Applique a Bee

 The warmer spring weather brings out the blooms along with the bugs and especially the bees.   To me they're fun to watch as the hover around me when I'm on the patio.  We have a yellow jasmine on our fence that's full of buds and I think the bees are patiently waiting for their blooms.  

The Virginia Quilt Museum in Harrisonburg Virginia has put out their 2022 mini challenge schedule where you can submit 15" quilts to be displayed and sold - or not, they will mail it back to you when the exhibit ends.   Go HERE to learn more.  

For the summer exhibit, I wanted to make a mini with large blooms and a bee in flight. Even though the flora and fauna category was for the spring exhibit, I enjoy summertime blooms.  Click here to see the schedule for the mini challenges for 2022.  

I drew a rough sketch of some Asters.  

And I had some reference photos to get some ideas.   

Originally, I thought green was going to be the background.  Once the flowers went on, I didn't like the green and the flowers looked like they were just floating.  I took my scissors and started cutting away the green saving some of it around each flower for leaves.  

The brown grid batik was an experiment with bleach and I didn't end up using it, so I kept it for a future use...now... as the background for these flowers.  

I chose the arrangement and sewed a straight stitch around each flower and leaf combination using polyester monopoly thread.  

I drew out a bee onto paper and then copied it using a lightbox onto fusible.  I thought about embroidering the entire bee, but ultimately choosing applique.  So, each component of the bee was traced onto fusible and I chose a black cotton for his body.  The yellow/gold is lame.  The wings are a blue hue of organza.  I used silk thread to attach the wings and add the lines.  

I thread painted the flowers with variegated threads and metallic thread.  My bee needed more so I added his antennae, eyes and a center square of lame. 

I think I'm happy with it and now it's on to finishing with binding, sleeve and label.  

NQM round 4 March and April

 The National Quilt Museum's Block of the Month Facebook group put out the March block on the first of  the month.  I took my time deciding what to do with it to fit into my theme this year.  In the end, I chose to do Jacobs ladder with 2 Angel silhouettes on the rungs leading to heaven and the dark Angel descending into hell. My ice-dyed fabrics worked very well for this block.   The technique used was an improv style cutting and assembling, but I had some control with my cuts to show more perspective on the ladder.  The appliques were easy simple shapes hand sewn and afterward I added some thread painting to the wings (not shown in the picture). 

The April block has been released and I'm trying to come up with the next "element" for this month and what the design and color combo will be.  The sample given is the furthest it could possibly be from my theme....a folk art design with applique's and a checkerboard border.  I like the idea of a pieced background/border, but NOT in contrasting colors and possibly on one side of the block not all 4 sides.  Subtle changes in one color would be interesting instead of a solid piece of fabric.  I can manage that.  But, the applique may take some thinking and sketching.  

As I'm writing this, I hear the rain pouring down outside with intermittent bouts of thunder and lightening, actually it's lightening and then the thunder.  Loud cracks of thunder.  So, I've unplugged my machines and turned everything off sitting in my walk-in closet waiting for the all clear to come.  We're in for some tornado weather today.  

I'll grab one of my journals and do some sketching, perfect time.