Friday, November 30, 2012

4th Birthday Portrait Quilt

   Traditionally, I make a small quilt birthday card for my grandchildren to go with their gifts. Since David's birthday is near Christmas, I use materials I find on hand since time is crowded.

    I found a sketch I had made of David using a marker. It looks as if I may have traced over a photograph which I had enlarged. I made two copies on my copy machine and scanned them to fit a size 8 1/2' x 11" sheet of paper. Of course I used a printable fabric, not paper, of that size to print the line drawing.

     Next, I ironed Wonder Under to the back so I could laminate the fabric with the drawing onto a background. Mistake #1. I had wanted to embroider the lines with black thread but this is not easy to do once fabric has been laminated. I learned that other people use invisible ink for their embroidery lines. Mistake #2. I had used up the Cars fabric, our theme this year. In a hurry I settled for Batman and numbers. Later I found Cars fragments which I laminated, cut out and stitched around. Mistake #3. You can see through the white fabric, but it shows how colorful David is. Mistake #4. It was late. I forgot to change the thread for the binding. It looked messy so I further messed it up more with puff paints. I was distracted listening to Tom Wolfe's new book Back to Blood. But I think the card is lively and cute. I dried it on the radiator and added a cupcake.

      I love it when David says, "For me, LinLin?" I say, "Yes:" and he adds, "Oh thank you, LinLin! My quilt," and hugs it. Most of the time, to get done all I want to do, I can't worry about "perfect."

9 comments:

  1. that's nice. he'll love that. Jim

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  2. "For me,Lin Lin?" You can't get a better thank you than that! Pure grandmother LOVE to four year old David! ss

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  3. How heartwarming is David's comment about his quilt and that it's from you just for him. Perfect! That's "his birthday gift to you." Priceless! He sees the love and none of the imperfections. If only all of us could be that way!

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  4. Love David's birthday-card quilt...hugs, js

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  5. Great card for David. He sounds just precious and appreciative of your creative endeavors. K B-B

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  6. So cool! David will love it.....especially with his portrait! KE

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  7. This is so nice! I love the drawing of David. He sounds like such a sweet little guy!

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  8. Your 'not perfect' looks perfect to me. David is a charmer! I love it.
    NM

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  9. What a cute little boy! What a great way to show the things he is interested in. Thanks for sharing! NH

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