Trapunto

Last Sunday I finished stitching down the binding on Baltimore Garden.  What a joy to finally see those edges bound.  It makes such a difference!  But the quilt is still not completed at this point.  From the beginning I wanted to add trapunto to this quilt.  It is an easy process and very appropriate to use on a reproduction quilt.  I use yarn as my filler and add it by working from the back of the quilt.  Tim over at Tim Quilts has a great video that shows how it is done.  It's important to use a dull pointed needle so the holes made are made by pushing the threads of the fabric apart and not piercing them.  The holes made will quickly disappear by running the needle over the threads, but I don't even bother doing that as I will wash the quilt when it is completely done and those threads will fall back in line than.  Here are some before and after pics of Amish Ice Cream Social to show you the difference it can make in a quilt.

Prior to trapunto

one wreath with trapunto

four wreaths with trapunto

After finishing the binding last weekend, I just had to sit for a bit and add some stuffing to Baltimore Garden.  I hope you can see in the pic below the difference it makes!

Left side has tranpunto right does not.

 So today as the rain falls I will join the other slow stitchers over at Slow Stitching Sundays.  Although my slow stitches will involve a darning needle and some yarn, they will still be relaxing.  Hopefully they will get me thru the Cowboys/Bears match up that will happen later today. A bittersweet game for me as I grew up near Chicago as a Bear fan but now I am in Texas where you really need to be a  Cowboy fan!

A fun filled week!

I am looking forward to my slow stitches today, as I will hopefully finish stitching the binding down on Baltimore Garden.  It has been a long week and  my anxiety levels were high, as I thought about trimming and squaring up a quilt that I have so much time vested in.  So much can go wrong with a rotary cutter in my hand !  But, I decided  to just take a deep breath and measure carefully.  I guess the care I took squaring up blocks and the border while assembling the quilt paid off.  I had very little to trim off of the top and loved how it looked once I gave it that much needed haircut.  Over the hump, now to just enjoy the binding process.  I know many quilters don't like binding but I love doing the math to figure out what size square I need to make the binding.  Cutting the bias binding, pressing the seams open, pressing it in half and then stitching it to the quilt top. It makes such a difference to finally see your quilt bound.  What's not to like?

Moving along, I  have been wanting a table topper to go on the kitchen table since we moved this summer.  I finally decided after seeing Cathy over Sane, Crazy,Crumby Quilting working on her triangle star blocks that I thought that block would be perfect for my table. I think the vibrant colors Cathy is using in her blocks are probably better suited to showing off this block, but the fabrics I chose really look nice in my kitchen.  The plaid and muted cream fabric don't have as much contrast as I usually use, but they really worked well in my kitchen.  I pulled out some black solid for the background as I believe that every room needs a touch of black.  Ok the truth is  I am obsessed with black painted furniture. I am still trying to figure out how to break the news to my husband I plan on painting our oak chairs.  Anyway back to the table topper,  I was really surprised at how well it went together.  Of course my seams are not all perfect, I say they are just right.  I have it layered and basted and started hand quilting it.  Maybe, I can sneak in a few more stitches today.

While I was downloading these photos for the blog, I kind of chuckled at the difference of these two projects. The possibilities are endless and I guess that keeps us moving from one project to the next!

More Slow Stitches

It was a great week here.  I finished the hand quilting on the border of Baltimore Garden.  A bittersweet moment.  I do love finishes, so I must move forward.  I discovered I didn't have enough red fabric left to make the binding so I placed an order for more.  So while I wait for that to arrive, I decided to work on the label. Today I will add some embroidery stitches to my label.  I an using prescentia 16 perle cotton that I had left over from another project.  The label will pay homage to the original quilt, to Barbara Burnham for her wonderful pattern and then to myself as the maker of this quilt.

Next I will begin the  trapunto process.  If you have never added trapunto to a piece you really should try it sometime. It is quite easy to do.  I  use my mother's old darning needle. It is a large needle with a large eye so I can thread the yarn quite easily.  I work from the back side of the quilt and add just enough yarn to each area that I want to trapumto, until I feel it looks the way I want. I love the thought of using a needle that my mom used for so many years to darn socks. The process is very relaxing much like hand quilting. I am linking up with Kathy's Quilts to share and see what others are slow stitching today!

It's all down hill from here

Well I turned the final corner on Wednesday as I finished the third border and started to head down the last one.  My hoop in the corner of the breakfast nook seemed to keep calling to me.  As I stitched, I thought yes this is the real reason you were hesitate to stitching.  I knew it wouldn't  take me long and I would be wishing that the chores around the house didn't need to be done.  Maybe the best word to use is: addiction.  Just one more line of stitches. Oh I have four needles threaded I will stop when I need to rethread.  I get into such a rhythm that I don't want to stop. Then I realize the end to this project is getting closer and closer. NO, please don't end!!!!!    So, I have decided to concentrate on those ragged edges.  Do you get sick of seeing them?  I know I can't wait to slice them off!

Since it's a holiday weekend, I put the hoop in the sewing room so I wouldn't be tempted to stitch. Now that we live closer to family, it's important to make some family time.  Saturday was spent looking at homes with my son and daughter in law.  They have a big decision ahead of them, so glad it is their's and not mine. But I did find a bit of time to pull out some clamshells I played with about a year ago.  So I worked on making a few more, soon I hope to have enough for a table mat.  Having another project to look forward to should help with dealing to end of Baltimore Garden.