Block of the Month: Goldenrod

Thank you for your interest in our Flora and Fauna blocks! They are no longer free but will be part of a future quilt pattern.

It's hard to believe that we are already up to block 4 of our Flora and Fauna of Germany, Stitch Along. While most of the flowers around here are gone, I still have fond memories of seeing the large bushes of goldenrod along our walking paths. They were almost as tall as me and loaded with golden spikes of flowers.

As I was planning this block, my initial instinct was to use French knots for the flowers because that is what goldenrod looks like from afar. The goldenrod was a common flower to stitch in Victorian crazy quilts and most of the ones I have seen were made with French knots. I fell in love with and bought this antique, embroidered, goldenrod piece a couple of years ago—talk about lots of French knots!

I love the texture the stitcher created with the silk thread and all those knots.

So many knots!

However, when you look at the flowers up close, they are made up of a fluffy center with some petals around it. This changed my thinking as to how to do the embroidery on this block.

A collection of flower clusters.

A couple of months ago, I was in my friend Birgit's quilt shop and I noticed a basket of embroidery threads in all different shapes and sizes. A couple of them caught my eye, but one in particular screamed "goldenrod". It was more of a tape than a thread, but I knew it would provide just the right texture. Now I had the thread but I needed to scour my stash for just the right golden, appliqué fabric and I found it in the Van Gogh inspired piece. A little scrap of green and I was set to start the cotton block.

Cotton Block

I began this block by transferring the design onto the back of the fabric, and then proceeded to back-baste all my goldenrod pieces. The fabric I used was perfect in color but tended to fray, so I had to pull out my trusty glue stick. A swipe with my needle over the top of the glue allowed me to tame the pesky threads as I turned them under.

Leaves basted and ready to stitch.

I was happy with the way the appliqué looked without embroidery but I knew it would be even better with the goldenrod thread/tape I bought. I stitched a French knot and then 4-5 straight stitches around it, starting at the top and working my way down the appliqué.

The stitches added another layer of texture.

I loved this tape!

The finished block  with a stem-stitched stem out of #5 pearl cotton from Oliver Twist Fibres.

I was happy with the finished result and Teri said it made her sneeze just looking at it!

Stitches and Threads Used (cotton block)

Gold hand-dyed tape for French knots and straight stitches on flower (I got mine from an unknown source but you can purchase something similar from Threadnuts in the Klimt palette.
Variegated blue/green #5 pearl cotton from Oliver Twist Fibres for stem stitch.


Wool Block



I gathered my two colors of wool and matching threads; the green wool came from a source here in Germany, DK Wright Construction.. Kelly, the owner has been fantastic to work with and I was thrilled to be able to find a source here.










I stitched down my flower pieces with matching thread using an appliqué stitch and for the leaves I used a blanket stitch with a silk and wool blend from Thread Gatherers.

For the wool block, I wanted to pay homage to the antique goldenrod piece above, so I decided to do French knots for the flowers. The knots don't have to be orderly and perfect, so I varied the size with 2 and 3 wraps and I also varied the tension of my wraps to give some a looser look. The hand-dyed #12 pearl was perfect for creating variation in the color of the knots.

Varying the size of the knots helps to add texture.

A stem stitch with #12 pearl cotton for the leaf vein.

The finished wool block.

Stitches and Threads Used (wool block)
Gold #12 pearl cotton, Painters Threads from Threadnuts in Klimt, for French knots
Green wool/silk blend in Dark Forest by Thread Gatherer for stem stitched stem and blanket stitch around leaves
Light green variegated #12 pearl cotton Valdani #O575 for stem stitched vein on leaf


And then there were four!

All the cotton blocks, August-November.

All the wool blocks, August through November.

Have you joined in the fun yet? If so, we'd love to see your blocks! These blocks go together very quickly, even with the embroidery and there are more to come, so if you haven't joined us yet, jump right in.

Give Thanks

In my family (Kara), the Thanksgiving meal has a lot of must-haves. Stuffing is probably the most critical element, but you can't have stuffing without good turkey.

With all of that, you have to have gravy, which is my personal favorite. Our must-haves are so important that we once stopped a Thanksgiving meal just as we were sitting down, because I forgot to make the green bean casserole, which is my son's favorite.

Over here in Germany, today is just like any other day for obvious reasons, but living where we do, there are a lot of Americans who are celebrating this day. While the commissary is well stocked with turkeys and all the fixings for the traditional meal, Thanksgiving is not just about the meal.

