Quiltingboard Forums - A few finished items... Finally

I can't really believe it's mid-February before I have finished items for this year, but finally I have 2 things done and ready to give.

The monkey blanket is for friends that had a baby boy almost a year ago! I had completely different fabrics picked out, but when I saw them at Christmas I noticed the colors she was going with were bolder so I changed my plan. Top and back are made with flannel... I don't like piecing with flannel, man that stuff is stretchy!

The flower wall hanging (16" x 16") is for a co-worker ... back in December the office manager died at work from a brain aneurism while talking to one of the other secretaries. She has now moved into his position and office. I can't even begin to imagine how tough of a decision it was for her to do that. I know everytime I walk down the hall I still expect to see his smiling face, so I wanted to make something she could hang to personalize the space.

I did swarovski crystals in the center of the flowers and used crayon to add some color and interest to the petals. I've never embellished with crystals or crayons before. I'm hooked on it now! On the vase I used cute heart buttons I found that just happened to match my flower colors.

For the quilting, I started out intending to do a cross hatch, but when I finished the first direction I liked it so much I stopped there.

To hang it, I just attached ribbon under the binding when I stitched it on. Though it did lay flat against the wall, DH suggested I tuck a zip tie (with the knob end cut off) in between the wall hanging and binding to keep add a little strength and make sure it doesn't bow a little. I don't know if I explained that well. I think next time I do it, I will need to get pictures before I sew the binding down.

I hope you enjoy ... thanks for looking.

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