Evening Bloom, In Full Bloom!!

Can you believe it!  I can't believe it! 

Only 18 months in the making but here it is,  all done!

(see what I mean about swapping block 3 with block 9!)

Each time I blog about Evening Bloom I get a question or two that makes me think, "I should have included that information in my blog post!" So I'll try to include all the pertinent details in this post.  But I'm sure I'll forget something so don't hesitate to leave a comment or send an email with any questions.  For some real fun, select "Evening Bloom" from my Categories list on the right hand column of my blog and read all about it, start to finish.   Block number 5, the center block had some ugly looks in the beginning!  I'm so glad I documented that block's growth, it came a long way!  I guess I could say the same thing about the whole project . . . and me!

This is my first appliqué project.  The pieces were appliquéd by hand using needle turn appliqué.

All the fabric is by French General for Moda.  The background fabric is from the Lumier de Noel line, the majority of the appliqué pieces are from the Maison de Garance line, with a few Rounneries pieces thrown in.

Each of the nine flower blocks finish at 24 inches, the border and center fan blocks finish at 4 inches.

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 89

It finishes at 80" X 80"

It has approximately 626 pieces.

The pattern is Evening Bloom and is from the book,

Country Inn by Barb Adams and Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs.

This project was pure joy, start to finish. And even though it's not perfect, it's far from perfect really, I still love it, flaws and all.  I'm pretty picky when it comes to my piecing but for some reason I was pretty easy on myself when it came to appliquéing those blocks.  I guess after seven years of saying I would never do hand appliqué, I was just so amazed that I could do hand appliqué and even more amazed how relaxing and fun hand appliquéing turned out to be, that I couldn't help but love it.

If you've been avoiding trying appliqué you've not found the right pattern for you, one look at this pattern and I just knew I had to make it.  I think this will be the first of many for me.

I never would have made this project if a friend hadn't given me the book, a friend who was mortified that I didn't own any Blackbird design patterns, so thanks friend for getting me started.  It also took a patient and experienced appliqué teacher to teach me everything I needed to know to appliqué these blocks, thanks Marianne!

This quilt has the perfect name, Evening Bloom, I don't intend to change it since the majority of my time spent on those blocks was in the evening.   What in the world am I going to do with my evenings now?

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Evening Bloom, Block Nine . . .

Here's the last block for Evening Bloom.

Block Number 9.  

Technically it's Block Number 3, but it was so similar to Block Number 1 I thought it would look better in a different spot so I swapped it.  I'm happy to report that my technique and speed increased with every block.  I loved stitching these blocks so much I wish I had 9 more to do.  Although that would take a very big bed, these blocks are huge, each block finishes at 24 inches.

I'm spending quite a bit of  my free time working on my dresden border blocks for Evening Bloom, but I'm also plotting my next project.

I'm wanting something fun and easy.

I've had these Twister templates for ages and think it's time I played around with them some.

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Evening Bloom

I thought perhaps putting some of those finished border blocks on the quilt would be a motivator to keep working on them.  The directions call for all the appliqué blocks to be connected then the border fan blocks to be added in a long strip. I'm not doing it that way.  One, I don't have my final block done, so I can't sew all my rows together, and two, it's been driving me crazy wondering if those fan blocks would meet up.

Good news, so far they're matching up just fine!  This is block one, my very first appliqué block in my life and this project.  Those dresden blocks are the perfect final touch.  

Hopefully the rest of the blocks will go together as easily and nicely.  I still have a basketful to go.

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Little Updates . . . . .

Now that Settler's Trail is out the door and waiting to be quilted I'm focussing on Evening Bloom.  After 17 months I'm ready to wrap up that project.

This basketful of diamond pieces, 

is now this basketful of border blocks.

The points still need to be hand appliquéd down, I used a few strips of fusible web to hold everything in place until I get to them.  I'm a little nervous about all those points, edges and centers matching up perfectly, seems like a lot to ask of those little blocks!

Joe at ThimbleCreek Quilts mailed out a picture of their booth at Spring Market.  There's the red and white quilt I blogged about on the left, below that adorable house quilt.

But another quilt caught my eye too, I may be mistaken but I think that quilt in the center is an interesting variation of  Settler's Trail.  Just a few subtle changes, it has the same look but a little more punch, I like it!


Is there a Doc in the house?  Not my house, but don't miss Sherri and Sinta's Doc Parade today!

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Evening Bloom . . .

As I work on getting ready to appliqué my last Evening Bloom block, I also need to start working on the border blocks.

I need 76 of these blocks for the outer border. 

