We're off to see the Wizard...

My sisters have been asking me for quilts for a LONG time. Although they are a definite priority, I have been severely backlogged with projects.

Dawn requested that I make her a "Wizard of Oz" themed quilt. Hmmm. I like "Wizard of Oz" just fine; however, I wouldn't consider myself a fanatic. (Admittedly, I enjoyed Gregory Macguire's novel "Wicked" far better.)

So, this past summer, I bought some Oz themed fabric to use for Dawn's quilt. I brainstormed and brainstormed and brainstormed. I couldn't really think of anything that I wanted to create with it.

The problem was two-fold: I am not a fan of panels and the colors were pretty overwhelming.

I finally rolled my sleeves up and got to work, piecing the quilt without much of a plan and hoping that inspiration would hit.

I took the pieces that I had pieced, thus far, to Idyllwild on our quilting retreat and received help from some of the fabulously creative quilters there.

We placed it on a bed and started moving pieces around, auditioning fabric underneath the pieces. The consensus looked something like this:





So, I got back to it around the beginning of December and finished it shortly thereafter. I'll just say that it is not my favorite project that I have created, but my sister, Dawn, adores it. (Yay!)
This is the front of the quilt. It is obviously a lap-sized quilt.





The back has more scenes from the movie.





A close-up of one of the photo panels.





Another close-up of a photo panel. I quilted this on my Bernina using a stipple pattern. (The one thing that I really do like about this quilt are my little pinwheels using the ruby slippers and the blue gingham fabric. You can see them peeking out at the top of this photo.)





I am glad that my sister is happy with her quilt and I am thinking about how to do Kindyl's. She hasn't requested anything specifically (which makes it easier on me), but I have some fun ideas. :)

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