A Primitive Day...

"Twilight Garden" SBOW Block One

Tuesday was Sit & Stitch Day with the ladies from the Primitive Gatherings' group. We met at Lisa Bongean's home for a potluck luncheon, and day of stitching.

I finished cutting out all the pieces for my first block of the Summer Block of the Week (SBOW) "Twilight Garden", so I could start my layout before it was time to leave.

Swedish Tracing Paper Layout Template

Some people who are participating in this SBOW use vinyl, while others are using sheets of plexiglas and a dry erase marker to make their layout templates. I chose to use Swedish Tracing Paper for mine. I can pin it over the flannel and then lift it as needed to place my pieces.

I completed the layout once I got home, and then I took a break. I've photographed the entire piece, now that the layout is done. That way I can look at the photo to see if everything looks the way it should. You can see things through the eye of the camera that don't always show "in person". This technique works for pieced quilt blocks, too. I've found placement errors where a color block was turned the wrong way, and I was able to catch it before sewing. It sure saves ripping out to fix!

Lisa Bongean Demonstrating Big Stitch Quilting

 

Lisa has one of her quilts on her hand quilting frame, and had previously told us about "big stitch" hand quilting. Some of the ladies, including me, were unfamiliar with the technique, so she graciously demonstrated it for us.

 

Lisa Bongean Demonstrating Big Stitch Quilting

 

The technique involved using a large-eye needle (Big Stitch Quilting Needles - available through Primitive Gatherings) and #12 perle cotton thread. You can see from the photo how the resulting stitches look on the quilt. I really like the effect, and I'm definitely going to try this...probably on a smaller scale to start!

Today, I'll be fusing my block and starting the stitching. I would like to finish Block One before Block Three arrives!