The DMC Crazy Quilt Commission: Part 4, Finished!

All done it is, and ready to be mailed to DMC USA in New Jersey....
What a lovely project it has been!

Where we last left off, I was going to add the outer vine and flowers to the wall-hanging...

I've repeated the Memory Thread couched vine element, but this time using three strands instead of just one in the first vine, two strands in a second one.  I pinned them into place and then couched them down using clear monofilament thread.
The flowers and velvet leaves pretty much arranged themselves, along with some vintage glass flower beads.

Here they are twining around Jean-Luc and Michael...

...and my beloved Notre Dame....(thanks again to Jerry Everard for this wonderful photo).....

...they surround my sister Mary....

....and me.

To finish the quilt I made and executive decision: No batting!
Wanting it to hang very, very straight, I gave the quilt the body it needed by interfacing the back of the embroidered and embellished top not once, but twice.

This is how the back looked before the first layer of overall interfacing.  You might notice that the center section was already interfaced once, for the crazy quilt stitching work.

Here is the backing after the first layer of overall interfacing was fused on; I gave it a second layer, too.
The results were very successful, in my opinion!  Because this quilt is small, about 30" X 30", and because the top is so incredibly stable, I also decided that the assembly of front to back could be accomplished solely by stitching the layers together around the perimeter, and then adding the binding.

The binding is actually the same vintage red velvet ribon used to frame some of the photographs.  Everyone knows, I love ribbon binding.

That outer border trim is so quintessentially French.  And it is from the 1920's!

Finally, the quilt back...

I attached the sleeve to the backing before sewing the back to the front, and this saved me a lot of time.  The binding covered the top edge of it.  That glittery trim along the bottom edge of the sleeve is from shopping in Montmartre.....

Always, every quilt must have a label.  This one has the graphic DMC used to promote the contest that led to my glorious adventure with my sister in France...

And now 2014 is soon upon us.  What awaits us in the new year?  Happy Stitching for all, I hope!

The DMC Crazy Quilt Commission, Part 3: Captions and Inner Vine

Because I used a scrapbook page as my inspiration for this quilt that captures our Paris trip from DMC, I wanted to put some captions under each photo.  And because it is now time to weave all the elements of the quilt together, I added the inner vine around the central image.  There's going to be an outer vine growing around the photos next.

To make the captions, I used a black Pental Gel Roller for Fabric  pen  size 1.0.  I tried several permanent marking pens, but this one has no bleed and gives a nice solid line.
Next I interfaced the tightweave cotton I had written on, then added a layer of lightweight Mistyfuse.

I fused them each in place under their picture, and buttonholed them with 2 strands of DMC Satin Floss.  It is rayon and glimmery.  ;-)

Then it was time for the Memory Thread vine.  That stuff is so great!

You bend it into the shape you want and it "remembers" it.  Here I have my vine pinned into place for couching.

Then I couched it down with single machine thread, and filled in the leaves with cotton DMC Color Variations floss.

I wanted this vine to be subtle, hence the tone-on-tone with the background fabrics.

I had bought some cool little vintage flower sequins at a flea market on the trip...

Here's Mary taking it all in, including that tired little boy with his mom and dad...

And my haul from that day...

That vintage trim has a role to play later in this commission...

Anyways, flower sequins!

I sewed them on with some little clear beads and crystals.

So now I am here....

The outer vine is definitely going to be the grand finale....! You just know I am going to pull out some of my pretty fabric flowers from M & S Schmalberg.....

The DMC Crazy Quilt Commission: Part 2

The images have been chosen, printed onto fabric, and appliqued to the background with nice frames around each one.
It was hard to choose, but each photo represents the most meaningful memories of our trip to France...

Here is the overall view so far:

The photo in the center is of the giant metal sign at the top of the DMC factory in Mulhouse.

I needed to add some detail to the horse, as it was too dark to show up.  I used a white pen that I bought at Sennelier,  the oldest pigment shop in Paris, and where all the Impressionists bought their colors!

Such history here.  It was like an artistic pilgrimage to enter these doors.
The pen makes me think of going there....which is why I am using it in this project, of course!

The photo at the top of the quilt, of Notre Dame at night, was taken by Jerry Everard, Sharon Boggon's partner.  They were in Paris the same time we were, and one of my delights was getting to see them there.
Their blog, Tones and Tints, has fabulous photos and posts about their travels.

Many thanks to Jerry for permission to use his photo!

There is a closer view of it, along with the photo of our two wonderful hosts at the DMC factory in Mulhouse, Jean-Luc Barbier and Michel Biechlin.
The trims around the three center images were purchased in Montmartre.

Amazingly, I didn't buy any fabric in France, but I bought a LOT of trim, so naturally I had to use some in my commission.  (Note that pile on the counter!)

Mary and I were so entranced by the Luxembourg Gardens....there were so many lovely flower borders, blooming so beautifully even in late September.  A close up that Mary took represents how much we loved all the flowers in France.

I used many different DMC threads to embellish the printed photograph.  This trim is vintage, found in an old box buried by mounds of other trims in the store pictured above.

Next I will be adding captions to the pictures, and then....bien sur.....some twining flowers to make another frame "layer" if you will, connecting all the images.....saving the most fun for last!