It has been months since we talked about my Down the Rabbit Hole Quilt on this blog. There's a very good reason for that - I didn't touch it! This is a block of the month programme from Sarah Fielke and it combines templates, hand applique, bias applique, foundation piecing.... you name it, it has every technique going, and right from the start I knew it was going to be a huge challenge. I got through the first couple of months a little behind, but then in month three, we had to applique, by hand, the tiniest, fiddliest little leaves going... and that's where the wheels came off. I had 24 to add and the first one I did is still the best.
Over the summer I did work ahead a bit, but the next section - 40 tiny houses with paper pieced roofs didn't go quickly either... I knew that the next borders were heavy on the hand applique, so in September I made a decision: If this quilt was ever going to be finished, and I would like to finish it, then hand applique just wasn't the way forward. I switched tactics and committed to machine applique using fusible sticky-stuff and a machine blanket stitch - the fact that my Husqvarna does a very lovely machine blanket stitch definitely helped in this decision! However, I also decided that the leaves I had started appliquing by hand in the centre needed to be finished by hand. With a little help from a friend who took pity on me and stitched a couple, and the new found energy my decision had brought, I finished the applique. I also embroidered the very centre of the centre - I'd had the idea in my head for months but never got round to it.
And I can now confirm that the centre of my medallion, which should have been finished in April, is now finished!
And those little houses? Those are finished too, so hopefully I'll have more progress to share soon!
Over the summer I did work ahead a bit, but the next section - 40 tiny houses with paper pieced roofs didn't go quickly either... I knew that the next borders were heavy on the hand applique, so in September I made a decision: If this quilt was ever going to be finished, and I would like to finish it, then hand applique just wasn't the way forward. I switched tactics and committed to machine applique using fusible sticky-stuff and a machine blanket stitch - the fact that my Husqvarna does a very lovely machine blanket stitch definitely helped in this decision! However, I also decided that the leaves I had started appliquing by hand in the centre needed to be finished by hand. With a little help from a friend who took pity on me and stitched a couple, and the new found energy my decision had brought, I finished the applique. I also embroidered the very centre of the centre - I'd had the idea in my head for months but never got round to it.
And I can now confirm that the centre of my medallion, which should have been finished in April, is now finished!
And those little houses? Those are finished too, so hopefully I'll have more progress to share soon!
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