Lots of Embroidery for Pierre

I've added a bunch of embroidery to Monsieur Pierre. After I put on the blue-grey border it looked terribly grey to me, like it didn't match the braid at all. I thought, "How about some pink hearts to temper the grey, my Bernina can do that!" I even had some ancient water soluble stabilizer on hand. Nearly 3 hours later I had hearts marching all around the center panel.A few days later, I thought, "This background looks too barren. Wouldn't it be cool if I could make it look like striped Victorian wallpaper?" hmm, I could embroider tiny ribbons in a grid, then later, vertically quilt through the centers of the ribbons. Nearly 3 hours later, have I got ribbons, and so much Saran wrap-like stabilizer it gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "quilt sandwich". lol Here's a closeup of the embroidery. The stabilizer makes it hard to see the tiny ribbon, and being pale pink on off-white doesn't help much either. 8)

I embroidered 31 ribbons in staggered rows 2 1/2 inches apart. The centers line up, so I should be able to put a line of stitching right through the centers.

I'm really excited by how well it turned out (so far, that is, I'm really worried about getting the raw edges wet to dissolve the stabilizer prior to quilting - remember this?) I'm trying to think if I've ever seen embroidery and quilting combined to form an embellishment that looks like wallpaper. I don't think so. In fact, I don't recollect seeing embroidery and quilting combined to form a single pattern at all, though I can't be the first one to do so.

Anyway, I've really been having fun with it so far. Coming up with all these embellishment ideas has been a blast. I've decided to quilt angled tiles into the floor to separate it out from the wall, but I'm still deciding if I want an embellished baseboard or not. I'm starting to feel like I'm pushing my luck with all this complicated embroidery. lol Maybe I should just put on the braids before I decide.

PS Ladies, you were right, the blue feet were definitely the way to go. Thanks for the positive encouragement. 8)

Pierre Lapin - Applique Complete

My Pierre now has features and a big bow, not to mention blue feet. Everyone at the bee on Sunday was very sure he needed blue feet. ;) I'm pleased with the way the bow turned out. God bless tracing paper and stabilizer! I must have auditioned a dozen bows. This bow is made out of a single piece of fabric, which went on very easily. I used a simple blanket stitch to give a light effect to all the blue fabric accents.
I'm looking forward to putting on the borders and seeing Monsieur Pierre finished. I have a pretty solid plan for the rest of the quilt top, but no idea how I should quilt it. Stippling is always my fallback option, but I'm not sure it's right for Pierre. Any ideas?

French Braid Quilt Update - Pierre Lepin

I got the applique all sewn down for the french braid quilt. I decided my bunny needed a name, and a french name at that. I hope I have translated correctly, may I present to you, Pierre Lapin. I used my Bernina's triple blanket stitch for the applique. I think it accents the stitching and gives it a country touch. The stitch took forever to sew, and it was a bear to corner, but eventually it got done. Pierre still needs features, but I can't decide whether or not to add some extra stitching to give him more contours.

I'm late with this update because we just watched the Green Bay Packers win the 45th Super Bowl. GO PACK GO!!! The Lombardi trophy is going back where it belongs, to Titletown, my home town. What a relief, now they won't need a grief counselor in every tavern. ;)

Cabin Friends and French Braid Update

Work is almost complete on the Cabin Friends central applique. I just have to finish stitching the bird and give him some legs. I had to add some blocks to the side for the little bird to perch on. This part has been lots of fun; I'm almost sorry to be done with it.
And here's the central panel for the French Braid quilt. Design work is so much more taxing than just following a pattern. I second guess every single decision I make. I'm fairly pleased with the shape of the bunny, but now I think it needs some blue plaid accents, or maybe I should stitch it down with a pale blue blanket stitch for contrast, or something... So many decisions!

Cabin Friends Update and a Bunny Picture

I got lots of stitching done during the NFC Championship Game (Go Packers!) My little snowman now has a hat and most of a nose. I'll have to put some of the log cabin's blocks together before I can continue past the carrot, because the little bird extends past the green edge out onto the quilt.

I promised myself that I would sit down at the drawing board and come up with a bunny applique for the French Braid quilt. This is my third and best attempt so far. (The first one was a dead ringer for the rabbit in "Donny Darko" lol. NOT the look I was going for!)
My Mom is the artist in the family, not me, but I'm not done yet. I think the legs need to be a little longer, the body a little thinner, and the whole picture is the wrong size (though a Xerox machine will fix that.) It's good to have something on paper, though. I get nervous whenever I'm faced with a blank sheet of paper, and it's hard to force myself to actually make the attempt, so this is a big step forward for me. 8)

French Braid Update

I got a bit further on my french braid quilt. Last week I finished all four braids, but they weren't trimmed. This week they are trimmed and also edged in yellow on both edges. I ran so low on the yellow that I don't have enough to trim the ends in yellow the way I wanted to. In fact, one of the edges has five short pieces stitched together to get to the needed length.My plan is to have a big bunny appliqued on a white print center, with several narrow borders, surrounded by the french braids, then a large yellow flowery outer border. I have been auditioning fabrics for the narrow borders all week. I keep changing my mind or I would already be done. 8)

French Braid Quilt Update

I finished all of the quilts that had somehow taken precedence over the French Braid quilt I started last fall. It's not a difficult technique and I was able to get four braids done quite quickly.

I worked on all four braids at once, one color at a time. This worked well because I could chain stitch the four braids while ensuring I got the braid order correct at the same time. Braids are not at all hard to make, but you have to be very precise with your seam allowances or they'll get all wonky. Mine all turned out to be exactly 32" long and the centers line up nicely, so I guess I was careful enough this time. 8)

I inherited pink, green and blue colorways in similar fabrics that seem destined to be french braid quilts too. I plan to update progress on these quilts each Saturday, or "Quilterday" as my husband keeps calling it - lol. Hopefully that will keep me on track to finish one a month.