Little Houses….big fun!!

Like many of my recent projects, this started out as a desire to have something else on my mantle during the Winter months.    The idea came from this article in the Quilting Arts Holiday magazine…..

I followed the instructions pretty much to the letter, although the very first task was one that I wondered about.   It said to use 1/4 inch strips of neutral fabrics and fuse them to a piece of heavyweight sew-in interfacing.   My first thought was that it was a waste of time and would be better to just use one piece of fabric, but I decided to do it anyway.   The author certainly knew what she was doing because it really added a lot to the look of the house.

Anyway, I grabbed the basket that holds my scraps until I have a chance to cut them down and file them away…..

It was so much fun to work my way down thru the strata of fabrics from previous projects, ranging from the Australian fabrics of last winter, the pinwheel quilt, the Blue Mosque windows, the Pineapple quilt top and even Jenny’s quilt from last week…..

I selected a number of pieces and roughly cut them into 1/4 inch strips.  I put wonder under on a piece of interfacing and started adding the strips, ironing every few inches…..

The next step was to stitch over the piece with cotton thread, covering the fabric strips well…..

Next was to pick the color for my houses.   Typically, I decorate with blue in January, February and March, so blue it was……

At this point I did realize how badly I need to update my fabric painting supplies.   Most are fairly dried out, but fortunately can be reconstituted with a little water and a lot of shaking!!!!

For the roof, I did opt for one piece of fabric fused to the stabilizer, but I did quilt lines over it using a slight metallic thread.  The roof peaks were cut out…..

Now at this point, I needed to wait for my blue piece to dry, but I am not very patient with that.   So, I rinsed it out a bit and then ironed it onto stacks of paper towels until it was completely dry…..or close enough.

As per the instructions, I used some stamps that I have (from previous Scrapbooking projects) and added a few more designs to the background fabric.

I cut out the “walls” and added some embellishments of fabric bits, thread and beads…..

I again followed the instructions for sewing the house together, although I was so excited that I forgot to take photos.   I will add those when I make the next house.

Here is the final project…..

It is a 2-12 inch square and about 10 inches in height.

I am looking forward to making several more of these although I will do them one section at a time and spend a bit more time in the embellishment phase.

One thing I will say, with fabric, thread, paint, beads, stamps and embroidery thread, it certainly is a messy activity.   But let’s be honest, aren’t those the best kind!!!