Friday, May 02, 2008

Tea is a drink best served HOT!


For this challenge, I wanted to explore the aspect of 'shape'. By that I mean, joining quilted panels in such a way as to create 3 dimensional pieces...... For some time I've been interested in creating garments that fit the body's curves and not boxy, shapeless covers. I've been experimenting with princess lines and darts and ways to eliminate bulk. At the same time, I've been thinking I needed a tea cosy and I'm a very practical gal.....

This time, instead of concealing the joins, I chose to keep all the seam allowances in plain sight. I wanted to exploit denim's lovely tendency to ravel but I guess it will require more trips through the washing machine to get the full effect.

This tea cosy is made of 2 layers of recycled jeans denim with a layer of batting in between. It insulates VERY well. Free form flower embroidery is addictive and satisfying. The cosy measures 14 inches wide by 9 inches high.

4 comments:

Cherie in Del Mar said...

Cheryl, is that all hand applique and embroidery? Was it difficult to stitch through all those layers of denim? What a cool idea...I really like it!
Cherie

Cheryl Coville said...

Thanks, Cherie. Yes, it's all hand applique and hand embroidery but I didn't actually stitch through all the layers. Just the top layer. I wanted to see how well it went together and frayed before I did the pretty part. If I did it again, I'd machine applique with satin stitch through all the layers before I assembled it. Live and learn!
Cheryl

Joni said...

I like your Tea cosy Cheryl. What a great use for the denim. It's very pretty as well as useful. I'm glad to know other's like their tea as much as I do.

Carole said...

This is darling.........sez she who doesn't use denim.
But, I would use this if it was mine, very well done and useful, too... new life to old fabric.
Carole