Tea Quilt Is A Top--One Monthly Goal MET!!

Auditioning elements

The book, "For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History" by Sarah Rose, is about how Robert Fortune, a man of Scottish descent, stole the tea plants and turned the tea market from Chinese to English. It was interesting to read how Fortune did the stealing as well as how long it took him to do it!

Using the sliding glass door as a light box

To begin, I thought that I would draw a tea plant. I made some sketches; but, Gertie, my inner squirrel, encouraged me to come up with a design that I could finish sooner. For several weeks, I thought about all the miles the man walked, the ships he traveled as well as the ships the tea traveled. On a whim, I googled the Chinese translation for tea. I thought that the shapes were interesting. I enlarged the translation to fill an 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet of copy paper. I printed the design. I had a start!

Refining possibilities

Next, I searched my stash for a background fabric. Thanks to Gertie, it was a short search. She whispered in my ear about this blue fabric. I bought it at a stash bazaar sale at least seven years ago because of the woven Chinese shapes in the pattern, because it was blue and because it was a linen/cotton blend. I hadn't quilted with a linen/cotton blend. I placed my printed copy of the design on the fabric.

Looking at the combination, especially, considering the shapes as black fabric filled me with anticipation. Still, I needed something else; but, I didn't know what. A month went by, then another, I was stuck. Either I wasn't hearing Gertie's ideas or she was stuck too. I thought again about what Fortune would have seen in China. 

I took a trip to China about ten years ago. I thought about the landscape, the food and the marketplace. I remembered the silk brocade fabrics I brought home with me. For an earlier project, I had pieced some crazy blocks using those silks as well as some other silks in my stash. I pulled those blocks and arranged them around the blue background. 

Assembling the borders

Gertie liked one row of blocks as a border. I did too. Once we determined the one row border, I knew how large to cut the blue background. 

While I liked the arrangement, I needed the character to be larger. Using my embroidery software, I enlarged the character to a size I thought would allow for background quilting and for a border. I used freezer paper and traced the applique shapes. I fused the freezer paper to the wrong side of black fabric. For this project, I finger pressed the seam allowance for the applique using the freezer paper as a guide. Then I hand stitched a running stitch next to the edge of the freezer paper so that when I needle turned the applique pieces, the pieces would retain their shape and size.

To ensure that I had placed the applique pieces in the right place, I used my sliding glass door as a light box. I placed the paper template on the glass and added my fabric. To keep the applique pieces from shifting, I applied tiny dots of Elmer's school glue to the back of the pieces. It worked; but, the glue dried white which was visible on the black

Finished top

applique pieces! After I needle turned the pieces, I sprayed the applique with water and the glue disappeared.

Once the applique was finished, I assembled the borders and attached them. I did stabilize the silk before I cut out the pieces; but, it was still slippery! A finished top is wonderful! Even better, I finished my one monthly goal! (OMG) I am linking to Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal - October Finish Link-up

The reveal of projects for the book is Tuesday which is two days away. I've pieced a back, layered and pin basted the project. I've begun quilting; but, likely I won't be finished by the reveal which is okay. Our group has few rules and sharing a finished project isn't one of the rules! I'll share whatever the state that it is in!

I'm linking to Cynthia and Oh Scrap/Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework. 

Unity with its ribbons

Regarding COVID:

Worldwide: 243M cases; 4.94M deaths

United States: 45.4M cases; 736K deaths

Oregon: 358K cases; 4,284 deaths

The big news in the U.S. is that the FDA cleared Moderna as a booster and stated that one can mix vaccines. If you had Johnson and Johnson, you could get a Phizer or Moderna booster. I'll be going with whatever the hospital determines. 

Thursday, I attended my first big event---the Clark County Quilters Northwest Quiltfest quilt show-- since the pandemic. I arrived just as the show opened. I walked through the presentation of 350 quilts and 30 vendors quickly. There were beautiful and amazing quilts. 

Ribbon acknowledgement

I was shocked to find that my Tailings quilt won a third place ribbon. I was gob smacked that my Unity quilt won a first place ribbon, a best traditional quilt award and the president's choice award. I would have loved to have spent more time at the show. Once the aisles started filling with people, however, I felt uncomfortable so I left. I saw 350 quilts and 20 vendors in about an hour and 15 minutes.

Yesterday, my husband and I attended a Memorial Service for a dear friend of my father-in-law as well as a friend of my dad's. Jack did not die of COVID. His 97 year old heart wore out. Of the forty people crowded under a covered area at a state park that was a four hour drive from our home, five people wore masks. I was thankful the event was outside and that the service was short. I wore a mask.