filling a need for speed with Quilting Arts Gifts 2009 issue

Mm, some eye candy in this issue! (I also got TWO copies, one of which i refuse to pay for since i ordered only one. I can't believe i got it before my advance copy of Cloth Paper Scissors with my Beautiful Bones in it though....okay i promise to not mention that again --for awhile at least ...)

Pears, runners, cookies and birds, that's what i'm going to do with this issue----yummish! OH, and the leaf scarf, bracelets, eye glass cases, nametag purses, fibre jewellry, MMMMMMMMM MM MMMM. I don't have a long list for Christmas: in fact it's so short as to be non-existent. There are very few people i gift anymore, for a variety of reasons....

However, my birthday is in 2 days, so i will gift myself :}

First up is the pear. I resized it to fit on an A4 page (standard printer/sheet size 8.5 x11), and used spray dyed cotton flannelette as the base fabric:

One thing i have noticed about patterns in magazines and online, is that they are often just a wee bit off:

See how when you fold it in half lengthwise, one side is slightly different? It may not make a difference in the end result as this pattern is pretty simple, but some require more fiddly work, so i always check anyways. I fix them by taping on another bit of paper and tracing out the new line:

I did find that because i sized this up so much, the top part to gather was more noticeably "ruched" than the ones in the article, due to extra fabric--scale can really change that! It also took a LOT of stuffing and grunting to get it the right shape.  I ended up sending a big needle with strong thread through the centre top to the bottom and back again to keep the indentation of top and bottom. Mine looks more like a plump gourd of some variety, but i learned from the making :}

And here's my clever result, the "Pear of Hearts":

I was going to add beading (of course), but because it's not quite what i had envisioned--though i do like it as it's pretty Humourous--it will stay as it is. I already have plans for another, but with an edgier approach and harder appearance.

I must say this is one of the easiest patterns to follow :} It leaves lots of scope for play and experimentation. Why should my pear  look like anyone else's? Our "interior landscapes" are all different!

Comments

[Mary Anne]

Gee thanks. Now I suppose I shall have to have a peek at that magazine when it hits the stores here. Why do I envision an over-sized fabric bowl filled with all sorts of lumpy squishy glorious fabric-y fruit? In all your fave colours...as a centrepiece on a table somewhere?

[arlee]

That would be a most fun idea--but the bowl and table would have to be monstrous if i made them all this size :}

[jackie]

This is beautiful.
but...
It reminds me of a workshop I did where I made the patterns for them to make little bags. One of them complained that her pattern was 'just not excactly symmetrical'......