My December block is now completed! This block is of my immediate family. Starting at the top on the left is my brother and I. On the top right is my DH and his sister and little brother. The two photos directly below each are of us through the years. In the center is our wedding photo. Across the bottom from left to right is the two of us in high school when we dated, as a young family followed by a photo of our kids, and us on our 40th anniversary with our three granddaughters. The December block is in the birthstone color of turquoise. My birthday is in December and turquoise happens to be one of my very favorite colors. It is amazing our entire lives can be summed up in just a few photos. Granted I could have added more, but even at that it amazes me that so many years have passed. It really does happen in a flash!
Sorry about the faded photo below. This just shows how I began this block by laying out the photos I wanted to include. It was kind of hard to narrow it down to just a few, but the blocks are only 8 1/2".
Below is my presentation for my "Keys to the Past" series of blocks. You should be able to click on the photo to enlarge it. I also have the individual blocks shown if you click on the tab near the top of this blog. It has been a very positive experience for me and the format has really kept me on track and accountable for completing each block in a timely manner. Many thanks to Kathy and the others for making this happen! It has also been so inspiring to see the beautiful blocks submitted by so many talented stitchers. Currently I have three links on my sidebar...(1) CQJP 2012 where you can go to see all of the works submitted this year; (2) a CQJP 2013 with information on how you can participate in next years journal project; and (3) another CQJP 2013 where you can follow along and view all the new blocks which will begin appearing within a few weeks.
I have begun turning this into a wall hanging. As you can see below I have the sashing and blocks stitched together and the border sewn on. This is my first quilt ever, so I am taking it slowly and doing a lot of basting. I still have a few things I want to do before adding the backing and the rod pocket at the top for a dowel, but at least I can feel like I've accomplished something this year!
Any tips on what to do next? Does the batting get attached to the back of this and then the backing? When does the rod pocket get added?
My next project to work on finishing up is my BJP 2012 banner. That will be another learning experience! My TAST project is luckily a finished tag each month. I do still need to buy some rings to bundle them into relative groups. I am so anxious to finish up all these things and clean the sewing room so I can have a fresh start for CQJP 2013.
6 comments:
How wonderful is this? I am so glad you posted it and we can all share. I have signed up for 2013 , not sure what I am going to do but I fiugre it will flow as it wants. Beautiful job and Merry Christmas. xo
This has turned out beautifully, a true treasure.
Gorgeous! What a family treasure for decades to come. And, as so, I'd recommend that you pay close attention to the assembly...so it will last a long time and be in good hanging condition. My suggestion is to cut fusible interfacing squares for the backs of each block. Then cut a large interfacing piece to attach the entire quilt front to. This will stop any slippage. There is not need for batting, but if you prefer that...a thin one is best...even flannel would be fine. Then the backing. What a treasure, I'm just so excited for you!!
Kathy
Congratulations on the finish of twelve blocks.
I asked Kathy about the construction. She said: "for large projects, you don't need batting. I do recommend that you use a stabilizer on the back of the blocks as you sew them together. A light to medium weight fusible interfacing is a good choice...or a heavy weight cotton fabric that doesn't have much stretch. This extra layer will help to hold the weight of the embellishments and keep everything from sagging. It's good to reinforce the border pieces too since they will be thinner than the block sections.
I like to tie my corners with silk cord for support...then stitch something on top of the intersections to hide the cord on the front. Buttons, lace motifs, bows, old jewelry pieces, whatever looks right with the quilt."
Hope it helps, please let me know what you do. For me it is the first time too.
Have a great weekend, Marjolein
wow and more wow, this is a wonderful block with so many memories for you on it and as for the whole hanging words are hard to find it is so delightful. You have had lots of tips on how to finish it off, look forward to seeing it when fully complete.Have signed for 2013 but not sure if I am up to it, lost the stitching bug , hope it will return
Thanks for the nice comments and for the tips. I just got back from the fabric store with my fusible interfacing. Moving forward...
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