Quilting Rue--post 3 of 4

Fill stitch I didn't like nor did Rue!

In my mind, I envisioned quilting different fill stitches in the hand stitched hexagons. I stitched one and thought. . .yuk! Rue started talking to me. So I asked myself what if I quilted pebbles in the center hexagon? I tried quilting pebbles. I liked that better as did Rue!

Quilted centers

As I pebbled the centers; I decided that I would pebble the background too. I wasn't sure if the larger hexagons would need some more stitching.

Hand stitched hexagons with fill stitches

After I had quilted a number of the centers, I stopped, stepped back and reviewed. I liked what I saw so I continued stitching. When I finished, I decided that the extra large and large hand stitched hexagons needed quilting.

Coming up with a variety of fills and then executing each fill stitch was a challenge. I stitched and then I unstitched and then I repeated that process numerous times!

I liked the openness of leaving the small and extra small hand stitched hexagons plain so I didn't embellish those with thread. I liked using the Westalee templates to create the fills. The practice was good for me.

Stitching the background pebbles

I wasn't excited about stitching more pebbles as I'm still "pebbled out" after finishing the chickens. Repetition is good in a quilting design so I decided that pebbles were a good choice. I talked myself into the stitching. I spent some afternoons, some early mornings and some late nights stitching pebbles.

I used the same 40wt polyester thread in both the top and bottom. Yes, this is an unusual step for me. I had planned to use silk; but, I wasn't that happy with the tension of the silk on the batik fabric on either the front or the back of the project.

Because a batik has a tighter weave, thread has a tendency to float on top of the fabric. The lighter the thread, the more it tends to float.

I wanted to be able to see some definition with the stitches and the 40wt polyester gave me what I wanted so that was why I used it.

Blocked and drying

Once the pebbling was complete it was on to the blocking stage. I needed to wet the quilt because I had used water soluble thread to anchor the polyester batting in place for the trapunto of the fabric hexagons. The thread dissolved easily. In the photo above you can see that I pieced the batting. Once I've finished the project; the pieced batting isn't noticeable. Piecing the batting is a good way to use up smaller pieces of batting.

In the next post, I'll share the finish steps. . .although, when the piecing is blocked and drying, I'm feeling terrific to have another project approaching the sleeve and label stage!

Quilting Rue--post 2 of 4

Rue as an almost finished top

The embroidered hexagons that I added to the background only took me about 20 hours to complete. I like the whimsy the stitches add to the piece. It took strength to pull the thread through the fabric and my fingers became sore. I'm glad that I didn't try this technique with three layers!

In the end, it was worth the effort! Plus, I'm thinking that I will add pebbles between the hexagons so at least I have another quilting plan beyond stitching around all the appliqués!

I decided to use a wool batting. I was curious as to how much loft an extra layer of wool batting would add underneath the appliqué shapes. I decided that it wouldn't give me the loft that I wanted so I used some polyester batting that I was gifted a number of years ago. This batting is thick and it was used to tie quilts.  I used a water soluable thread to stitch the batting and then I trimmed next to the stitching.

Smallest hexagon quilting design

Largest hexagon--love the unquilted center

Then it was on to layering and basting. I thought the back I had prepared was large enough. It wasn't so I sorted through the bits and found a fat quarter that I liked the color with the existing fabrics.

Middle sized hexagon quilting design

I started stitching in the ditch and around all the shapes. After I had stitched around the large hexagons and the ribbon in the lower part of the design, I checked my work. I had tucks on the back!! So I spent hours unstitching. I unpinned the layers and pin basted again. This time, I used more pins. More pins equaled no tucks which was GREAT!

Medium large hexagon quilting design

I stitched around all the hexagons with a silk thread on the top and a cotton thread on the bottom. I did this to anchor the hexagon. I had fun quilting the trapunto hexagons. I used two Westalee Rulers--the straight edge and a curved arc for the designs. There is a design or an area on each hexagon that I like the best. Some of the designs went together quickly, some way not so much!!!

I wish you could see the depth the trapunto added. Of course, I quilted each a little differently although at a glance, one might think some are quilted the same!

Medium sized hexagon quilting design

I'm thinking about stitching pebbles in the open spaces and then filling the hexagons with  a variety of fill stitches. I had planned to stitch the pebbles in the same color as the background; but, it is difficult to see where you have been and where you are going. I may see what I have on hand and stitch with a different shade of brown.

Maybe, I will leave some of the hand stitched hexagons open. The small ones look great as is. Time will tell. I'm still listening to what this quilt has to say!

Time spent on the project thus far is about 44 hours.

Mt. Hood

On a clear day, I can see Mt. Hood from my home. When I was a kid, I lived in the central part of Oregon. I would watch the sun set on several mountains in the Central Cascade Mountain Range every evening. It was spectacular. Now, I live in the western part of the state and I get to watch the sun rise on one mountain. Sunrise is my favorite part of the day. JoJo over at Through My Hands, had a Mt. Hood project.