Now that we live in a military community, I am far more aware of the service our men and women in uniform give to us on a daily basis. Many are here with their families, but many are without, and many are stationed in more remote areas where even communication with family is challenging. This Thanksgiving, I am especially grateful for the men and women who serve our country. 

This post has nothing to do with quilting or stitching, but just some thoughts as we sit down this year to our meal, or maybe spend time with family. As we remember the things we are thankful for, I hope that the men and women who serve our country come to mind.

May you and yours have a blessed Thanksgiving. We are so grateful to all of you who read our blog and support our work.

Happy Thanksgiving!

"In the Garden"—Oak Leaves and Acorns

I (Teri) was afraid that the only autumnal color we were going to get this year would be that which I stitched. Here in Maryland, the days stayed warm and the temperatures didn't drop as much at night much later than normal, resulting in an October of primarily green trees. In the past few weeks, we have finally been seeing some color, though it was sadly short-lived, as many of the leaves have already begun falling.

While I love green, the autumn palette is my favorite, so it was with great pleasure that I stitched this month's block in our In the Garden Block of the Month series, Oak Leaves and Acorns. If you missed our first block, it is available on our website. You can read about Cornflowers by clicking here.

November block: Oak Leaves and Acorns

Our BOM class was held at Primitive Homespuns Wool & Needleworks on Sunday afternoon. We had a delightful time—lots of stitching and lots of laughing. As you can see in the photograph, there were moments of nearly silent concentration, with only the sound of needles pulling thread through our wool. And then the conversation would begin, as we got to know new stitching friends. This quaint shop offers such a charming setting for our classes!

We began by stapling our leaves and stem in place onto the background. Around each leaf, we blanket stitched with The Gentle Art Simply Wool™ thread, which blended into the wool beautifully, giving the leaves a crisp edge. Variegated Valdani Pearl Cotton 12 gave the veins a bit of pop and sheen.

I have been intrigued by the new Rustic Wool Moire™100% wool threads. I had bought several spools but hadn't tried them yet. The branch seemed to be the perfect opportunity, as I had a color that blended with the wool I used precisely. It was a little fussy to work with, needing gentle handling and a short stitching piece, but I loved the way it worked with the wool. The natural slubs in the thread give the branch a little texture, but it sinks right into the the wool fabric. I didn't, however, choose the wool for the acorn caps. 

To make the acorns, I cut out a piece of gold the shape of the entire acorn. I blanket stitched around about 3/4 of the acorn, and then I stuffed it with polyester fluff. You could as easily use batting scraps or shredded scraps of wool for stuffing. Then I finished blanket stitching the acorn. For the cap, I choose Weeks Dye Works™ Pearl Cotton 8, but you could use size 5 if you want bigger and fewer knots. I first outlined the cap with knots and then filled it in—with hundreds of knots. I use a pillow when I do knots, so that after I wrap the thread around the needle, I can stick it straight into the pillow, and pull the wraps tautly, as in the photo above. I then pick up my work, holding the thread at the base of the knot with my thumb, and I gently pull the needle through from the back, keeping my thumb at the knot. Easy, uniform knots!

So many knots! You can use French or Colonial knots.

Pick a great movie or TV show to binge-watch, and knot away! They give such a realistic textured effect to the acorn caps.

I also met with the Margaret Potts quilt BOM group this past weekend. We are embellishing the blocks with ribbon and embroidery. To read about the ribbon flowers we learned last month, read the post "Potts" of Ribbon Flowers. Several people brought their blocks in to share what they had accomplished thus far. We had some lovely and creative flower centers! Not only are the flowers centers different, but each block has a different kind of veins in the leaf. It is such fun to see the modifications that are made to reflect the makers' own tastes and styles. 

A circle of knots and one of seed beads

Filled with knots to complement the color of the vase

A mixture of French and bullion knots

This month, we used River Silks ribbon to embellish our flowers, playing with several stitches—a straight stitch and the ribbon stitch. The buds were made with folded wired ribbon, and the thorny stem was created using the wheat ear stitch. I can't wait to see how these flowers look on all the blocks next month! 

What a fun-filled, stitching weekend! The only thing that could be more fun than two stitching classes would be to end the weekend with a birthday party for a two-year-old princess. Which I did! I know this grandma is a bit biased, but I think she is a darling little princess!

