Thursday, December 16, 2010

New Bouquets







































Last weekends storm socked us in for a few days. But that was fine! The kids where up and took over the studio to stitch some Christmas gifts from the Sassaman stash. The timing was right because I had about a billion threads to bury while the sewing machine was occupied. I have been making a few new class samples for the 2012 teaching year and still working on the big salamander quilt. It is rare for me to work on several quilts at a time, but the balance seems to be working.

Above is the latest little broderie perse project for the Bountiful Bouquets workshop. The Jack-in-the-Pulpit are fussy cut from last years Sunshine & Shadow line, as is the central background. The border and the butterflies are from the new Garden Divas. I think the combination worked well.







































The Jack fabric had a black background, so when I cut out the characters, I kept about a sixteenth to an eighth inch of a black outline because I knew it would blend in with the black Sprigs fabric. All quilters know how hard it is to work with black on black because the details disappear, but in this case, it is just what I wanted to happen. The extra edge also allowed me to keep the whole shape intact and not eat into the design. The black finishing satin stitch also dissolves into the background nicely, too.







































Even the borders are appliqued, so the construction was pretty straight forward. I have chosen to simply follow the existing outlines for the quilting because the fabric is so graphic and pictorial.  As usual, I am using heavy 12 weight thread for quilting. It adds just a little frill to the edges, too. Perhaps it will get finished this weekend.

I hope you are all taking advantage of the season of good cheer! It is so easy to be overwhelmed with good intentions during the holidays. So remember that fondling fabric lowers stress and promotes positive thinking!

8 comments:

Linda Teufel said...

It's gorgeous! Snow is a wonderful thing when you have lots of work to do!

Martha Lorshbaugh said...

FABULOUS! I am looking forward to being snowed in during January to get some sewing done!
Have a happy Christmas!

Melissa P said...

Fondling fabric is the ultimate in stress reduction. And makes a fabric stash, especially one with Sassaman fabrics, great therapy.

The new piece has turned out so well!

LuLu said...

Howdy Jane,

You sure have been busy. This is beautiful - as usual. 'Hi' to all and have a Happy Holiday!

Peace,
Mary Lou H.
www.lulu-too-beaucoup.blogspot.com

Quilt Inspiration said...

These gorgeous fabrics lend themselves so well to your broderie perse quilts. Thanks also for showing the close-ups of the stitching... it looks great in the heavier thread !

Anne said...

Admiring that beautiful quilted bouquet was an enjoyable distraction for me! Stunning!

Elaine said...

Beautiful, beautiful work. I love the way you are taking flowers from other fabrics and using them. The colors are great.

Diane J. Evans said...

Gorgeous, Jane -- I love the way you use the fabric motifs to their most beautiful advantage.

Diane