Mt. Hood ready for stitching

Some day, I might not be able to view the mountain so I thought, why not make this wall hanging? Selecting fabrics is the most challenging part of the process for me! Over a few weeks, I chose fabrics from my stash. A friend and I spent a session together and we cut out our pieces. 

I was surprised at how painless it was to cut and prepare the fabrics for stitching. I had all the fabrics but the snow reflection in my stash. My friend, Pat, gave me her piece when she decided her snow reflection was too light. It was the perfect choice here! Thank you Pat!

Blossoms auditioned

The "snow", tree line and tree line reflection are fused. The mountain and mountain reflection have a turned edge. I appliquéd the pieces, as JoJo suggested, with a narrow zigzag. She used a stabilizer. I found that I didn't need a stabilizer. That part of the process was painless too!

Next, it was time to figure out what fabrics I would be using for the blooming tree branch and what thread I would be using for the tree bark. This was a challenge. I'm trying to use what I have. I first thought that I'd broderie prerse the blossoms; but, I either didn't have appropriate sized flowers or I didn't have a print that had enough flowers in the same colors.

I settled on a batik fabric that I fused to some stabilizer. If it looks familiar, it is because I used that same fabric in my QAYG project that I've blogged while it was a BOM (Block of the Month). Cutting more than 50 blossoms took some time!

Cutting the shapes

JoJo used paint and embroidery to add more depth to her blossoms. I tried paint and embroidery too! I was disappointed at first that the white paint didn't show as much as I had hoped; but, it did give the illusion of depth which was the effect that I wanted.

In the end, I found the white paint to have added just the right effect. Next, I added some gold metallic paint which I applied a little differently on each flower. Sometimes, I added a lot and sometimes I added a little. I liked how painting different amounts of paint and painting in different areas of the blossoms added so much depth to the blossoms.

Shapes painted and drying

Auditioning the flowering branches

Then, like JoJo, I added some hand embroidery stitches. The first day, I completed seven. At that pace it took me a little over a week to complete that step. I used some floss that has been in my floss box since I was in college! Okay. . . that was in the late 70's! I'll report that the "preserved" floss worked great!

For layout purposes, I used a bit of ribbon so I could get an idea of the shape of the branch. Next, I laid out the finished shapes until I found a pleasing design. I'm happy that I stepped outside my box and tried JoJo's technique with these flowers. That paint made them just sparkle! I also learned that I like painting!

Next, I fused the shapes to the background. Then I added a heavy chain embroidery stitch to represent the tree branches. I'm a big fan of Mary Corbet's Needle and Thread blog. Mary is generous about sharing designs and tutorials.

Paint for the mountain top

Painted mountain top

I used a JP Coats crosheen type embroidery thread for the branches which came from my grandmother's stash.

I visited JoJo as she offered me use of her paint stash. The photo represents the paint I used on my project. The Setacolor paints left the hand of the fabric just as soft as when I started so those were my favorite. At the time I was doing the painting, local sources of the colors that I wanted were out and even the couple companies I checked out for an online order had these on backorder.

Branches with a little stem stitch accent

JoJo also provided moral support and helpful hints as I painted details on the mountain and mountain reflection. Isn't it amazing how much the paint added to the mountain? I'm liking those stems. I decided to add some light to the branches.

This is the branch after adding a stem stitch with a gold sparkle embroidery thread made in Japan. This thread stitches beautifully. A special friend gave me this to me. I liked it so well that I have my eye out to purchase more locally!

Now, I'm thinking that I need more blossoms. I struggled for days trying to figure out where to put them! Then JoJo came over and gave me some feedback.

Using a zig zag to stitch the blossoms

I fused the blossoms and then began the process to stitch each blossom to the background. I decided I needed a little bling so I added metallic thread to the blossoms. I also decided to pad the blossoms with wool batting. The appliqué and trapunto happened in one step.

I hope that the trapunto effect will give the blossoms a little "pop" and make them appear closer when I finish the piece.

The metallic thread wasn't easy to use on this project.

Places where I had layers of fusible, were spots where the metallic thread shredded. In the end, I had a few more starts and stops in those areas! 😀

Batting trimmed

I trimmed away the batting so that the trapunto effect would be maximized as much as possible. Yes, this step took time and no, I didn't cut the front while I was trimming. . . .WHEW!

Ready for layering

As I was clearing a mini pile off my work table, I found a few more blossoms. I decided that the blossoms should be part of the project so I added them to the top.
Now, to layer and baste the top for quilting. I do have a back fabric selected and I am planning to face this wall hanging too and I think I will have enough back fabric for the facing. I will need a different fabric for the sleeve which I am thinking about. As for the quilting, I'm planning my stitching will be enough to provide definition for the sky, mountain and water. I'm not planning to quilt it as densely as I'm quilting the chicken! Surely, I can quilt this project faster than I have quilted the last three quilts that I've finished!