Summer Wall Hanging Finished--Fourth Finish of 1st Quarter 2021

Detail of hand embroidery

Originally, I had planned to complete this project as a pillow. When I would get the materials out to complete the pillow, it didn't feel right. I decided to make it into a wall hanging. That decision felt right. Last month, I finished the hand embroidery for the pillow that wanted to be a wall hanging. I also completed the machine quilting. 

Clamshell marking

I'm glad that I listened to what it wanted! I added a border using blocks from my "parts department." The parts department is a box that holds leftover bits from past projects. There are a lot of HSTs in that box. I need to consult this box more often to use parts!

For the hand embroidery, I lightly penciled the word, "Summer" under the machine embroidery. I used three strands of floss to form the whipped backstitch. In the detail photo, you can see the dimension adding the thread to the backstitch created . I learned this stitch from Mary Corbet over at Needle and Thread. She has lots of tutorials of which the whipped backstitch is one.

Detail of the background quilting

After I had the top together, I added a clam shell quilting design in the background. I used the medium sized stencil from Cindy Needham's Ultimate Stencil Collection. For marking on light fabrics, I use a blue ink wash out marker. Unfortunately, it was dry. 

I tried a yellow Crayola wash out marker. It was too light for me to see. I tried a green marker. It was easy to see. I was concerned about the Crayola marker washing out; but, if it stayed, perhaps, it could be part of the design. I remember purchasing the blue washout marker just before the pandemic began. I purchased the Crayola markers more than five years ago! I found it interesting that the Crayola markers had plenty of ink after all that time!

Although I planned to leave a space around the design, I did mark with the stencil into the design to ensure that leaving a space between the embroidery and the background was the choice I had in mind.

Label

I used a cream cotton thread and stitched in the ditch of every seam and around the embroidery designs. As I stitched, it became clear that leaving a little space between the embroidery and the clamshell background was a good idea. I quilted a second line about a quarter of an inch outside of the embroideries to complete the space.

Using a yellow silk thread, I stitched the clamshell design. I used a cream cotton thread and stitched the background of the embroiders. I also stitched a couple of places in the flower to give the embroiders a little dimension. One place I stitched was around the brown center and another place I stitched was down the center of the leaves.

Once I had completed the quilting, I soaked the piece in cold water watching to see if the green marks would disappear. It took time. . .like half an hour; but, all of the

Back

marks did wash away. I used a Shout Color Catcher and the color catcher did capture the green color from the markers. I did use a little Dawn detergent in the process. I will use Crayola markers again to mark a quilt top. Although, I will test first to be sure the markers will completely wash away.

After the piece dried, I added the yellow binding. This is the same bias tape that I used to embellish the project. It came from my grandmother's sewing supplies. It finished at one quarter of an inch! I did hand stitch it in place. I'm glad I used the bias tape because it adds an element of interest to the project.

The label came from my stash too. I used an 80/20 batting as stabilizer for my embroidery. It worked well and I would do that again. I put the entire project on a leftover piece of wool batting. I like the texture that two layers of batting provide.  I'm glad it talked me out of being a pillow. I like it much better as a wall hanging.

It measurers about 12 inches square. I used about half a yard of fabric to construct the project. All the supplies for this project came from stash. All of the fabrics are scraps from other projects. I'm linking to Oh Scrap/Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework. 

Front

I have now used -3.5 yards of fabric from my stash this year. (Last weekend, I purchased a couple yards of grey fabric which I hope will become sashing in my temperature quilt. The temperature quilt, however, is a story for another post!)  This project is my fourth finish this year. It was number ten on my first quarter finish list. 

It is also a book club quilt. I was inspired to make a bridal bouquet after reading the novel, "Vinegar Girl" by Anne Tyler. It is a quick read. The hour glass blocks in the outer border represent the time factor in the story.

Regarding COVID:

Worldwide: 116M cases; 2.59M deaths

United States: 29M cases; 524K deaths

Oregon: 157K cases; 2,303 deaths

The number of cases and the number of deaths continues to drop in areas where mask wearing and social distancing protocols are followed. In many places, it is still challenging to get on the list to receive a vaccine. Vaccines are going into arms. Some states have relaxed mask wearing guidelines. Those states are seeing a rise in cases. Oregon isn't one of those states. This week, the Oregon governor  mandated that grades K-5 to be back to school by March 29, 2021.