A few weeks ago the second block of Simply Blessed arrived in the post from Australia (I'd ordered this online from Under The Mulberry Tree after seeing this version made with Tilda fabrics and I simply couldn't resist it!) and I quickly set to work with the hand embroidery. This BOM includes all the Tilda fabrics needed to make each block, and includes the pre-printed linen, and the variegated Cosmo thread too. This embroidery thread (from the Cosmo seasons range) is absolutely beautiful to stitch with... ...I traced the outline of the template onto fusible appliqué paper, cut out the middle and fused the paper on to the back of the stitchery that I'd already completed a few days ago. Using a pair of "Perfect" scissors, (these are fantastic scissors, by Karen Kay Buckley) I then cut approx 1/4"inch away from the paper. Carefully clipping the curves, taking care not to clip into the paper, I then used a fabric glue stick to draw a line of glue around the outline and carefully folded the edges of the fabric over the edge of the paper. I've used a wooden skewer for this so I don't get glue on my fingers. I've used a neutral coloured YLI silk thread for the appliqué to secure the first layer into place... ...once all the layers of applique were completed, I added the borders that were cut from fabric that I received with Block 1 a few weeks ago, and added the corner stones.I used a Mettler fine embroidery thread for piecing the borders and corner stones... ...this is beginning to look really pretty. My youngest daughter has taken a fancy to this, as it really is "her colours" so maybe this one will end up in her bedroom when it's completed!
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Last year I bought a complete BOM from The Fat Quarters, called Scandinavian Rose, which is designed by Rosalie Quinlan. I had so many other projects to sew, this was put away, and then this summer at the Festival Of Quilts I bought several skeins of Cottage Garden Threads in a variegated red (this shade is called Hugs and Kisses) that I thought would be perfect for this project, so decided to get it started at long last!... ...the design was already printed onto handkerchief linen, so once a stabilizer was fused to the back, I was ready to start stitching. This design uses 3 embroidery stitches - back stitch, chain stitch and satin stitch. Plain red Cosmo embroidery thread shade 346 was used in the block too. I've completed the stitchery for block 1, and the next part of the project will be to collect together an assortment of red/white fabrics for the small squares (these will be strip-pieced together). Then I can make a start on the stitchery for block 2!
I was airing some quilts yesterday, and discovered that I had never actually made a label for the "Butterfly Garden" quilt that I made back in 2010. This quilt was a BOM designed by Leanne Beasley, and she had some great ideas for quilt labels in part 10, and included some stitchery designs for this purpose. I'd got a scrap of fabric left over from the border of the quilt (a pale green floral, by Lecien), traced the quilt label and added a few words - just the name of the quilt, my name, and the year it was completed. I embroidered this using 2 strands of DMC thread... ...once the embroidery was completed, I marked an outline of a square half an inch away form the stitched border with a Clover Hera marker, folded in the sides of the square, and gave it a good press. A square of steam-a-seam- lite was added to the back of the label and fused into place. Peeling off the backing paper, the label was carefully positioned into place, and fused to the back of the quilt. Finally, I stitched all around the edges of the label with a very fine silk neutral coloured thread. I wouldn't use a stitchery label for my "fast and fun" quilts, but it's the final flourish a special quilt like this one. Oh, and if you haven't seen them before, here's a slide show of all 9 blocks of the quilt, and finally the completed quilt too. Well I thought I'd try something different on my blog! Here's a slideshow, showing each completed block for "Down In The Garden" designed by Leanne Beasley. This was a 10 part BOM that I bought 4 years ago from an online quilt shop called Buttonberry, that has since closed down. There is a list of stockists pf Leanne's patterns on her website if you want to make one too. I initially started this quilt last summer, and it's been a real treat stitching these blocks. Once this has been quilted (it's going to J-Quilts soon for some custom work) I'll show some pictures of the finished quilt. As soon as Block 9 of "Down In The Garden" (designed by Leanne Beasley) was finished, I was really keen to get the blocks all stitched together, ready for the borders. The feature fabric used in the border is "Grandmothers Flower Garden" by Rosalie Quinlan, and the red/white spot will be used for the binding. I used a neutral coloured thread for piecing the blocks together, and used the same thread for sewing on the borders too.. ...a narrow cream border frames the blocks, then a wider border in the feature fabric is added, and finally another cream border. This feature fabric is used in the blocks, in the yellow and pink colourways, and here it is in green... ...and here's the completed quilt top, photographed in MY garden! It was quite blustery yesterday evening when I took these photographs, and this was the best picture I was able to take! I've decided to get this one custom-quilted by Janette as her work really is simply stunning. There are quite a few scraps left over from this project, and I have the perfect project in mind for using some of them up. I'll share pictures of that at the weekend.
