Little Red

In some areas of life I am a little predictable, I have the same breakfast every morning and I love it, I cook the same evening meal almost every Monday but we all like it- I can live with that even if it may seem more than a little dull to others.  However in sewing I like to try something new.  I recently joined another Flickr swap, Scrappy {Hoops} organized by Heather and Kerri.  They both run so may Flickr swaps and groups it nothing short of amazing how they fit it all in and their experience results in well run groups.  I was attracted by the clear criteria of acceptable and non acceptable, plus I haven't done a hoop before, I fancied the challenge.  My secret partner is a fan of Little Red Riding Hood so after flirting with a few ideas I settled on a pose inspired by this illustration...

It is from a battered children's 1940s book called 'Happy Days'.

That lead to a scribbled sketch on a scrap of used paper which became the design.

I love apples in fabric prints and I think that is what lead the design process, they had to be in their somewhere. That and my recent focus on red fabrics.   Alexander Henry's Farmdale line is my current favourite- Orchard and Delicious.  You can buy the latter at a bargain price at a new UK online fabric shop which looks very promising- Prints to Polka Dot Fabrics (See £1.50) section).  I digress, I ended up creating this...click the pic to see it bigger

All raw edge applique, 8 inch hoop and sewn on to linen/cotton mix.  Scraps courtesy of Amy Badskirt and my stash.  It was a fiddly little project but so cute to watch it start unfold.  I sewed the facial features by hand and the little gold hair ribbons and her cheek blush is from a red pencil crayon.

The back is a bit of Anna Maria Horner Good Folks- Small Gathering.  This has the added bonus of when the hoop is held against the light, there is a backdrop of leaf shadows just coming through, unplanned but I like it!  I used double sided tape to hold the fabric on the first hoop.  The two fabric layers are spray basted with 505 and the edges zig-zagged and stuck to the inner hoop with copydex.

A fun project.  Now back to Lula's quilt, the aim is to finish it this week.  I will leave you with the latest Ringo Pie block from Lucinda, it made me take a a little gasp when I first saw it, exquisite!  I beg you to click here and take a look x