I don't know why I waited until the end to start on them, they are easy and go quickly.  But working on 76 of them all at once will be very time consuming.  I can't help but regret that I didn't work on one a week the whole time I was working on this project.  I would have them done and it wouldn't have taken any noticeable time out of my sewing time.  Oh well, it is what it is!

Here's a basketful of step one, sewing together each end.

  

Then I'll need to trim them, piece them, and finally, appliqué them on the block.  I'm hoping to be done with this whole quilt by the end of June, there's no more time to waste.

I've been enjoying these roses at my house,

I thought you might enjoy them too!

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BOM Rehab . . .

I can hardly believe it, here's block number 8 of Evening Bloom, only one more to go!

I think this block may be my favorite so far!

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February Finishes . . . .

I'm happy to report that I'm back on track with my Evening Bloom goal of one block a month! Here is block number seven!!!

My favorite block so far!!

These blocks are so big I can't fit more than 6 on my design wall,

so between the two pictures you can see my seven finished blocks, only two more to go.

I also finished block two of my Memories of Province BOM this month.

I only made one change, I used the red floral print that I didn't use in block one instead of the dot print that I did use.

I'm behind on this BOM, I got a late start and should really do one a week instead of one of month, maybe in March.

I'm still planning on using my extra day this year for a day of sewing, a whole day of sewing, a whole day of sewing and no cooking, a whole day of sewing, no cooking and pjs. The fine folks at Superior Threads are sponsoring a giveaway to go along with my extra day plans, be sure to stop back by Wednesday, February 29th.

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Hey, Remember This . . . . .

It's been months, several months, FIVE months, Five months and a day to be exact, since I blogged about Evening Bloom, my needle turn applique project by Blackbird Designs. Somehow, I got off track last fall, I started block 6 but just didn't get much past the starting point.

After so many months of not stitching I was worried my stitches would be back to beginner level, but I hadn't completely lost my touch, it feels great to be back at it, and here goes . . . .

Ta da, Block 6, all done, FINALLY!

I think it's my favorite block!!

Here are all 6 finished blocks, since I'm sure you've forgotten what they look like, I know I almost had.

Only 3 more blocks to go!

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Evening Bloom - Block 5 . . . .

Finally, something different to blog about, it's not a new project, but at least it's a break from my Red and White posts.

I'm still working away on Evening Bloom, my needle turn applique project from the Country Inn book by Blackbird Designs.

This month is block five of nine, it's named The Iris Block and it is the center block of the quilt.

Here's the pattern from the book. All the blocks have red blooms and dark leaves and stems except for the center block. The designer went all red for that block. I thought it was a good idea to change up the look of the center block, but wasn't crazy about the pieces being one color.

So here's my progress . . .

My block ready for some pieces.

add a stem,

one leaf,

two leaf,

center bud,

Now here's where it gets interesting,

here's a picture of the next piece, a petal, in the fabric I originally chose. I didn't think it did anything for that block. Even though the designer went all red, I didn't like my fabric choice.

So I tried this, which didn't stay up there long. wow, was that bad or what!

Then I tried this. Even though there's no beige anywhere else in the quilt, I thought the block looked best with this fabric. I also liked how this gave the block a distinct look from the other blocks.

All Done!

And here it is with some of the other blocks. See what I mean about looking the same but still different? I'm very happy with it.

I'm making this project with a friend, here's Marianne's block next to mine. Marianne thinks my technique is improving, that my curves and lines are getting smoother. I am getting quicker.

Only 4 more blocks to go, I'm still hoping I'll have this done by the end of this year!

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Evening Bloom - Block 4 . . . .

In addition to working on a few Farmer's Wife blocks and my Red and White Tribute Quilt, I've also been plugging away on Block 4 of Evening Bloom.

For those of you new to my blog, Evening Bloom is a wonderful pattern by Blackbird Designs. It is one of the quilts featured in their book Country Inn.

This is my first hand applique project, and even though this block took a little bit longer than my goal of one month, whenever I did have time to work on it, I enjoyed it.

So here we go,

Finally, in full bloom! This is my favorite block so far.

Each block is 24 inches.

I'm working on Evening Bloom with a friend, and we meet once a month to admire our finished blocks, plot our strategy for the next block, drink coffee and just talk about any quilty topic we can think of. It's always a fun way to celebrate a finish and really keeps me motivated and focussed to try and complete my block on time.

Here are our blocks together.

Our goal is to have this quilt all done by the end of the year, I think we can do it, 4 blocks done with only 5 more to go.

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