College Days - Blog Hop with Whims and Fancies

So thrilled to join Soma and a bunch of very talented blogger/designers in this blog hop dedicated to the theme College Days...

I shall call this post...Ode to a Backpack...or perhaps it should be Still Life in Green Canvas ??


Anyway, I am not a paper-piece pattern designer and am still in my infant stages of constructing them though Soma and Caroline have provided ample motivation with their Doctor Who blocks...I will finish them someday.

So I have chosen applique as my technique to share today.

First, a bit of background on my subject.  I tried to think of something that related to my college experience in a personal yet universal way.  You probably wouldn't want to put an elongated stretched out sock on a quilt block, for instance...but that does speak college to me as my then boyfriend (now husband) used to take me on dates using the coinage he saved in a sock...hence the "stretchy"...oh, the horror when he brought it in to the Ben and Jerry's to pay for our scoops.  Yes, he was, and actually still is very handsome which is why he is able to get away with such crazy things.  He is actually the source behind the block subject I did pick...

My college days army rucksack.  Hello beautiful friend...

I was a student at Purdue University (Go Boilers!!) in the early 90's.  I am fairly sure that student life was different then than it is now- not that we didn't have computers- I had a Fortran programming class my Freshman year- but  we went to computer labs on campus as most of us didn't have our own computers at home...and an IPAD would've had a totally different meaning...but I digress... 

We carried many 2-3 inch thick hardback textbooks to class.  For me, that meant a very heavy and full backpack carried around all day because I didn't have time to go back to the dorm (or in later years) my apartment between classes.  This was a big challenge for my small backpack which strained at it's seams and zipper.

In my sophomore year, I met a boy (as many girls do) who saw things differently and introduced me to many new things  :)  He came to class one day with a big green army rucksack and I fell instantly in love with the bag (oh-with him too...he's my husband now and we celebrated 20 years married this year).

Anyway, I made him take me to the army surplus store immediately after class so I could get one too, I was so afraid the secret would get out and they would run out of them!  I next personalized it with a pink shoestring to "drawstring" it closed...I felt the need to make it more feminine as I was one of just a couple girls in the engineering curriculum I was studying.  

Everything I could possibly stuff in this thing fit with ease...of course, we could go into much detail of the back pain I have now probably as a direct result...but let's not go there today, lol!!

I really remember this string being more pink...guess it may have faded with the years...

So, thanks for putting up with my long-winded description...here's my block design...

Still Life in Green Canvas

Here is what it looked like as I was in the middle of adding the thread details/embellishing to finish the raw edge fusible applique

And here is my completed 10 1/2 inch block (the one pictured is actually more like 12 inches as it hasn't been trimmed)...the background fabric is an Italian mathematics print from Moda's basicgrey.  It is many years old and o.o.p. sorry!!  I think this is a print I would have loved to buy yards and yards of!!

The block uses fusible applique with SoftFuse Premium fusible web (you can also find it here) and a machine outline stitch using upholstery thread around the edges and added details.  I also did a bit of hand embroidery using a black floss and used a pink floss to replicate my shoestring.  I like the minimalistic look but there are more details in the pattern to use it as an embroidery pattern or add more detail to the applique if you would like.
To use the pattern, the pieces are labeled individually and reversed to allow you to trace onto paper backed fusible web.  There is a placement diagram to assist placement with fusing.  You can use a light pad or a window to trace the shapes. 
If you want a more detailed instruction on how to do this technique, Janine from Rainbow Hare did a great job in an earlier post for this Hop here.

***edited to add new link****
And here is one pdf file of the pattern and here are the pattern pieces reversed for tracing onto fusible, a big thanks to Soma for hosting my pattern :)


Thanks for dropping by today and be sure to visit all the others participating in this hop...

The Designers -
1. 07/01 Ruthie, Ruthie quilts! And quilts…
2. 07/02 Cyrill, Bubblestitch Quilts
3. 07/03 Alida, TweLoQ
4. 07/04 Michelle, misha29
5. 07/07 Cheryl, Meadow Mist Designs
6. 07/08 Alyce, Blossom Heart Quilts
7. 07/09 Janine, Rainbow Hare
8. 07/10 Soma, Whims And Fancies
9. 07/14 Sil, Whims And Fancies
10. 07/15 Janeen, Quilt Art Designs
11. 07/16 Amy, ButterflyAngels Quilt
12. 07/17 Susan, The Bored Zombie
13. 07/21 Sandy, Peek a Boo !
14. 07/22 Rumi, 3PatchCrafts
15. 07/23 Amanda, What The Bobbin
16. 07/24 Lynn, Thimblemouse & Spouse
17. 07/28 Gaya, Le borse di Gaya
18. 07/29 Jennifer, Sewhooked
19. 07/30 Kris, Krislovesfabric <---you are here
20. 07/31 Caroline, Trillium Design
Bonus blocks -
Lilja, liljabs
Esther, ipatchandquilt