Tea Room Quilt--post 2

Cord that I used to make "chain"

I've made progress on my "Tea" quilt project! Since my first post at the end of December, I cut more suede for the decorative scroll located on the cross bar. I used Elmer's glue to anchor the shapes. Next, I figured out what to use for the "chain" that connected the signage to the cross bar and supported the tea pot, cup and steam. I had picked up a chunk of cording from the guild free table some time ago. I decided the color could work if I used more black thread; but, the cord was too big. JoJo suggested using one section of the cord.

I unwound one of the cords. I then peeled off some black threads and some white threads. I remembered seeing a demonstration at my Bernina dealer about winding threads together to make a cord using the bobbin winder. I experimented and then I googled twisted cord. I found a YouTube video. It wasn't long before I had made my cord.

The practice grommet and the crimping tool

Once I had constructed the cord, I needed to make holes in the sign so I had a way to thread the cord. I thought about making eyelets and then I remembered that I had a box of grommets from my grandmother's stash. These were small.

Bird details

I've had these grommets for years. I've never tried to use them. I thought that I could use a pair of pliers that I used for applying snaps to a shirt. The end of the pliers was too wide to fit into the grommet. Luckily, my grandmother had saved the directions on how to apply the grommets along with the two tools needed.

Using the cutting tool with the hammer, I made the hole. Next, I inserted the grommet and crimped the the edge. I did make a practice one to ensure that it would fit in the quilt sandwich. I also made sure that the cord would fit in the hole.

It was scary to cut the holes. It was awesome to see the results! I was challenged with how to secure the cord because I neglected to consider how bulky a knot would be. I do have a couple knots; but, I found that stitching across the end worked great.

Steam, tea pot, cup in place

That tea pot needed embellishment because the light color was too close in value to the background fabric. I used a decorative yarn in that area that I couched in place by hand. I added some paint to the bird wings, tail and eye. I added a French knot for the bird eye. I embroidered legs and feet too.

Then, I tackled the shape behind the cup which represented steam. I pulled a few ivory ribbons, a piece of grey tulle and cut a piece of stabilizer the steam shape. I determined the grey tulle was too dark.

Detail of the cord

Detail of cup and team stream

I was contemplating an alternate process when I thought about a piece I had made to represent a waterfall for another project. I auditioned it and it worked. This piece has cotton fabrics, Angelina fibers and white tulle that I stitched with metallic and   cotton threads. I have enough left that I might still be able to use it for a waterfall. . .how crazy is that???

Pieced back

Once I had the various shapes in place on the background, I started appliquéing each. The tea pot, cup, tea, sign and tea pot top were needle turned. I used a small zigzag with monofilament thread to secure the steam in place. I left the raw edge.

After I had the top together, I auditioned the border. I had considered leaving the bottom of the quilt top borderless; but, it looked "naked" without a border so I added it. I built the fabrics for this top around the border fabric.

I had used this fabric in a previous project and I had a limited amount of pieces remaining. I liked the dark/light effect the pieces had. I did have to do a little piecing to make the border fit all the sides.

Finished top

Ready for quilting

I looked at the remaining chunks and pieced a back. I'm planning to finish the edge with a facing so I saved the green dot fabric I used for the saucer for that purpose. I also pulled a purple fabric to use as the sleeve.

Originally, I was going to use a layer of 80/20 batting and a thin layer of wool. When I pulled my wool batting scraps, I had a piece that was about the size of the top as well as a piece for the thin layer. I haven't tried a two layers of wool batting so I took this opportunity to see how it quilted.

I wanted the loft of the wool to make the bird stand out on the tea pot as well as the quilting to have more texture.

So far, I used grommets, made cording, made a double wool batting for firsts. I have about 28 hours of my time in this project. I'm thinking about how to quilt various sections; but, the project hasn't spoken loudly enough for me to hear what it wants yet. I do hope to finish it before our group meets for the reveal. If I don't finish, I at least hope to have most of the quilting completed!