Americana – with the baseball fabric along with the red, white and blue colors – it seemed fitting to name it, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, in honor of the famous old-time baseball song.

I donated this quilt to the County of Ventura, Children & Family Services, in July 2014.

It’s a Jungle out There

Posted on June 20, 2014 by jeanswenson

It’s a Jungle out There
June 2014

This year seems to be flying by! My Love Hugs quilt project has taken a back seat to some of life’s more important events, like welcoming a new grandson and a new son-in-law into the family.

I made this quilt for my new grandson, Felix. The animal fabric is one that was from Granny’s leftover fabrics. I combined it with some fabrics that I had from other sewing projects I had done in past.

Lavender Ladies

Posted on April 26, 2014 by jeanswenson

Lavender Ladies
April 2014

This quilt is the Garden Squares pattern, by Jean Ann Wright. Most of the lavender fabrics were acquired from Edith and Granny. Both of these wonderful ladies loved the color lavender, so I dedicate this quilt to them, the Lavender Ladies!

I donated this quilt to the County of Ventura, Children & Family Services, in July 2014.