STUD is really not a cool dude.....

Actually, STUD stands for "Swap 'til U drop".  Clever, huh?  I joined this Flickr group awhile back and it is ongoing every two months and you can join at will, which means if you want to, it's okay, and if you're too busy or don't like the theme, that's okay too.  (Talk about run-on sentence there...whew!) I'll try to behave!  So....like I was saying, I've been a part of this group for awhile, but seldom join in any specific theme.  I really prefer when they used to have it every month instead of two.  It drives me nuts having my stuff sit here so long without showing anybody.  LOL  My mind goes in so many directions, that often, when it's time to send out my stuff, I'm not even crazy about it anymore.  Not good!

Well, this time, we had a Disney theme.  Now, my original idea was cute and I really thought that I could be creative using a Disney coloring page from the internet as my inspiration, but after I got my swap partner, "Bouncy Poodle".........(who incidentally is marvelous at these little quilts), she threw me in a completely different direction.  She wanted to do Disney music.  What?  Hey babe, I'm old....I don't watch Disney movies.....please.........???!!!  Music?  So I started thinking and the ONLY song I could remember right off the top of my head was, "When you wish upon a star"......from Pinocchio.  Well, actually it was the theme song from the Disney TV series from the 50's, the show that was on Sunday nights.  I remember as a child going to bed and looking out the window at the stars and wishing something or another....who knows what???  

Of course, I got out my fabric and started going to work.  You have no idea how many star fabrics I had out before I choose this one:

It's hard to tell,  but I wanted all the noses to be looking up at the biggest, brightest star.  You'll note that I sort of chopped all little green pieces first for my grassy hill and fused them first.  I wanted interest in every aspect of this little quilt.  I can't remember the exact size, but if I recall, it's somewhere around 10x14 inches.  (Dummy me forgot to measure it before I sent it out.)

Well, when it was all done, fused and sewn, this is how it looked:



Note that I raw edged the applique, but......and this was the time consuming part......I hand quilted the background by putting a single french knot (actually it was a colonial knot 'cause they're so much easier for me) in the middle of each tiny star.  Each knot is tied off on the back.  Here are some closeups:





Did you see all the noses up in the air?  And the ladybug and worm buttons too?  Oh this was a fun one! I'm sure glad that Patti, alias "Bouncy Poodle" changed the direction of the theme.  This was so much more fun and really brought me back to my childhood!  'Course, I never really sat on a hill with all those animals looking up at the sky......but in those days, that might have been what I was wishing for all along.