It’s already time for the June Sketches With a Twist challenge—the last design of my term with them. I am very proud to have created this sketch, although I’ll admit that it’s a little harder than usual, which is why I’ve included a tutorial below for making the Cathedral Window quilt pieces! Here’s a little peek at my new sketch:
The twist this month is to incorporate fabric into your design. I’m not a seamstress (yet), so I used felt! Felt is fabric, isn’t it? 😉
Every animal we have rescued stays in my heart.
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.
~Cecil F. Alexander, Hymns for Little Children, 1848
Matt and I are rescuers. Animals in need find us, and we can’t turn away. It’s added a lot of joy to our lives to open ourselves to this avocation. And of course, with the joy comes a bit of pain because not all our rescues can be saved. As in most things that matter, though, the joy makes the pain worth enduring.
This layout features photos of just three of the animals we’ve helped:
- The possum we named Head (after a character with a large head in So I Married an Ax Murderer). Sadly, Head was too injured by the car that hit him, and he did not make it.
- The chicken Matt rescued from Mopac Highway and was promptly named…Mopac…before we found her a home on a little farm in Buda, Texas.
- And the German short-haired pointer who we named Budro (for the dog in Grosse Pointe Blank) before placing him with the local German short-haired pointer rescue group.
My layout is intended to celebrate all the animals we’ve rescued and to symbolize the way they each add themselves to the quilt of our lives.
The tutorial
So you think this sketch looks intimidating? I’m here to help! After creating my layout with this sketch, I realized that I could probably help others use it if I revealed a few of the measurements and techniques I used.
The three photos on this sketch are 3 inches from corner to corner, not 3 inches square. A square that measures 2⅛ will have a diagonal measurement of 3 inches, so that’s the size to which you should crop your photos.
For the nine Cathedral Window quilt pieces you see on the sketch, you’ll need to punch either nine 3-inch circles of double-sided patterned paper OR nine 3-inch circles of single-sided patterned paper and nine 2-1/16-inch squares of different patterned papers. I wanted all my folded pieces to be the same pattern, so I used the second method for my quilt pieces.
Place your 2-1/16-inch squares centered on your circle and score around the outside edges. Once you fold up the four edges you’ll have a 2⅛-inch square quilt piece.
Here is a template I created to help you place your quilt pieces (if you want to follow the sketch exactly). I used these measurements, and everything lined up just right! Click on this smaller image to download the full-sized version.
I really hope this tutorial is helpful to those of you who want to use my sketch. I am very happy with how my layout looks, so I hope you’ll try it with a few of your photos, too. And don’t forget to link up your page to the Sketches With a Twist challenge.
Hi Janice, I think you have kept your best sketch to the last.. this is an amazing sketch, and really was fun to do.. Your layout looks fabulous, and thanks for your hints on how to do the sketch.. I hope lots of scrappers give it a go.. Thanks for your wonderful sketches at SWAT, and I wish you all the best for the future with your creating.. and I will come by and see what you have been up to!! take care.. love lizzy
I’m so happy that you like this sketch, Lizzy. Thank you for your kind comments. I have truly enjoyed being the sketch designer for such a great team. I will visit your blog to keep up, as well. 🙂
Hi Janice I love reading the inspiration behind your layouts and this is such a wonderful insight into who you are. I love the combination of papers you have used for your wonderful layout. I laughed when I read that you have included a tutorial as I could have used this before doing my card…….lol. I can’t wait to see everyone’s interpretation of your wonderful sketch this month and it will be sad to see you go. We’ll miss you on the team but you can’t get rid of us all that easy….haha. I look forward to following your new scrapping adventures with your new DT. xx
You’re such a sweetie, Danie. I, too, really hope a lot of readers use the sketch, as I think the end result is such a nice look. I’m sad to leave the SWAT team, but am so happy to have met you and the others through it. I will keep in touch and watch your creative endeavors, too! 🙂
what a cool layout! Love the design!!!
Thanks, Juliana! Thanks so much for visiting. 🙂
Fabulous sketch! Love the execution too!
Thanks, Linda! If you use this sketch I would love to see your finished layout. 🙂
Oh this looks fabulous! Thanks for sharing the tut!
Thanks so much, Shelly. I hope the tutorial is useful to you. 🙂
This layout immeadiatley caught my eye on Kristina’s Show and Tell post – it’s amazing!!
Thank you so much!
Janice,
As a quilter and seamstress (the new euphemism is sewist), I really like your design. It certainly looks like the Cathedral Window quilting pattern. I believe the fabric choice may have been cotton or wool flannel rather than felt. It is very unusual to find printed felt but the fabric designs you chose are more common in flannel.
I look forward to trying it in my paper crafting. Thank you for your devotion to animals; I am the same way.
Melanie
Your layout is Stunning!! Such a wonderful way to capture how much the animals mean to you. Love the gorgeous design, and the helpful tutorial. I’m not a scrapper but it’s a great technique.
I just love this layout and your technique. Thank you for sharing the tutorial 🙂