Patriotic Mini-Art Quilt

I know, we're in the midst of the big Holiday season and not in the mood for a patriotic holiday themed project, but,  if stores can have Christmas in July sales, then I can have 4th of July at Christmas blog posts! The truth is I made this Fourth of July project for a Holiday gift exchange with one of my friendship groups. I have been giving July 4th pieces for the last few years to members of this group and will be making a series of these type of mini's until everyone, including me, has one.

This piece is about 10" x 12" I think... I forgot to measure it before I gave it away! Oops! Anyway, it was a good project for trying out some different surface effects, including ruching. I have wanted to used ruched flowers for some time in my art quilts. This last summer I took ruching instructions (printed from the internet) and sewing supplies on a camping trip. While sitting around the campground during the day I worked on ruching while my girlfriend knitted a scarf. It made for a convenient carry along stitching project. I also found it pretty forgiving, which is good when you are sipping some wine and not paying close attention to what your hands are doing! I will show you the steps I used to make this mini in the next few posts. Meanwhile Happy fourth of July-mas!