Embroidering

Embroidering is a work of love. And pricked fingers.

I have completed the embroidery work on two of the four feature panels, I feel like this quilt is finally coming together. With any luck the Fall Quilt just might be finished while it is still autumn! Of course this will require dedication and determination and I severely lack those qualities.

For the feature panels I decided to use embroidery to bring out the features to make the basic shapes of the appliqués be more recognizable. While these two are fairly obvious what they are supposed to represent because of what they are, the other two panels may not be as easy to figure out. However, I am confident that once all four panels are done, the rest of the quilt will come together quite quickly. Now I suppose the only other question to ask myself is if I want to do any fancy scrollwork embroidery on the background of each of the feature panels or simply utilize the blank space for the quilting?

Simultaneous Projects

Working on multiple projects can be rewarding. It can also be mind boggling.

While on my break yesterday at work I started embroidering the feature panels. Free flowing embroidery is one of my favorite things to do as it adds a new level of dimension and texture to a quilt. Deciding on where lines should be flowing and color choosing are the only hard parts, but pushing the boundaries between reality and fantasy are part of the fun. I use the same approach when illustrating a children’s book or painting in that I will sometimes put shadows and highlights in places they wouldn’t normally occur. I’m not sure why I do this, I just like the look.

After getting home and reheating some delicious Chicken and Corn Chowder I made a few nights ago for dinner, I continued working on Block Thirteen of The Desperate Housewife’s Quilt. This block is taking a little longer than most in that there is a lot of hand stitching. Must be because Block Twelve went together so quickly! I should be finished with it tonight, assuming I don’t run into any obstacles.

Sometimes it is best to have multiple projects going on at the same time when there are tedious and repetitious tasks to perform. That way when you inevitably get bored, you can always switch to another one.

Fall Quilt

Seasons are funny things. Even though I know I won’t get my Fall Quilt done before autumn is over, I still am suddenly interested in working on it.

It has been nearly a year since I’ve even touched this thing, but figured I did enough blogging about it last year that I should probably start doing something with it this year. Apparently saying and doing really are two different things. Go figure. Anyway, with Fall here, and me no closer to figuring out a pattern for my Christmas Quilt, I decided to take the feature panels I’m making for the quilt to work and appliqué them on my lunch break. Of course, after I was about halfway through appliquéing the next panel (I’d already done two last year) I realized I was using the wrong thread. Oy. Now the dilemma of either leaving it be with the brown thread or going over it with black embroidery floss comes into play. I decided to simply move on with the current thread choice and make that decision later. However, I must admit, I really like the look of the larger, more obvious embroidery floss on the other two panels so I might just end up going over it anyway. There would be no reason to unpick all that stitching as it is keeping the appliqué in place and it’ll just get covered up anyway, right?

Well, as it turns out, upon further investigation, the thread was simply a dark brown and the one I’d used for the pumpkin appliqué was a medium brown and much thinner. My hand hit my head when I realized this, walked into the craft room, and lo and behold behind the Jelly Roll of Sandy Gervais Mix & Mingle was the dark brown thread in question. Figures. Apparently frantically throwing stuff into a bag in the morning when you are already late for work doesn’t always yield the best results. Still, my verdict is final. I’m simply going to go over the stitching in the darker color rather than pick it out. Especially after looking at how much more the stitching pops with the darker thread!

Fall Quilt: Started

With it almost being time to decorate for Christmas, I’m beginning work on my fall quilt. I know, I have impeccable timing.

The fact of the matter is that I’m a procrastinator. I know it and so do most of you. However, I finally started making cuts for the appliqué pieces that will be going on the four feature panels of the quilt. I’ve decided to keep the leaves all on one panel and add a burgundy mum to another. I love mums and they always come back in the autumn so I figured they should have a place on this quilt. That and there are already similar flowers in the same colors on some of the Mix & Mingle fabric I’m using for the bulk of the quilt.

Instead of using any patterns for the cuts I’m freehanding it all. I figure this way it’ll give the quilt that bit of whimsy that most of my baby blankets I’ve made have. Plus I’m going to be hand embroidering details onto the appliqués after I hand sew them onto the panels, which will really make them pop. I can’t wait to show you what they’ll look like when they’re done!