Thursday 10 November 2016

Panels for Wall Hanging

Good morning. I thought I would show you what I have been working on over the last week or so.
Tysoe WI, of which I am secretary, is celebrating its centenary in April 2017.  We are the oldest in Warwickshire so we have decided to really push the boat out and put on a good show for the rest of the county. I actually live in Oxfordshire right on the border between Oxfordshire and Warwickshire and since our village is very small and doesn't have a WI I joined Tysoe and have never regretted a moment. We have planned things to take place throughout the entire year and will be involving the community too.

One of of our projects is to produce a quilted wall hanging made up of 10 inch square  panels made by some of our members.


Button tree
This one was inspired by a Christmas card I made using the Bare Tree die from Memory Box.  As I was sticking gems on the branches I suddenly thought it would be great for a wall hanging and this is the result - in much greater scale obviously. Sewing all those buttons on was a real pain I can tell you!


Windmill
There is a large windmill which stands on a hill above the village  called Windmill Hill.  Who'd have guessed that ... lol! The sails have been drenched in  PVA glue which made them extremely stiff and with the brad in the middle they actually turn. I was thinking of using fabric stiffener, the type you use on blinds, but I couldn't get any locally and I didn't want to wait for an online order.  The door now has a smaller green brad for the handle. The grass is actually from the Joy!Crafts Icicle die which works brilliantly for grass.  I must remember that for future cards.


Autumn Wreath
I think I got these leaves from Hobbycraft, or possibly The Range, and I loved the colours.  I have used Bondaweb to attach them and am wondering whether to risk trying applique. My machine is quite old and doesn't have an applique foot and those leaves look a bit fiddly.  I'll try on a spare one and if I can't get it right then I'll leave them as they are rather than risk spoiling it.

I have one more in the pipeline which is not yet finished.  I am crocheting a range of flowers. The idea was originally to focus on flora and fauna but then we decided to include important aspects of the village. The  windmill is such a landmark so obviously it needed to be there. The church features heavily in the village so that will be another panel.  Tysoe is part of what is known as the Vale Of The Red Horse so we are also having a red horse panel.  The background is going to be purple so that we can use the WI colours of purple and green.

We are going to start putting it together in January or February so I will show you how it turns out. Initially we were going to get cracking on it in the next few weeks but we have been asked to decorate the church Christmas tree and we have decided to hand make all the ornaments, again using WI colours.  I think that will be pretty time consuming for our little "Craft and Laugh" (and eat cake!) group!

Well I do hope things are well with you, and if anybody is feeling under the weather then please get well soon.



10 comments:

lydia jordan said...

Morning Christine,
Wow! these are gorgeous, such a lot of work too.
Lydia
X

julie_woolston said...

Christine these are fabulous hun, so much detail.
Hugs Julie xxx

Rainey's Craft Room said...

Well Christine you certainly have been busy and look to be busy for a while yet with all these lovely projects. Your quilted squares are beautiful and the finished wall hanging will be amazing. I think it's great and very worthwhile to belong to such a group, it's a shame that these organisations are dying out in the villages and communities now.
Lorraine

cuilliesocks said...

Oh this will look amazing when finished Christine, what you've created already is gorgeous, clever lady that you are, Kate x

Jenny L said...

Hi Christine,
what super and awesome wall hangings.
You ahve made such a very wonderful job of these.
It's going to look awesome when it's all finished.
Lots of crafty love. Jenny L.

Wendy L said...

Wow, they all look amazing Christine, wonderful work, xxx

Sue B said...

Ooh I really love these panels Christine. They are so beautiful and look fun to do… remember when my mum used to work on projects like this for the TG… they made some beautiful creations that became heirlooms for the Village Hall. Great idea to use the icicle die for the grass… maybe I could use my grass die for icicles!! ;-)
thanks for your kind words on my blog. Things are bit tough at home… but trying to find a little time for myself when I'm able. I really appreciate an hour or so crafting, even if it's making something very quick and simple.
Hope you are keeping well
Love and hugs, Sue xx

MaryH said...

What a perfectly delightful post. I'm a button collector (used to be, anyway!) so I'm always excited at seeing buttons used in any fashion. Clever idea to take the MB tree, create it as part of your project. It looks just fabulous too. (can hear you on sewing on all the button shankes!). Loved each of these, and enjoyed hearing the interesting reasons behind the design of each motif. You've done splendidly, and what a community you live in, to have such creative ideas, then follow through on a project that the entire village can enjoy. Good for you, and can't wait to see more of this. TFS & Hugs

Lorraine said...

Gorgeous projects Christine, these look brilliant
Lorraine x

MRS DUCK said...

Hi Christine
What beautiful panels. When everything is joined, its going to look amazing.
May have to pop down to Tysoe to see it in real life.
They used to sell those leaves at The Range when I worked there so its a fair chance that's where they came from.
Best wishes.
Ang x