a treehouse for betty

well, my quilt block for august's common threads project is done. do not ask me how that house is staying up in the tree, or why it's got a super-fancy door with a doorknob, but no ladder to get up there. you just have to use your imagination, people. betty asked that we include our name somewhere on the quilt, so i included my initials as free-form embroidered flowers in the lower left-hand corner.

i especially had fun finally using my multi-colored spool of thread on the tree greenery:

like many of the other participants, i used fusible webbing to "glue" the pieces down, then stitched around the edges. the funny part was that i had been thinking that this was my first foray into applique and then as i was stitching it, i started thinking, "oh, this is sort of like my alphabet quilt...." such short memory i have. but it is a little different to be starting from scratch, design-wise. it's much more like "drawing" with fabric and when it supposed to actually look like something (as opposed to just a pretty pattern or design) i quickly begin to feel my lack of training in things like "perspective" and "angles" and such. oh well. it was a fun experiment and i hope you like it, betty! i myself am oddly fond of the back side of the block:

hmmm..... considering that my bobbin thread was white, there appears to be an awful lot of color on the back..... maybe i had the tension wrong? oh well. it's done and i'm putting it in the mail to you the next time i can get to the post office, along with your fabric for september. sorry it's late!

Wendy's Treehouse

Here's my treehouse Bettyninja. Come on over and visit for a bit. You realize this challenge only encouraged my obsession with embroidering these blocks, don't you? I think the amount of handwork in this one may have cured me though.

I'm not at all comfortable with needle turn hand applique, so I decided to fuse the pieces. It worked well for my purposes, but I hope the piece isn't too stiff. I'm hoping with washing it'll soften up for you.

What I loved about this block was how free I could be with the design since I'd be fusing all the elements rather than having to figure out how to piece them. I stuck with only the fabrics that were sent to me and was able to use each one in some way. I can only speak for myself, but I like having those limits. Without them, I think I'd never get started each month.

This block also turned into a little bit of a needlework sampler. While blanket stitching predominates the entire piece, if you look closely you'll find french knots, back stitch, crazy daisy, stem and satin stitches. It's one of the smallest parts of the block, but I'm most pleased with the doorknob. Satin stitching and I haven't always gotten along in the past. If the month hadn't been up, I think I could have kept going - split stitch for bark lines on the tree, wood graining on the wood rungs...

It was time to stop though, because I already had a new package of fabric in my mailbox.

Check three

Good news- all my fabrics are off today! All you ladies should be receiving the package shortly. I am super excited to see what will come with this idea.

I've decided that I would like to make a treehouse quilt. A treehouse quilt?!? you ask. What is this? Well, first let me show you my inspirations.

To start with, I loved the treehouse banner Made in a Treehouse blog had.

I also found inspiration from this cute address label on the package I got from Scissors, Paper, Glue (who by the way, has a super cute banner right now too).

So the only rules are that it would be nice to have the finished size of the blocks be 13-14" I can border things to make them look alright on the finished quilt. I am not sure how large the final quilt will be since I may make some treehouse blocks of my own. I am thinking it will be twin size in the end.

I sent everyone a nice selection of fabrics. Included you will find a 14" (two are 13" -oops) blue block. It would be great if you could use mainly this blue for the background on your block. I included a some light yellow, orange, and a zinger color (bright red vintage or bright blue vintage). Use any of these for the house or the windows- or add your own stash. There are also green and browns in the bundle for your trees. Of course, don't feel obligated to use any or all of the colors. Your tree doesn't have to be green.

I tried to send a good amount of fabric since you may be doing some experimenting. For the method- knock yourself out. I am sure applique will be used, but maybe some of you are able to piece together things.

So to sum up:

1. Try to use the blue for most or part of your background
2. Final size around 13"-14"
3. Make some sort of treehouse
4. Use applique, piecing, or what ever works!
5. Feel free to add whatever fabric you like
6. Please sign your name on the block with some sort of permanent ink or marker right on the front some where. I really want to have a record of who made which ones.

Get Ready

Okay- you all are probably going- who is this Betty chick and why is she always constantly late with her blocks? I confess- I have been holding on to the two last blocks because it really has been one thing after another for me lately. The main thing being the non-functioning sewing machine.

I really want you'll to know though- it is being fixed! And I am sew ready to play catch up with my Common Thread Blocks. Especially because I can't possibly ask you to sew blocks for me when I haven't finished yours!

Fear not though- my plan is to have all my sewing caught up by the same time I send out fabric for my month's block. Can I do this all by my pending deadline? Keep your fingers crossed ladies...and get inspired by a little hint from my what will be the inspiration behind my month...