mountainwoman

I decided to use embroidery as an enhancement to my quilting. I tend to quilt with 6 1/2" and 8 1/2" inch blocks, so I reasoned that the Brother PE525 embroidery machine would fit my current needs (4X4 is the largest size I can embroider with this machine). I bought it in November, and I just love it! I've had little time to experiment with it, but I have become enamored with Redwork and Bluework embroidery. My first project was a 22X22 Redwork wall hanging, a Christmas gift for a friend. It was a nine-patch; the center block was a lovely cardinal, and the remaining blocks were flowers that held special meaning to my friend. I embroidered on unbleached muslin and used a matching red for the sashing/border and muslin for the cornerstones. It was truly lovely! Alas, I did not take a picture.

I have just completed a Bluework wall hanging top, same design as listed above. It has a winter theme and the sashing/border is a matching blue with muslin cornerstones (bleached muslin, this time). I should be able to complete this tomorrow or the next day. I tried uploading a picture of this wall hanging top, but I could not do so, nor could I do so as an attachment. I will contact Quilting Board and see if they can tell me why there is a problem. It is not a large file, just a simple .jpg, so I don't understand why I can't do it. I have not tried doing any of this before on this site, so it is probably just my ignorance.

These are my plans for using embroidery this year in my quilting: I am redecorating my living room/ dining area (open space), using a rustic country motif. In the dining area on one wall, there will be a Bluework wall hanging, the first being the winter one of which I just finished the top; this will be replaced for one depicting the other seasons. On an adjacent wall of the dining area, there will be a Redwork wall hanging -the first one is like the one I made for my friend, but the center bird is a Dove of Peace and the flowers are different from the ones I chose for her. The Redwork wall hanging will be replaced according to changing themes -Valentines, St. Patrick's Day, Easter/Spring, etc. For 2018, all will be the same size and layout. ALSO, back in the fall I cut out the squares for an Irish Chain quilt, the 9-patch done in bleached muslin and two different green prints, with the alternating squares being bleached muslin. I had always planned to make this in February, knowing I'd be tired of winter and longing for spring -I live in Colorado -and that is still my plan; however, those plain muslin squares will now be graced with Greenwork depicting designs like the Celtic knot, shamrock, etc. I can hardly wait! Finally, for this year, I want to duplicate the one quilt I made in 1976 -my first and only quilt until almost three years ago when I began quilting in earnest. This quilt was made of nine-patch small-floral calico prints with unbleached muslin alternating squares; upon these squares I hand-embroidered different flowers -a rose, an Irish, etc. Arthritis does not allow me to do hand-embroidery anymore, but I can now use my delightful little embroidery machine and achieve, I believe, quite lovely results.

I hope this thread continues for a long time. I am really interested in all the ways people use embroidery! (By the way, I do make quilts other than 9-patches, the log cabin and rail fence quilts being two of my favorites; I am awaiting the arrival of Civil War Era fabrics I ordered so that I can make a King's Crown quilt; I am still a student of quilting and want to try new patterns, and that I hope never changes! I like the looks of the King's Crown quilt.

Quilt On! Embroider On!