Admiring herself in her princess gown 

But I digress! If you haven't ordered your Cornflowers pattern, they are available on our website (click here). And our new pattern, Oak Leaves and Acorns is now available as well! We'd love to have you join us In the Garden!

Stepping Out of the Box

True confession time: I (Kara) like to live in a box. Not a real box, although with moving I could have had plenty to choose from, but one of my own making. I like doing the things that I am comfortable with and straying too far from that makes me a little nervous. It's not just in my day to day living  that I like my box, but in my quilting life as well. Appliqué, embroidery, crazy quilting;—those are all quilt techniques that are in my comfort zone. I control the needle, and it doesn't beep at me when I break a thread, and my hands don't quit working for no apparent reason. That is why I have looked at my new Bernina sewing machine with fear and trepidation. 

A friend here asked me if I wanted to take a class with an excellent teacher, but it would be all machine work. I nervously said yes, because I knew I needed to take a step out of my hand-stitching box and learn how to use my machine. The class was Playing on the Surface, with Gloria Loughman, from Australia, and would be two days. I signed up in July and didn't give it much thought until all of a sudden it was November, and the class was in three days! All the supplies were gathered together, and off I went, not sure what to expect. 

From the moment we started, I knew that I was in good hands with Gloria. She made us all comfortable right from the beginning, as she shared what we would be doing in class. We would be using machine appliqué and embroidery to create abstract designs that were one of a kind. I was a bit nervous about my  design capabilities as abstract is not my forte, but Gloria's methods made it seem achievable. She began the class by showing some of her work to help us get an idea of what we would be doing.

The tiling on the background fabric adds so much depth.

Incredible detail

Gloria sometimes uses painted fabric to add detail.

This was one of my favorites!

An interesting skyline

This one reminds me of butterflies.

What spectacular use of color!

A colorful facade

So many different techniques were used in this piece.

I love this color combination!

Gloria enjoys using fabric with original Aboriginal designs.

Now that we were suitably impressed and just a slight bit intimidated, we got to work. Gloria's instructions were clear and simple. We started with a large sheet of paper to begin our designs, and she guided us through the process, so we really didn't get too stressed. 

Each technique was demonstrated clearly.

We spent most of the first day just figuring out our design and color schemes, choosing fabrics and shapes to incorporate into our piece. I was aiming for a fall theme; in hindsight, I should have made my design a bit smaller, but I will make it work.

Some of my fabric choices  being auditioned

Gloria also hand-dyes fabric and had some shipped over for us to buy—and of course I couldn't resist, even though I had brought what seemed like half my stash.

Such beautiful eye candy!

By the time we left for the day, our minds were swirling with color and design decisions. Ready to get started on day two, we continued putting our pieces together. I re-worked a piece, because one of the colors wasn't playing nicely with the rest, and added some things to another piece that needed some oomph. Gloria's method is to divide the quilt into sections and do the stitching/appliqué on the pieces while they are small, so they can be manipulated easier. Some of the ladies were speedy and by the afternoon, had their pieces ready to put together. Others, like me, were still trying to finish the design in order to actually put it all together.

Everyone hard at work with Gloria, on the left, encouraging us

My hot mess of a work station!

My friend Angela started all over again the second day and made these gorgeous sections.

Taking a class or going on a retreat in Germany is awesome, because they set up snacks! We had pretzels in the morning and cake in the afternoon, as well as coffee, tea, water, and sparkling apple juice.

Apple Schorle: kind of like apple soda

A German staple

The second day drew to a close, and it was time for a little show and tell of our progress. I was still fighting with mine, and so was my neighbor, but we put them up anyway. Others were further along, but there was no pressure at any time to be at a certain stage in the process. That's what I call a good class. 

Water was the theme for this artist's work

Aren't the elephants perfect?

My work after two days.  Not as far along as I had hoped but I will finish it someday.

Stepping out of my comfy box was a bit of a stretch for me, but I'm glad I did. Abstract may not be my strength, but it was a treat to take a class from such a wonderful teacher and to challenge myself to learn something new. Gloria's work is inspiring in so many ways, but what was most inspiring to me was the way she taught and encouraged the class. It is my hope that someday Teri and I can become teachers just like her. I hope you have enjoyed coming to this class with me. If you would like to read more about Gloria Loughman and her amazing work, you can go to her website here.