Alice's Roses-

Back of quilt

Our Thread Tales book group read, "The Desert Queen" by Janet Wallach. It is the story of how Gertrude Bell influenced the Arab world. While reading a historical biography is dry and painful, Wallach is masterful at telling Bell's story. I appreciated being able to review how culture and history has shaped that portion of the world.

I'm not into camels; but before my car accident in 2009, I enjoyed gardening. Bell loved roses and developed a rose garden with stock from England. Growing roses was the inspiration for this piece. My friend, Alice, who was moving from the city to the coast, had a group of us over for breakfast one morning. She invited us to take anything that was laid about the house so she didn't have to pack it! 

Label detail

Alice was an avid gardener. Her roses were always beautiful. I always admired that she cultivated beautiful blooms in a climate that produced black spot, mildew and paltry blossoms on my roses. At her breakfast was a box of linens. Among the linens was a pink tea towel with a cross stitched Victorian style lady walking behind a picket fence as a decoration. I picked up the linens.

A week of so after our breakfast, I took a class from Cindy Needham. Cindy is the queen of turning old linens into special works of art. Using Cindy's stencils during class, I drew a design on the tea towel. Of course, I used a rose as the center of the design. I incorporated as many of Cindy's tips as I could in this small project. If you have the opportunity to take a class from Cindy do it. She is a fabulous instructor.

Project front

I used Hoffman's Radiance as the backing. Sadly, Hoffman no longer produces this beautiful fabric. To get the trapunto puff effect, I used two battings--Dream Request which is a thin batting and Hobbs wool batting which produced the loft.

I used metallic threads to quilt the outline of the rose. I quilted the background with silk thread in the needle and cotton thread in the bobbin. 

My oldest granddaughter loved this piece. Partly because she likes the color pink and partly becomes she liked the texture of the quilting. She would tell me that roses are too "prickly!" It is her finger that you see in the photos.

February and March blocks

I quilted this project on my 1630 Bermina in 2011. This is
the fourth book club project that I have documented this month. Documenting four book club projects was goal number two on my April list. If you want to read about the other three quilts, the link is connected to the following project titles: Grandmother's Flower Garden; Ouch and Crossroads.

I've written this before; but, it bears repeating. Belonging to this book club has pushed me outside my "box" when it comes to quilting techniques. I've read books that I wouldn't have considered and enjoyed them. Most of all, I have loved the discussions, activities and reveals that I have had with the group.

On another note, I did meet my goal to finish the blocks for February in the temperature quilt for 2022. I  exceeded my goal. I also finished the March blocks and I've kept up with the blocks for April! For this post, I'm including the photo of my February and March blocks. Next month, I'll write a post about my progress. Please check out the following link to see others who have met their April goals! Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal - April Finish Link-up