play mat in progress

I have had an idea in my head for awhile now for a play mat for my baby grandson.   It looked like a good idea...when it was in my head!

I must admit ....it is a lot more work than I had anticipated.....of course that is usually what I find! Guess I don't start out with realistic expectations sometimes.

Anyway, it started with lots of sketching of ideas...

My thought was to have a kind of "peek-a-boo" mat,  where there was a picture hidden under the leaves on trees and behind rocks and grass.

 So.....first step was to create the backdrop.....a sky, a hill, a pond and a tree trunk.

I sandwiched a layer of batting and some flannelette backing and did some quick FMQ.  Some little waves in the pond, clouds in the sky and grass in the hilly parts.

So far so good!!

Then on to the added features... a smiling sun.. and a few little creatures.

I used lightweight fusible fleece on the fabric before cutting out the little creatures, and the sun, airplane etc.  For the small details like the bird wings, and eyes I used fusible interfacing then a zigzag stitch to hold them.

Then on to the tricky part. Each of these little creations had to be appliqued onto the background!  I used a zigzag stitch to applique them in place, which meant a lot of rotating the quilt around and around!  Fortunately it is a small quilt!  The "Berenstein Bears" saying kept running through my head...."And this is what you should not do !!!!"

But I did get them all attached.

And then added the covering leaves, cloud etc.

So when you peek under each leaf...there is a surprise...

under the cloud....an airplane!

A bunny hiding in the bushes..

In the pond ,

 a surprise under the water lily!

I am not sure that this was really worth all the effort..but it is almost finished , and that is what he is getting for Christmas!! I just have to add the binding.

Linking up to TN&TN .  Hope everyone else is have a good week!