Sunday, August 12, 2012

Doorknob Quilts

When the birthday girl doesn't need or want anything, that's when a handmade gift is most appreciated.  Well, that's what I think anyway.  But I had no clue what to make.

As I have previously mentioned, I recently discovered a wonderful artist blogging as bohemiannie! art .  Annie is also on flickr .  I find Annie's work is immensely inspiring to me.  In a recent blog post Annie talked about her "doorknob quilts".  Well, I had lots of questions about those.  Although I had an idea what they were, I wanted to be sure.

I also knew right away that's what the birthday gift would be. 

 So while I worked on my doorknob quilt, I was taken back a couple few years when I was making these small wall art pieces that could have been considered doorknob (or any knob) art.  However, they were constructed similar to my fabric postcards.  They were always intended for specific recipients too. 

This one has always been my favorite.  Made for a friend who is 100% capable of saying this to anyone who provokes her.
(I found this saying on a piece of art in a magazine ad somewhere)
(Photo by Natasha Reed .  I have her permission to use her photo)

This one next was for another friend (that's her in the photo).  She was willing to look silly and pose with Charlie for me.  She had no clue what I was going to do with her photo.

 
This one next is so me.  But I made it for someone who is just like me.
(The child image is from Lisa's Altered Art )

But I think now I'm ready for small soft hanging doorknob (or any knob) quilts.  And the birthday gift is now finished.  I hung it on a chair (they can hang anywhere) for photos.

(My design is inspired by Roben-MarieSmith's art work)


I haven't done free motion quilting in years (because I seriously don't like doing fmq).  But I wanted a bit of a sloppy sketchy over watercolor look with the thread and figured I was enough out of practice to get that look.


I think the sloppy look came pretty easily!  But I was actually trying not to be too sloppy.  Although I hate fmq, I'm having fun with this style...so I hope I don't get too good at the fmq that I loose the "sloppy" look.  Good grief, who says that!


I wanted a very dainty "sketchy" sort of bow to tie the hanger to the quilt, so I used four strands of thread through stacked buttons.  I like that!


Sadly, this style of work is not really the birthday girl's style.  I still hope she likes it anyway.  She's been liking some of the strange stuff I've been doing lately, so we'll see.


That Tweeter is my fave little birdie.

Tweet,
Annie


24 comments:

Gill said...

Annie, the Tweeter is gorgeous! Dare I say I that he is my favourite???
I'm sure the recipient will love him!!

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

Your work is amazing! Love them all, especially the cowgirl boots!

waggonswest said...

Your FMQ, while perfectly sketchy for the purpose, is NOT sloppy! Sloppy would be missing the bird fabric entirely. Trust me. I know! Your door knob quilts are wonderful. The boots are my favorite.

Lesley said...

Your little pieces of art are so wonderful! Love your little tweeter!

Anonymous said...

That little girl in the boots is my kinda of girl. lol. I agree that your pieces of art are wonderful, and I love that little birdie and your great fmq.

Karen said...

OMG I am in love with the door knob and I love those sayings! Awesome!

Cynthia said...

Those are all so cute! I really like your birdie and the Fmq too! So fun!

Judy D in WA said...

You continue to amaze me!
These are so cute!
I love the "sloppy" look-which to me doesn't look all that sloppy.

pinsandneedles said...

Oh Annie, your work us just amazing! Love all of them!

Carol Swift said...

That is so cute! Love it! After the bowls thingy, I seriously need to learn to stamp on fabric. Or is that some other method on those first ones? Come on, give me the scoop on how to do it. LOL! Love your stuff, Annie!

carol said...

This is such an artsy-fartsy style for you. I almost didn't recognize it as your work. it sorta reminds me of "lolablueocean's" stuff. Her things are airy and whimsical too with the free motion thread painting. Of course, no way could she make such a cute bird! Love him to death with his striped tail feathers!

Doris said...

These are so fun and I agree, that is a sweet little Tweeter...

Grammasheri said...

Love the words and the bird and the thread sketches and the pizzazz.

legato1958 said...

These are precious! I admire you work and style!

sue
legato1958 at aol dot com

Daryl @ Patchouli Moon Studio said...

Love that little tweeter bird too. Your FMQ is just fine too. I want to ask you about the background fabrics, are those prints or did you stamp them? They look great. Those door knob quilts are all great and look like a postcard with a hanging loop added. Must try some myself. Thanks for sharing.

Snoodles said...

Oh, Annie, you had me chuckling this morning...which is good for a Monday! LOL Love the idea of quilted adornments for the door knobs, or the chair, or the....well, you know. Everywhere! Tweeter is a cutie!

Cindy Sharp said...

Those are all wonderful!

ellen gets crafty said...

These are so cute and a great inspiration to create loving little gifts for family and friends.

Rachel said...

SO cute!!!

Michele said...

Really great. Honest. And I hope she did love it and all the work that went into it.

bohemiannie! art said...

AWESOME Annie! That's for sure! I don't know how I missed this post on Sunday...but sure glad I came looking!!! I love your little door knob quilts...as I mentioned on flickr...and think you've taken the idea to new heights! Thanks so much for the lovely compliment and link to my blog. You are SO rockin this idea.

edyB said...

If she doesn't love it, there are a zillion of us out here who would be so happy to find it hanging on our doorknob...love it!

sheila 77 said...

Absolutely divine little bird with flowers and text. What could be better? I like the border too, finding the right border can be quite difficult.

IHaveANotion ~ Kelly Jackson said...

Door knob quilts...my first introduction and I'm lovin them. The booty kicking one really got me good....it is excellent!

You sure are having a good time...I need some of your inspiration.

Smiles,
Kelly