Whoohoo!! Block 9 of "Down In The Garden" (designed by Leanne Beasley) is completed! This was bought as a BOM 4 years ago from an online quilting shop here in the UK (no longer trading unfortunately - I do miss those Buttonberry girls) and each moth a pattern arrived in the post, beautifully wrapped in tissue paper and tied with a ribbon. This block is made up of several mini-blocks and combines piecing and applique and stitchery. The churn dash blocks were all made when I stitched the first block, and these dresden plates were applqued next. I chose to stitch a Suffolk Puff in the centre as my own twist on the pattern (Leanne used a fussy cut circle but that just wasn't doing it for me!)... ...buckets of herbs were next and an appliqued heart was hand stitched into place and finally another pretty birdhouse, with embroidered vines and flowers. A skein of "Larkspur" variegated hand dyed "Cottage Garden Thread" was included with this BOM and it is absolutely gorgeous... ...and here it is - Block 9. The borders will be next, using some of the beautiful feature fabric "Grandmothers Flower Garden" by Rosalie Quinlan. That's next on my list of crafty projects, and I will share pictures of the completed quilt top at the weekend.
The final block of this quilt "Down In The Garden" (designed by Leanne Beasley) has been prepped and is ready for the hand stitchery. After sorting out the fabrics the stitchery designs were traced - I use a brown coloured Pigma Micron pen, and yes I'm LOVING my new lightbox!!... ...and then the mini blocks were pieced together, ready for stitchery and applique. This block has some lightweight fusible interfacing (I use Vilene H180) fused to the back to give it some "body" - and now I'm off to make a cuppa and settle down in a comfy chair with my new glasses and make a start.
For those of you who also follow my FB page, you'll know that I've been busy stitching early in the mornings, while I've been enjoying the peace and quiet before everyone starts to get up and get ready for work. Those early starts have been very relaxing, and very productive! The pattern allows for this block to be personalised with your name, and I can almost smell that bucket of mint... ...one of the mini-blocks is a fussy cut block using the feature fabric (Grandmother's Flower Garden, by Rosalie Quinlan), and a pair of blue birds are perched among the cherry blossom... ....this block features another watering can filled with hand-embroidered flowers and bright red butterflies are dancing among them. These were machined into place using raw-edge applique. Block 8 of "Down In The Garden" (designed by Leanne Beasley) is now complete, and I must admit I can't wait to make a start on Block 9 sometime over the weekend!!
Block 8 of "Down In The Garden" (designed by Leanne Beasley) was still in it's packet, and I was waiting for my new glasses before I made a start on it. Then I decided I really couldn't wait another week, so yesterday morning, bright and early, I sorted out the fabrics and cut up the pieces ready for the mini-blocks, and fussy cut the feature fabric... ...I'd got a busy day planned, so getting the fabrics cut to size was all I had time to do. This morning I've traced the designs onto the fabric, pieced the mini-blocks together, and ironed the fusible interfacing (I prefer to use Vilene H180) onto the back of the block... ...and now I'm ready to make a start - hand-stitchery is very relaxing (although I haven't yet felt the love of hand quilting!) and plan to spend the afternoon stitching while Mr F is busy playing cricket.
Block 7 of "Down In The Garden" (designed by Leanne Beasley) is completed, and I've only got 2 more blocks to stitch before the quilt top is ready for the borders. I spent a very rainy afternoon last Sunday curled up on the sofa with my daughters watching a film and made a start on the stitchery - actually if the film hadn't been so good, I probably would have finished this all in one day! The churn dash blocks had been made last summer when I first started this project... ...appliqued onto another mini-block is a pretty dresden plate with a Suffolk Puff centre, (made with a scrap of Lecien fabric from my stash), and finally a little bit more stitchery showing a beautiful bird house. There are 4 different bird houses on this quilt, and they all have pretty vines and flowers trailing around them... ...I can't believe I was able to finish stitching this block so quickly - it's amazing what you can accomplish in the early hours of the morning when you can't sleep! Anyway, here is the completed block. Now there are only 2 blocks left and then the borders to add to fish it off, then I need to decide on the quilting - whether to do it by hand or whether to take it to Janette, who does some wonderful custom quilting. I actually started this quilt last summer on 6th August 2013, and if I carry on stitching with a passion it looks like I just might have the quilt top pieced together by 6th August 2014.
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July 2023
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