So Many Ways to Tell a Story

Ruffles aren't really my signature style, but I have to admit, it is pretty satisfying to sew a ruffle once in a while.  This project really called for it, and I'm so glad to be extracting it from the UFO basket.  Inspired by a project in Sewing Bits & Pieces (which describes my whole fabric stash, I think!), I designed it as a Story Quilt.  My idea was to use it as a cuddly way to tell stories together, using the graphics in the appliques as prompts.  Well, and to use only fabrics I already had -- which, in hindsight, is not at all remarkable, considering...  The one note about that, I guess, is that I discovered I had nothing neutral for the background and so repurposed a curtain from our first house.  And this makes me smile quite a bit, thinking of waking with the sun streaming though, snuggled up with my first little one.  (It's this kind of sentimentality that has me drowning in all of our Stuff lately, but that's another matter entirely.)

Originally shown as a doll bed quilt, I can see how perfect that would be!  But, I enlarged it, added a batting layer because the white curtain was so thin, and chose applique fabrics that were good for storytelling but probably not as visually appealing for a doll quilt.  Or, maybe they would be?

In any case, it's been a fun project, encouraging me to practice some rusty skills and learn new ones.  This morning while everyone slept, I treated myself to a YouTube tutorial of the ladder stitch -- a brush-up I needed.

It isn't quite finished.  I still need to quilt around the story circles.  I learned to do this a few weekends back while "watching" a movie with the kids I've easily seen eight times.  But this project has now been transferred to the hand-sewing basket, which makes it much easier to plunk away at.  And it feels so good to work with on my lap -- such nice weight and coziness.  And, there's no reason the storytelling can't begin whilst I quilt it!