Bee inspired – (by a royal wedding?)

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Applique, Bee Inspired, block, Blocks, faserkünste, Fiber Arts, patchwork, piecing, Quilt, quilt along, Quilt Block, steppdecke, steppen

It has been a while since I posted….I keep feeling as if there is always soooo much to do and I have to keep running to catch up!

But then, Velda became Queen Bee in my international online bee and she requested a cake block. We wee to take inspiration from this pattern:

Es ist schon eine Weile her, seit ich gepostet habe …. Ich habe das Gefühl, dass es immer soooo viel zu tun gibt und ich muss weiter rennen, um aufzuholen!

Aber dann wurde Velda Queen Bee in meiner internationalen Online-Biene und sie bat um einen Kuchenblock. Wir möchten uns von diesem Muster inspirieren lassen:

My fellow bee members have set the bar very high; here are a few of the blocks already made:

Meine Kollegen haben die Messlatte sehr hoch gelegt; Hier sind ein paar der Blöcke, die bereits gemacht wurden:

“Strawberry Shortcake” by Janice

“Red Velvet with Chocolate Smarties Frosting” by Sue

“Raspberry Teacake” by Emily

“Orange Explosion” by Velda

I thought I would take inspiration from (what else?) the Royal Wedding taking place in London this weekend….and so I made an Elderflower Lemon Drip Cake.

Ich dachte, ich würde mich inspirieren lassen von (was noch?) der kleinen Hochzeit, die dieses Wochenende in London stattfindet … und so machte ich einen Holunderblüten-Zitronenkuchen.

Photo from “Jane’s Pattisserie” (my favorite baking blog!); click on the photo to get to the blog.

I stretched myself as I ordinarily don’t do appliqué (my friend Sana who is a master of it will be probably horrified by this attempt).  Also, my cake appeared to be sitting not completely level while I was applying the drip in my quilt kitchen, because to me it appears a bit off kilter…. 🙂 – I hope Velda will excuse all those flaws!

Ich mache normalerweise keine Applikationen (mein Freundin Sana, der ein Meister-in davon ist, wird wahrscheinlich von diesem Versuch entsetzt sein). Außerdem schien mein Kuchen nicht ganz waagerecht zu sitzen, während ich den Tropf in meiner Quiltküche anwendete, weil er mir etwas schief erscheint … 🙂 – Ich hoffe, Velda wird all diese Fehler entschuldigen!

Harry and Meghan’s wedding cake will be baked by Violet Cakes in London.  In their gallery, you see some “naked” cakes (cakes with minimal frosting on all or some of the cake; so minimal that the cake peeks through the frosting).  In my cake that is represented on the bottom part; the top part is “frosted” (with either cream or fondant, whatever your personal preference) and then the lemon glaze drip is applied on top of that.

Harry und Meghans Hochzeitstorte wird von Violet Cakes in London gebacken. In ihrer Galerie sieht man einige “nackte” Kuchen (Kuchen mit minimaler Zuckerglasur auf dem ganzen oder einem Teil des Kuchens; so minimal, dass der Kuchen durch die Zuckerglasur späht). In meinem Kuchen, ist das auf dem unteren Teil dargestellt; der obere Teil ist “mattiert” (mit Sahne oder Fondant, ganz nach Belieben) und dann wird der Tropf mit der Zitronenglasur darauf aufgetragen.

The royal wedding cake will be decorated with real flowers (and maybe lemons?) and perhaps Velda will elect to decorate this one the same way after quilting?

Die prinzliche Hochzeitstorte wird mit echten Blumen (und vielleicht Zitronen?) dekoriert und vielleicht wird Velda diese Torte nach dem Quilten auch so dekorieren?

I know I say this EVERY month, but I really like this block and can’t wait to see the quilt!

Ich weiß, ich sage das jeden Monat, aber ich mag diesen Block wirklich und kann es kaum erwarten, die Decke zu sehen!

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Watermill (Hasenbach Challenge for January) and various “tips and tricks”

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Applique, block, Blocks, challenge, dear jane quilt blocks, errors, faserkünste, Fehler, Fiber Arts, Hasenbach, nähen auf papier, Paper Piecing, patchwork, Quilt, quilt along, Quilt Blocks, quilting, steppdecke, steppen, Wassermühle, watermill

Am I participating I far too many challenges? We’ll see….

Habe ich heuer zu viel vor? Wir werden sehen…

The Hasenbach Challenge is hosted by Katrin in Germany.  I have been watching this challenge for a couple of years now; this year, I’m in it.

Der “Hasenbach Challenge” wird von Katrin geleitet.  Ich habe diesen Challenge seit ein paar Jahren verfolgt – und dieses Jahr bin ich auch dabei.

Every other month, a rather complex paper pieced block will be released.  In the months in between, we will get the patterns for stars (to be placed in between the architectural blocks).  The sashing blocks, which feature simple pieced schoolhouses are available all year.

