Quilt in a Ball

For this month's challenge, Hope suggested we put a quilt inside a glass Christmas ball. We were all a bit skeptical but the results were a lot of fun and it was surprising to see the different interpretations.

Paper Pieced Log Cabin and Tree: Joan Johnson
I immediately thought of paper piecing. I left the paper in to help it hold shape after being squeezed into the bottle.

Stars and Hearts: Marcia Kilpatrick
I pretty much did all of mine by hand. I made a simple 4 patch, then hand sewed little star and heart buttons all around the edge to create and finish the "binding." I added some beads on the quilt itself to enhance the pattern.

Angelina Postage Stamp: Hope Barton
I made a multi-colored batik "postage stamp" style square. I used lots of starch to help it hold shape inside the ball. A set of long tweezers were especially helpful in straightening it out once I squeezed it inside the ball. I added some Angelina fiber on the bottom to give it a little glitz.

Double Sided with Crystals: Melanie Johnston
My intent was to use paper piecing but when time started to run short, I decided to print out quilt squares on fabric and enhance the coloring with markers. I quilted each side separately on very thin batting, then put the two together and zig-zagged the edge with gold thread. I added a few hot fix crystals in the center of the poinsettia and on the star tips for pizzazz.

Beaded "Quilt"  Pat Ferguson
I don't do miniatures. Instead, I used some letter beads with other beads and used them to spell "quilt." I scattered some more beads, bits of quilt scraps, and some crystal beads from my mother-in-laws crystal necklace on the bottom of the ball.

Silk Snowflake: Cathey LaBonte
I used silk dupioni as my base, then stamped a snowflake with iridescent paint. I quilted it all with holographic thread, then zig-zagged the edge/"binding" with heavy, glittery thread used in the bobbin. Next time, I will remember not to cut the quilt "to size" until after I quilt it!

Tree-in-a-Bottle: Linda Gardner
I decided to make a 3-dimentional "quilt." I made a wedge, quilted it, and decorated it with hot fix crystals, then fused the edges to create the cone shaped tree. The challenge was how to get it to pop back into a tree shaped after being squeezed inside the bottle. I had some fishing line that was stiff and had "shape memory." I knew it would want to go back to its original shape after being squeezed. I "laced" the bottom of the tree with the clear fisihing line and it worked just as I had hoped! I added some polyfill in thebottom to simulate snow and a few beads for extra glitz.