Flora Joy’s Fabric Arts Showcase
This site has been created solely to share the FUN Flora has been having with the fabric arts as a personal hobby (and to PROVE to some of her friends that she COULD retire from the academics--or at least not not remain "at work" full time). If you have any questions about any of these projects (or suggestions for FUTURE projects), feel free to contact her at: florajoy@comcast.net
View "JOY Eye Candy" at the TOP of the page--and free embroidery designs (more eye candy) in the lower section.
Note: You are free to use the complimentary designs/ideas below for your own private use. The information or designs for ANY of the projects, however, may not be sold, duplicated, distributed, reprinted, re-designed, or used for commercial profit. This is Flora's chosen way to GIVE BACK to the "sewing community"--and especially to her fabric artist friends who have been so kind and generous to others throughout the years. HAVE FUN!
A few of the handouts in some of the projects require the use of Adobe Reader.
If you do not have Adobe Reader, click here to get it. This is a FREE download from Adobe.
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Flora's Appalachian Trail Wall Quilt Click HERE for a larger image of this wall quilt. (It is 78" across the top of the quilt.) It was made for Flora's nephew (Dustin Jackson) who walked the entire trail from June through December of 2007. [This will be his 2008 Christmas present, so if you know him, DON'T TELL HIM.] The photos were ones actually taken by Dustin (whose wife, Becky, shared them with Flora), and they were printed onto photo-fabric paper and then appliqued onto the quilt through Flora's digitized, applique-shaped letter designs. The CENTER photo was made by Dustin after he positioned his camera and then dashed out to the edge of the cliff before the camera automatically clicked! (Click HERE to see that actual photo.) Yikes! The state shapes in the right panel were individually digitized and then appliqued onto the quilt. Click HERE to see a close-up of some states, and HERE to see the top "shoe," and HERE for the bottom shoe. So far, this has been Flora's GREATEST CHALLENGE regarding desigining / digitizing / embroidering, but it was GREAT FUN! [There are no printed instructions for the appliqued states or letters in this wall hanging, but Flora's complimentary digitized designs are available HERE.] . |
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Flora's "JOY Family" Wall Quilt
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Flora's "CROWE Family" Wall Quilt As the photos were scanned for the various collages, they were printed onto photo fabric in SEPIA tones--to make the photos look "aged." Many of the original photos were in black and white, so "color" wasn't an option anyway! This was GREAT FUN! |
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Flora's "Modern" American Gothic Wall Quilt Click HERE to see a larger picture of this "modern" American Gothic wall quilt. The couple in the "modern" quilt are Flora and Henry's niece (Ryann Gibson Aken) and her husband (K.C.). Flora designed this pattern by scanning an image of the original painting, then she prepared pattern pieces for each of the painting's separate fabric pieces. The instructions include an easy method for using fusible web for this wall quilt. If you are interested in receiving a pattern kit for making this wall quilt, make a request through Flora at: florajoy@comcast.net. The pattern kit is free. You will need to pay only shipping/handling. Click HERE to see another wall quilt made from the same design (for a different niece/nephew, Wendy and Brian Crowe). |
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Flora's "Modern" Mona Lisa Wall Quilt Click here to see a larger image of this "modern" Mona Lisa wall quilt. (Niece Brooke Burleson is the "modern" Lisa.) Click here for Flora's instructions to prepare this wall quilt. Click here to see an image of the “original” Mona Lisa. Click here for fabric FACE to alter (in a program like PhotoShop). Click here for SLEEVE guides. Click here for fabric HANDS to print. |
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Flora's Wedding Wall Quilt Click HERE for a larger image of the design at the left. This was a wedding present for Flora's niece (Kendra Crowe McPherson) in 2004. The design begins with a photo (printed onto photo fabric) and appliqued onto a larger design. These borders continue as desired. Click HERE for complete instructions for how to make this wall quilt for one of YOUR special family members. |
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Flora's "Button Memory Pillow" Click HERE for a larger image of the pillow shown at the left. YOU can also make a pillow that keeps alive the memory of a beloved relative! Simply scan an image for the center, and print it onto photo fabric. Surround the photo with decorative stitching and "memories" of the relative. The buttons shown on this pillow were actually those left from Henry's great aunt, Lena Bolton, who was born in the 1880s. |
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Flora's Full Bed Quilt for her MOM Click HERE to see a larger view. For her mom's 90th birthday Flora made a special quilt. The initial "C" stands for her mom's last name (Irene CROWE). Each "star" stands for a MILLION stars that will be in her WONDERFUL mom's crown when she reaches the Pearly Gates!! Click HERE to see just the letter "C" and the surrounding stippling. Click HERE to see Flora's mom receiving this quilt on her 90th birthday. This quilt design is called "Attic Window," and it is EASY to do. The Internet offers various instructions, and you can put anything in the "window" that you want. All of these stars are machine appliqued (as was the letter C and its surroundings). |
