Hearts Content Thread box Contest

I am entering this mini in Le Challenge's PASSION theme :)  My passion is my family if my husband and kids weren't in Greece, I would not be here either, lol.  The country is beautiful but the only thing keeping me here is my family and after my family is sewing, so I sewed up a little picture frame of my family!
I made this during this last month for the Fat Quarter Shop Challenge, below is what I wrote.

The Fat Quarter Shop (FQS) Introduced the cutest boxes of Aurifil!  They are filled with 7 small spools of Aurifil and a mini charm pack, plus a free pattern!  I just love them, this one is the Heart's Content created to go with Edyta Sitar's fabric collection, I also ordered 2 extra half yards of Heart's Content and used some wool felt and embroidery thread that I purchased through Alison Glass.

A picture from my tablet and that I put on Instagram.

You see the FQS sent out a challenge: To enter our contest, all you need to do is to purchase the Heart's Content Thread Box, then use the mini charm pack and Aurifil thread to design your own quilt (or even mini quilt) with additional applique pieces. Your quilt should use at least one original applique shape that you have designed. The free heart stencil included in the thread box will not count.  (you can read the FQS blog post here) and (watch the video with Edyta and Kimberly on YouTube)

One of my New Year's resolutions was to learn and practice more Applique methods, plus I just happened to have gotten this fabulous book!  Alison Glass Applique, the essential guide to modern applique.

The Fat Quarter Shop also has some great YouTube videos about different types of Applique including several from Edyta and I just love her accent.  My first applique was the heart shaped one, given in the Aurifil box, I used fusible web and raw-edge appliqued it with a close together machine zigzag stitch, next time I will do the wider zig-zag stitch.

Next I created my own applique design, an Arrow, and I used the Reverse Applique method, but again using fusible web and then using embroidery thread to stitch around the arrow shape.

Then I decided to try my hand at turned-edge applique... again... the last time I did it it was miserable fail, but this time with the help of the book and watching a few videos, well let me show you a picture.

Aurifil 1103, included in the kit fit perfect with the wool felt color!

I made an adorable bunting, with my husbands last name, SAKKAS, I love his name, it's a Palindrome (go ahead hit the link and read what a Palindrome is, I know you want too, I will stay right here)

Palindrome is Greek, my husband is Greek, but sadly enough for the Greek women when they have a last name, they take the ending S off, so if I wanted to change my name to my husbands I would be Mara Sakka, my daughter is Katerina Sakka, but my son is Nikolaos Sakkas.  This last name gender difference is very helpful when you are trying to pick a doctor and you want a female or male, just look at the last name and you will know, I haven't found it useful for any other reason.
Okay so back to my bunting, do you see the left 2 pieces, well I did not follow Alison's guidelines about how to cut sharp outward points, I thought cutting that close to the point would mess it up, nope I really should have listened to the pro, cause you can see a real difference between when I did it my way and when I did it the correct way.

I really need to follow helpful directions.

Now let's combine those 3 applique items and guess what you have my very own Vintage Fabric frame.

I can see myself making one of these for each different season, this one reminds me of winter, I would love to use the Daysail Aurifil box for a Summer themed fabric frame.

I kind of made the family sign, it was a Paris print, why does everything have to be about Paris?

I bought a Meteora dishcloth (where we live) and cut and glued it onto the Family frame.

With out the standard 4x6 printed photograph the space looks like this.

Linking to Le Challenge