Katrin wird abwechselnd einen Gebäude Block in einem Monat veröffentlichen, und im nächsten Monat zwei Sterne Blöcke. Die Sterne Blöcke werden zwischen die Gebäude eingenäht. Es gibt auch Sashing Streifen (mit Schulhäusern); die sind das ganze Jahr durch erhältlich.

Here is the first block:

Und hier ist der erste Block: 

I am not a big friend of literal architectural fabrics (i.e. fabrics with waves for water, or fabrics with trees printed on them for woods) so I use them very sparingly.  In the piece above, I used a very small brick pattern on one of the foundations.  In order to evoke the look of aged brick I reversed the fabric – the side you see is actually the backside.  The same is true for the house in the front.  On the wall with the window in it, you see the right side of the fabric, where on the side the back of the fabric is facing out.  I think doing this creates a bit more perspective, while evoking a feeling of “sameness”.

Ich verwende Stoffe mit Architektur nicht zu oft (Stoffe die Wellen drauf gedruckt haben für Wasser oder Stoffe die Bäume drauf haben für Wald).  In diesem Block habe ich einen Stoff mit sehr kleinen Ziegelsteinen verwendet.  Weil die Farben aber zu grell waren, habe ich den Stoff umgedreht (was man hier sieht ist die Hinterseite).  Ich habe dasselbe für die Hauswände getan: die Wand mit dem Fenster ist der Stoff mit der rechten Seite sichtbar, und die andere Wand ist derselbe Stoff mit der hinteren Seite sichtbar. Einerseits denke ich die Perspektive ist so besser, andererseits sieht das aber wie dieselbe Wand aus. 

On the tree on the right side I used a green fabric that I really like, but it appeared a bit too bright for me.  So I toned it down a but by laying a piece of brown tulle over it.  I do this while assembling the pieces, and so the tulle is sewn into the piece.  The effect is toned down color and a more three-dimensional look.

Der dunkel grüne Stoff (Baum rechts) gefällt mir sehr, aber das Grün war ein wenig zu stark. Ich habe hier ein Stück braunes Tüll darüber gelegt (Ich nähe das Tüll und den Stoff als ein Stück). Der Endeffekt is ein abgeschwächtes Grün and mehr Dimension.

There are also two errors in the block: the grey roof is one of them.  While I really like the chosen fabric, I think the orientation is wrong; had I angled the fabric, it would have given a more realistic look.  Not some thing I can correct now (unless I take the whole thing apart) so I will try to fix it with the quilting.  Also, and more importantly, somehow I missed one of the vertical wooden supports on the right hand side.  This one can and will be fixed by appliqueing the support onto the block.

Ich habe auch zwei Fehler gemacht 😦 – das graue Dach ist der erste davon.  Das Muster ist fürs Dach sehr geeignet aber die Orientierung stimmt nicht.  Hätte ich den Stoff auf der Schräge genommen, würde das ganze besser aussehen. Dies ist nicht etwas das ich jetzt korrigieren kann, also bleibt es halt so….vielleicht sieht es nach dem Quilten dann besser aus.  Der zweite Fehler kann korrigiert werden.  Irgendwie habe ich den einen Träger der Wassermühle verpasst. Ich werden ihn auf den Block applizieren.

There is also a bush (appliqué) and a flowering vine (stitched on) in the pattern – I have decided to hold off on those until later in the challenge as I want to use some of those elements to unify the different blocks.

Es gibt auch einen grünen Busch (Applikation) und eine Blumenpflanze (Stickerei) – ich habe beschlossen zu warten bis ich die nächsten paar Blöcke gesehen habe.  Ich werde versuchen mit diesen Elementen die Blöcke zu vereinheitlichen. 

Now I have to wait until March for the next block 😦

Jetzt muss ich bis März auf den nächsten Gebäude block warten 😦

Dear Jane, Block B-11

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Applique, b 11, Blocks, blue, Dear Jane, Fiber Arts, needle turn applique, Paper Piecing, Quilt, quilting, Traditional Piecing, two fabrics

I am going to admit up front that when I started this block, it wasn’t my intention to use two different fabrics. I had completed three quadrants if the block when I realized that I was not going to have enough of the stripped blue to complete the block…because of that, I picked a complimentary fabric and completed the block this way….

Part of this block is paper pieced, part of it is traditionally pieced and part of it is needle turn applique!

This is block # 166 and has 21 pieces.

 

Kate’s Christmas

Tags

Applique, applique birds, applique flowers, applique letters, applique tree branch, die cut shapes, dimension, dog sitting, free motion quilting, quilted sign

Kate is the young lady that takes care of our dogs when we are out of town. We have three Shih Tzu girls that Charlie calls his babies. Most of the time, they follow him around like if he is the pied piper.

