Leaves Leaves Leaves

I love the fall of the year, things cool off and I can start hand quilting again.  During the summer I enjoy doing my applique and piecing on the machine. This week I started block number twelve of Baltimore Garden. I am hoping to get a little more than half way thru with them, so that next summer I can finish the rest of the blocks.

 This is the beginning of a tulip block. I love using the method that leaves the freezer paper on top, although I have found that basting them down does help. I tried just using pins but the thread gets caught on them and things can still shift a bit.

I hope to get the rest of these stitched on today. As usual I will be stopping in over at Kathy's blog to see what others are slow stitching today.

Block 11

This is one of my favorite blocks so far!  The vase was really fun to do!  I have already printed out block twelve which is a tulip block. I can't blieve the summer is almost gone and I have finished up almost half of the blocks needed for this quilt. But, I am also looking forward to a hand quilting project when the cooler fall air arrives.  

Prioritizing!

A few weeks ago, I felt a little frustrated with my quilting. Working on Baltimore Garden is very intense, and sometimes it seems that a block can take for ever. Maybe it is just the process of applique. There is so much prep work, and then you finally start stitching and somedays you look at the block and wonder if everything will come together.  I also started putting together another quilt top and as I have mentioned before, piecing is not my favorite part of quilting. So I took a few days away from sewing and set some goals and have made some progress.
One of things I did was mark and sandwich my fall quilting project , my traditional red and green quilt . Too warm out to feel like starting the hand quilting process, it gave me incentive to get a top finished up and to start block number 11 for Baltimore Garden. I have the vase and most leaves and stems done but I still a lot of pieces to add as you can tell by the picture.

So today, I am going to continue the progress and do some slow stitching and get closer to finishing block 11.  My goal was to finish half of the Baltimore Garden blocks this summer, and now it looks like if I just enjoy at least one or two more blocks I will be on target.  Of course, I also get a lot of inspiration from Kathy's Slow Stitching Sundays. It is always good  take a break and see what others are slow stitching.

Wordless Wednesday!

Block ten complete!

Trapunto Complete!

I completed the trapunto on Amish Ice Cream Social! I am so glad that I over came my fear of trying this technique. But, since I had put all the work into hand quilting these four feathered wreaths, I did think they needed to be appreciated. It really made such a difference in even knowing that they were there. I use yarn and a darning needle to fill the feathers from the back of the quilt. My only concern was the holes that were created by the large needle. I kept reminding myself that since I was using a darning needle it was not harming the strands but spreading them apart. So I plugged along, hoping I had not damaged a quilt that had taken a lot of hours to make. So last night, I threw it in the wash and was so pleased as there is not a trace of where the needle had made holes as I pulled the yarn thru the fabric!

Happy thoughts!

I have really enjoyed linking up with Kathy on her Slow Stitching Sunday's. Her focus today was on being happy. So as I stitch today, I took her advice and thought about the things that make me happy.
I know that quilting would have to be near the top of the list, but what is it exactly about quilting that makes me happy.
One of the first things that attracted me to making quilts was color.  I find myself making quilts that reflect my love for gardening also.
I also love history and  since I have started Baltimore Garden, I have thought a lot about the original maker of this beautiful quilt. What inspired her to design and stitch this quilt. Did she too love to garden? Then of course, I thought about why those that do hand work get so much enjoyment from pulling a needle and thread thru fabric? Not sure I can even answer some of my questions, but I do know that I enjoy the time I spend at my craft enjoying color, and creativity. So now back to my stitching, where there are no worries and only happiness!

Do we ever stop learning!

Block ten has been started!  I have decided to get a couple of the vase blocks taken care of before the summer ends.  They are a bit more time consuming, but I find them fun to stitch. This will be the second vase block I have done for this quilt, and you know what they say about third time's the  charm. So, for my third vase block I will attempt to actually weave basket reeds!

One of my favorite things about quilting is there are so many different techniques and ways to make a quilt, let alone endless patterns. There is always something to challenge me. So with the help of Tim Latimer's great tutorial and some inspiration from the Facebook Group Celebrate Hand Quilting. I have spent several hours today trying a technique called trapunto. There are several methods to achieve a trapunto look, but I am using the method that uses a large darning needle and yarn. As you see in the picture below it is hard to see the feathered wreath on my Amish Ice Cream Social quilt. So, I thought a little trapunto might spice it up.

There are four wreaths in the body of the quilt that cross over the intersections of the blocks. I spent about four hours today adding the trapunto to one wreath, but what a difference it makes! I want to submit this quilt to our local annual viewer's choice quilt show in September, so now I am committed to getting the other three done. At least I left myself plenty of time!

 

The final photo is a picture of the whole quilt with just one wreath completed so that you can see the difference that the trapunto makes.  I wish I had more time to add trapunto to the cable feather border, but I know I wouldn't get done in time for the show. But who knows, maybe someday, I 'll decide it needs to be done. I will take a few breaks today and head over to Kathy's blog to see what others are hand stitching this Sunday.

Friday Finish!

This block is A2 Mary Anns' Mum Garden. 

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Do you set goals for yourself? I find that setting goals helps me keep on track.  This summer my quilting goal was to finish at least twelve blocks and piece my pumpkin seed quilt. I am doing pretty well on my applique blocks, but I really need to get going on the pumpkin seed!