Irene's Christmas Challenge

Hello there.
I hope you have all recovered from the Christmas festivities and are thinking about  the new projects you want to tackle in 2012 - I know I am !

At our last Quilt Group meeting before the holidays, Irene, the Boss Lady, gave us all a little gift.
Inside was an empty frame and this note : Click on the photo for a bigger version to read....

Mmmmmm ......  What could I do ?  I thought - What are most people living in colder climes thinking of at this time of year ?    Summer and warmer weather of course !  So this is what I decided to base mine on.

I got a piece of silk and my iron-on colouring crayons and created a little beach scene.  I used a silver paint to give the sea a shimmery look.

Next I ironed vilene on the back of my palm tree fabrics and sun and cut them out.  On the right hand side is the little sketch I did at the start.

I drew my leaf shapes and the trunk on the front of my fabric, cut them out and glued them with some spray basting glue.

After adding some flowers to the rock in the foreground and layering it up with some wadding, I was ready for a little machine quilting.

I had a lot of fun with this and used some metallic thread for the sea.  As it only measures 4" x 6" it didn't take very long at all.

Finally I added a few little beads for the flowers centers and it was ready to go in the frame......

.......... and here it is !    I love how it turned out.

It really cheers me up and makes me think of summer.  Personally, I can't wait for flip flop weather!!!

Have a good day.
Back with more quilty stuff soon.
Rhianon.