Kate is 20 or 21 (I think) and in college. She lives at home, directly across the street from us, and is an all around nice young lady and, she takes great care of the girls when we are gone!

I am grateful for Kate because she gives us peace of mind (I know what not having that peace of mind feels like). A Christmas present for Kate is in order…

Having won an Accuquilt baby and a couple of dies recently, I decided to make a sign for Kate. Her favorite color is blue, so I use a vibrant royal blue as the background. I appliquéd her name in teal (utilizing applique knowledge acquired in a recent class) under a free form tree branch. At either end of the tree branch are two die cut flowers and sitting on the branch are two die cut birds. To give the whole thing a bit more dimension, I added applique circles and green buttons to the center of the flowers. The birds got wings and little beads for eyes. The binding is a teal polka dot print.

I am pretty sure that Kate does not follow my blog; if she does, the surprise is definitely spoiled!

Dear Jane, Block D2

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Applique, Blocks, d2, Dear Jane, Fiber Arts, Paper Piecing, piecing, Quilt, quilting

As with every block, there are several ways to complete this one…I considered several, but decided that the following was the best option. I saw this method on “thatquilt.com”, a blog that includes instructions to all the blocks of Dear Jane.

This block included appliquéing the four shapes onto the background fabric and then add inn the four paper pieced corners to that center.

Block 159 has 21 pieces.

Dear Jane, Block C2

Tags

Applique, block c2, Dear Jane, diamonds, Fiber Arts, needle turn applique, nine patch diamonds, Paper Piecing, piecing, Quilt, quilting, reverse applique, Traditional Piecing

It took me a few days to complete this block! I made the center (diamonds), paper piecing it, and then thought I’d add the sides using inset seams. that did not look good at all! I took it all apart and started over…..I made a square out of four quarter square triangles in order to create the seams shown in the block. Then I added the center section using reverse appliqué. When that was completed I added the larger diamonds (needle turn appliqué).

This block more than any other (that I can recall 158 blocks in) embodies many techniques….

This is block # 158 incorporating 15 pieces.

Dear Jane, Block LS 8

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Applique, Blocks, Dear Jane, Fiber Arts, needle turn applique, paper pieced, pieced, Quilt, quilting

I like this block! (If I may say so myself)….

I wasn’t at all sure this was going to work; the pattern on the fabric is a bit large for this block (so I thought). But it turns out, Once I picked out certain elements that fit into the different sections, and then fussy cut them into these sections, it all comes together into a cohesive design!

One of my favorites so far!

This is block # 154; it has 17 pieces.

Dear Jane, Block L 12

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Applique, block, Dear Jane, Fiber Arts, Fussy Cut, fussy jane, L 12, Paper Piecing, Quilt, quilting, random cut, Traditional Piecing

Another one done! Again not hard, once I realized that the pattern had to be mirrored if I wanted to paper piece it! (which I did)…

I think I will re-name this quilt “Fussy Jane” since I have gotten bitten by the “fussy cutting” bug. For my non-quilting relatives, “fussy cutting” is the targeted cutting of fabric to highlight a particular design/motif on the fabric (rather than randomly cutting it)…in this block for example, I cut the fabric so that the circles were running in the same direction.

The triangle shapes are a little less than perfect (understatement!); the plan is to either fix them later or re-do them altogether….

This is block # 151. It has 27 pieces.

Dear Jane, Block TR 12

Tags

Applique, Dear Jane, dear jane quilt, Fiber Arts, machine applique, piecing, Quilt Blocks, quilting

During the time that I have been working on this quilt, my skills have evolved – a lot more than I realized.  When I look at the blocks I made when I first started, and the ones I have completed recently, there is a marked difference in the quality of my work.

This is also the reason, I have decided to NOT re-make those beginning blocks…

Having said that, I also came to the conclusion that this quilt might also be a compilation of all the techniques I have attempted so far (in this or any other quilt).  That’s why I will make a few (very few) machine appliquéd blocks.  This one is one of them, and it lend itself beautifully to it!

This is block # 150 and it has 4 (!!!) pieces.

Dear Jane, Block I 10

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Applique, block, dear jane quilt, Fiber Arts, Fussy Cut, Paper Piecing, pieces, piecing, Quilt, quilting

As many of the other blocks, the hardest part was figuring out how to make this block. Intuitively, I want to start with the most dominant fabric in the block and piece/applique/paper piece from there.

Sometimes this is not the best or easiest approach – sometimes starting with the least dominant fabric reveals an easier method…..

I dissected this block into four quadrants, pieced them individually and then sewed them together into a square. Then, I appliquéd the four triangles. In a familiar trend, I had picked a fabric with an overall pattern, a non directional. I pieced the first quadrant, looked at it and decided to fussy cut the flowers into this block. I left the first quadrant as it was because I like the visible contrast between the fussy cut sections and the randomly pieced one…..

This is block # 149; it consists of 24 pieces.