Friday, April 15, 2016

Alice's Doodle Quilt--Yankee Doodle (and also FabriDoodle)



Daddy used to sing the song "Yankee Doodle" to my siblings and me--the only song I ever recall hearing him sing!  So this was an immediate and sentimental choice for me!

I found a copy-right free coloring book image online.  I printed it onto white fabric and then used InkTense pencils to color it.  I had previously backed the white fabric with Wonder Under, so I cut Yankee Doodle out and fused him to the background.  For the background, I made a "wonky" log cabin in reds and blues.

Incidentally, I tried an experiment with this quilt that worked! After  I applied WonderUnder to the white fabric, I cut it to the size of printer paper, and ran it through my printer.  Lo and behold that worked!  I'll definitely try that again.

To quilt the background (which I did before fusing Yankee D. down), I used the serpentine stitch on my machine to stitch along the seam lines of the crazy quilt.

Actually, I made two Doodle quilts, just for fun.  My second quilt was based on a Zen Doodle design that I drew on freezer paper.  I used this paper to cut out patterns, ironing them onto various black and white fabrics from my stash, which had previously been backed with WonderUnder.  Then I re-assembled the design onto some muslin.  I quilted this one by satin stitching around each element.  Then I colored here and there with InkTense red pencil.  This became the back of the other quilt, and I bound them together conventionally with red fabric.

You decide which is the better quilt!  I showed this to an artist cousin, and she preferred it (saying it looked to her more like an "art quilt"), but husband Bob definitely liked my Yankee Doodle!  My cousin so loved this quilt that she suggested I make a larger version of it.  I just might do that; it was fun to construct!  But my first choice ended up being Yankee Doodle, for sentimental reasons.

(Note to Randy:  I'll put the burden on YOU to decide which one of my quilts will best fit into your composite.  I really am fond of both of them.)


14 comments:

  1. I love both of your quilts, but Yankee Doodle is my favorite because of the personal connection.
    The wonky log cabin is a perfect background as I think it adds whimsy and motion.
    I do agree with your cousin however and think that the FabriDoodle would be a very impressive bigger quilt.

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  2. What fun! Both quilts are very creative. Love the wonder under idea - I may try that soon.

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  3. Alice, I love both! I too thought of Yankee Doodle but didn't have the personal connection to it as you had- how sweet!! Good luck Randy; I can't choose! Thanks for posting for me Alice.

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  4. OK Alice, I can't decide, but because of the sentimental reasons, I chose Yankee Doodle. But I agree with the others, I think the FabriDoodle would make a fantastic larger quilt. Beautiful work on both!

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  5. PS - Thanks for the idea to run fabric with Wonder Under through the printer - WOW! Lots of possibilities with that one!

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  6. Yankee Doodle is amazing and so clever!
    Great job on both of them! I also enjoyed your narrative.

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  7. Both quilts are wonderful I am also sentimental about Yankee Doodle Dandy. There is wonderful movie with the song that I saw years ago.

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  8. From Rita: – I also favor Yankee Doodle for the whimsy and the beautiful color. And to have a personal connection also makes it so special. Beautiful quilt! My head is spinning after reading about the Wonder Under trick. Who knew? I know I will be using that at some time. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. Hi Alice ! What great interpretations you've provided for this challenge ! And I'll be the first to admit that I was so focused on the Zentangle / Zendoodle techniques that other "Doodle" designs like yours and Nedra's never even entered my mind ! Yankee Doodle and his pony trotting across a wonky Log Cabin block is inspirational ! Personally, I'm drawn to your second Doodle quilt, and think your use of fusing Zen-inspired fabrics, coloring them with InkTense pencils, then satin stitching the pieces into place was genius ! BRAVO :-D

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  10. Wonderful quilts. I love the Yankee Doodle one because it shows a creative use of the theme. The other one is creative and lovely.

    When you ran the fabric through the printer, was the release paper still on?

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    1. Just now seeing this, Jane. Yes, the paper was still on, which of course gave it more stability.

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  11. I love both of these quilts. I am really drawn to Yankee Doodle because I love the originality of theme interpretation and the whimsy involved. I really appreciate the clever approach you took to producing the image too. This quilt is a success no matter which way you look at it.

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  12. I guess I agree with Bobby. Your little Yankee Doodle is just too cute!
    NM

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  13. Both quilts are very interesting but I really like the second one. I like the use of fabric for the doodle.

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