Well, I've officially gotten started on the Beyond the Cherry Trees Quilt, you could say...
Yesterday I completed the block and I'm on a roll now!
It'a bit wonky in spots, but that's ok, I'm just beginning to get the hang of things, and I'm looking at this quilt as my "learning quilt" , the quilt that will help me learn about applique. I have one or two pieced quilts made many moons ago, and looking at them always reminds me of how far I've come and what I still need and want to learn. I find that very valuable, especially now that I'm focusing on "the process" of quilting....
For this block I pre-basted the leaves, and glued them to the background. Very handy, easy to transport, and makes stitching them down quite easy. When the stitching was done, it took not even 15 minutes or so to soak the Roxannes' glue out. Nice.
Oh and, I'm not pre-washing my fabrics, and the reds held beautifully! Phew!
Today was also "The Wedding" as the media called it, and while Prins William and (now) Princess Katherine were getting married, I got started BTCT's Block #1.
I must admit, I'm still a bit scattered, and need to find a rhythm of working a bit more efficiently, but I guess that will come eventually too....
I've pinned down the pieces because we are having beautiful sunny weather here, and since doors and windows are open, I didn't want my bits wafting off under couch and table...as it was, Darwin ran off with the toilet paper roll with my stems on it, with the intention of offering it as a gift to a friend who popped over. Usually it's a bone, or toy of some sort, but they had been left the garden.....silly dog!
So tonight the leaves and buds will be pre-beaste, I'll continue making the flowers, and the glue everything down, and get to my favorite part, the stitching...!
And lastly, Sharon asked me to show which fabrics I was using...
These are the base line colors from which I'll work. Mostly Moda Bells solids in a few different greens and solids from Modas' Maison Garance and Petite Ecole collection. If and when I do add prints, they'll be bits from my stash.....
Since I've never made an applique quilt before, and so never a red and green one, I thought to stick close to the original. I fell in love with the fresh colors of the quilt, and all it's faded bits. I've never really made a quilt from solid fabrics, so this is a new something for me. A good new something!
There's something to be said for the knowledge gained from "copying" or closely following an original.
Let's see how long I can keep that up!
Enjoy your weekend,