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Flora's SHOE SACK (made from quilted embroidery squares) Click HERE to see a larger view of the shoe sack shown at the right. This was Flora's response to the 2007 challenge of the Blue Ridge Quilt Guild. (The two criteria were: to have at least ONE nine-patch in the quilt, and to have some yellow.) The embroidered "shoes" are from the purchased design pack, "Endearing Embroidery Designs," by Sue Box. Four different shoe designs were pulled into the computer, and a duplicate MIRROR image was made of each (thus, four different "pairs" of shoes). A rectangle was drawn around each shoe (as large as would stitch in the oval hoop), and the background quilting effect was programmed in. [This was the FILL STITCH "Heirloom 719" in the Bernina Embroidery Software, and the row spacing was reset to .40.] CAP STIFFENER was used to thicken each of the pockets. The yellow binding was then blanket stitched at the edges. [Forgive the poor quality of the photo--the sack "curved" and puckered the designs. Sorry!] The purpose of posting this Shoe Sack on this Web site is to encourage all of YOU to take several of your sample embroidered squares and put them into a usable project. The first few of these squares were actually just "samples" and experimentation with the newly-purchased designs. |
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Flora's "NO SMOKING" Cat Wall Quilt Click HERE for a larger view of the image at the left. This was made from two Jinny Byer fat quarters and an image printed onto photo fabric. The cat belongs to sister/brother-in-law (Terry and Robin Cox) whose cat, Tigg, loves to play with Q-Tips. They shot this photo of Tigg while on the sofa playing with the Q-Tips. Click HERE to see Tigg actually viewing the wall quilt after it was hung. |
| The above are Flora's ORIGINAL creations. The following four are from the (sometimes modified) designs or patterns of others. | |
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Flora's "Belle" (Dog) Wall Quilt--from an episode of Simply Quilts Click HERE for a larger view of the image at the left. This design was modified from the one provided on Simply Quilts, Episode 934, entitled "Dog Days of Quilting." Note: This complimentary design and instructions are STILL available online. Google "Simply Quilts"+"Dog Days" to find the site, then link to "Dog Days of Quilting" to find the information and pattern to print for your files. Flora modified this pattern in many ways--one of which was to add the dog's NAME at the top with appliqued letters--using fusible web and the blanket stitch to hold them--AND the dog pieces--in place. It was GREAT FUN! |
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Flora's GRAND PIANO Wall Quilt--from a past issue of Fabric Trends Click HERE for a larger view of the image at the left. This design was shown in the Fall 2004 issue of Fabric Trends, pp. 62-63. The kit and pattern were no longer available, so Flora sketched out something similar to what was shown and made the quilt from there. |
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Flora's Wall Quilts from McKenna Ryann's patterns Click HERE to see a larger view of the TOP design, and HERE for the BOTTOM design. Both are from the famous designer, McKenna Ryann (who has a multitude of beautiful quilt patterns available for purchase, and they all are described on her Web site). The top design is entitled "All-a-Loon in the Mist" (held by good friends Jim and Brenda Wilson) and the bottom is "Bruschetta & Vino Rosso" (held by wonderful friends Harold and Nancy Dishner). Gifts such as these are not only great fun to make, but they are also quite challenging because of the very small individual pieces. The collage of pieces use double-sided fusible web to adhere to the quilt. |
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| Flora's fun with Bernina's Cap Hoop! | |
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Click HERE for Flora's Complimentary "Reverse" Mitering Tool Instructions. |
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Flora's ORIGINAL DESIGNS: More COMPLIMENTARY Gifts for YOU! You will need an embroidery machine. Complimentary designs are provided for Artista software (.ART files), versions 4.0 and 5.0. |
Information about Flora's ORIGINAL Complimentary "Make-It-in-the-HOOP" Embroidery Projects: The first three items below are different versions of Flora's original PARTY PURSES. These purses can hold "the basics" and can look dashing at parties (or can be worn for convenience at casual events). Let your EMBROIDERY MACHINE do the work for you, and achieve AMAZING results with practically NO additional regular sewing (1-5 minutes). Use formal fabrics OR select cute, novelty prints for these projects. These are following by other purse/tote ideas. The bottom design is for kitchen coasters--a GREAT GIFT for anyone! All of these can be made within MINUTES, and you can complete a STACK of gifts in one day. EnJOY! |
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Flora's "No-thread-change, Only ONE-HOOPING, Finish-in-less-than-an-hour" PARTY PURSES (with MEGA hoop) Click HERE for a larger version of the sample purse shown at the left. For a small, elegant party purse that uses only ONE hooping (etc.), click HERE for a zipped file of complimentary instructions and designs for use with a Bernina MEGA HOOP--.ART files (versions 4.0 or 5.0). |
