I amazed myself and finished my March TIF project tonight, while it is still March in New Mexico.
I had originally planned to add more embroidery and some beads, but when I got it to this point, I decided that it was just right. ‘Just a little embroidery and extra detail in the quilting. Finished size is 11 1/2″ x 27 1/2″.
The theme for this month was about noticing the little details around us. That got me thinking about how things all seem to fit together, which led to thinking about tessellations.
I did some study on tessellations and drafted a simple tessellation for my small quilt pattern. I wanted to make a small table runner as I am working hard to keep from making more things that need to be hung on the walls.
I hand dyed all of the fabrics for this mini quilt, then pieced and quilted it by hand. For the outer border I blended six shades of purple and gold embroidery threads to do the uneven blanket stitching.
Although I didn’t intend it, the design ended up looking somewhat like flowers. I have been thinking about primroses this spring, so I named the piece “Primrose Path,” and while working on it thought about the fine details in a garden that includes primroses.
Also while doing all the handwork this piece required I was able to really appreciate the colors of the hand dyed fabric. You really can see how the different primary colors blend together on the fabric to make other colors. I could actually see red and green in the brown, even though I made it with violet and yellow dye solutions. I could see yellows in the greens, and many other “details” of color mixing as I worked closely.
I used the templates used to cut the curved shapes of fabric to mark “leaf” shapes for quilting detail and added “veins” to them. I then used one of the templates to echo the brown curves in the black border. I added gold French knots in the centers of three of the “flowers.”
I’m really quite pleased with the way this project turned out, and I wish the pictures could be more accurate in showing the quilt and its detail.
On to April.
I love it! The addition of the french knots and the binding treatment finish it off perfectly.
Beautiful job on this! Love the colors, the quilting pattern, the staggered blanket stitch, and of course, your title is so clever too.
Your quilting design was great and I liked the beads, it really added to the piece.
I hope you enjoy you living in Virginia. It will be a big change from NM but there is lots to do, see, people to meet, and new inspirations around every corner.