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Flora's PARTY PURSES (Two hoopings--in a Large Oval Hoop) Click HERE to see a larger image of this party purse, click HERE to see TWO different ones (with the same fabric), click HERE to see SIX different ones, and click HERE to see SIX additional ones. Click HERE for complete INSTRUCTIONS and EMBROIDERY DESIGNS for making the party purse shown at the left. |
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Flora's CAT PURSES (Three hoopings--in a Large Oval Hoop) |
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Flora's PURSE OVERLAY (For the Large Oval Hoop) Click HERE to see a larger version of the image at the left. This is a way to take a PLAIN purse and button on overlays to match your outfit. Click HERE for instructions to prepare this purse overlay. Click HERE for the complimentary embroidery design (in versions 4 and 5) for the Bernina software. |
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Flora's "Sane Patch" (not Crazy Patch) Party Purse--WITHOUT Machine Embroidery Click HERE for a larger view of the purse shown at the left. This is for sewers who DON'T have an embroidery module (or who don't WANT to embroidery). This pattern is adapted from Clover's "Sew Sweet Satchel"--and it is designed to be EVEN EASIER than the already-easy instructions provided by Clover. Click HERE for Flora's modified instructions of this design. |
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Flora's Creative Book Tote (with Book Jacket and Book Title) Click HERE for a larger view. A recent book was written about the life of the founder of Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, entitled If You Like Us, Talk About Us. This is a tote bag with a fabric scan of Robert Porterfield and stitched book title. Click HERE to see the actual book cover. |
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Flora's Sample Purse from a Placemat Click HERE for a larger view. Only recently the rage was making purses from placemats. Well, that can STILL happen. Just continue looking for gorgeous placemats, and open your creative brain. The SKY is the limit regarding how wonderful these CAN be. (Be careful to prepare the HANDLE so it is firmly attached! It can be embarrassing to later learn that the handle "broke" because it wasn't stitched securely enough!) |
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Flora's COASTERS (in a Medium Hoop) Click HERE to see a photo of five of Flora's STIPPLED COASTER samples (including the one shown at the left). Click HERE to see a photo of Flora's UT and ETSU COASTERS. Click HERE to see a photo of Flora's MONOGRAMMED COASTER samples. Click HERE for complete INSTRUCTIONS and EMBROIDERY DESIGNS for several coaster letters, for the Bernina Embroidery Software, versions 3, 4, and 5. Click HERE to see a sample HOOP SAVER. |
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This section shows Flora's FABRIC FUN with "Cake Decorating" In one of Flora's "earlier lives," she enjoyed decorating cakes. Her love of FABRICS has taken her early passion of cake decorating into new territory. Enjoy the samples below! |
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Flora's FAKE CAKE for FABRIC Artists Click HERE to see a larger image of the "fake cake" shown at the left. Click HERE for the brief (easy) instructions to make a similar "fake cake." |
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Flora's DIAPER CAKE for FABRIC Artists Click HERE to see a larger image of the cake at the left. This "cake" is made completely out of DIAPERS and other fabrics/decorations, and it was given as a gift to Flora's great niece, MERCY CROWE, on her birthday on December 10, 2004. This diaper cake is not one of Flora's original ideas--her inspiration came from the book, Treasures for Baby, by Ellie Joos (pages 14-16). You may modify Joos' design in any way that suits your own needs. |
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| Flora's CONTINUED FUN and Creative Uses of Embroidery Digitizing and Designing Since the purchase of her last Bernina sewing machine (her first machine that actually embroidered), Flora has stitched well over a THOUSAND designs and has made HUNDREDS of presents to give to her friends and family. Below are a selected few. E-mail her if you have any questions about them. No images are shown in the LEFT column, but FULL images are available by clicking onto their links. |
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Click HERE to see GRADUATION STOLES for the ETSU Roan Scholars during the years that Dr. Nancy Dishner was one of ETSU's VIPs. Click HERE to see BANDANAS worn by the volunteers at the National Storytelling Festival (in the early 2000s). Click HERE to see HAND TOWELS with the full name of the recipient. (Claire is the WONDERFUL and FABULOUS president of Parents' Choice!) Click HERE to see BATH TOWELS with only the first initials of the bride and groom. Click HERE and HERE to see creative barbeque APRONS for two wonderful and dear friends! (See if YOU can figure out who they are!) Click HERE to see a T-SHIRT creative for a much-loved actor at Barter Theatre, FRANK GREEN. (Can you tell that the Joys LOVE Barter Theatre???) The "Barter Green," by the way, originally referred to a "green" area on the Barter campus. Frank's "face" was digitized using PHOTOSNAP. CREATIVE PILLOWS: Click HERE for a pillow that uses an image printed on photo fabric. Click HERE for a pillow made of interesting embroidery designs--and HERE for the SAME PILLOW in a different color. |
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| As you can see, folks, this could go ON AND ON AND ON.... Thank you for your time in viewing this Web page. If you have any questions or comments about these projects, feel free to e-mail Flora. |
