We are so excited about The Academy of Appliqué next year that we can hardly wait! The joy of anticipating a week with stitching friends, old—perhaps we should say experienced—and new always fills us will delight, but this year promises to be something especially wonderful!
Last week, Kara shared two of the blocks we will be teaching in Williamsburg next year. In both sessions, we are offering choices for you, so that you can choose either option, or both. In our first session, we add the Butterfly and Trillium to the Cascading Creek—both blocks from our Woodland Reverie series. Two years ago, we introduced this series with our spring and fall blocks (click HERE to see), but there is much fun to come as we explore the woodlands.
We are stitching each of our Woodland Reverie blocks on both a black background and a neutral one. It is fun to see how the colors behave so differently on the contrasting backgrounds. You have the advantage of seeing how the two colorways compare. This block begins with a basic papercut design for the fern; we use back-basting and will teach that method, but if you have a tried-and-true favorite method, that's always fine with us. Embroidery creates veins on the fern, and we created an appliquéd frame in the center using Dupioni silk to showcase our butterfly.
The trilliums are made with French wired ombré ribbon, and the center sparkles with metallic threads.
The star of this block is a beautiful butterfly, ready to fly away. His wings are free to flap in the wind, as he is attached only in the center. The fun of discovering the perfect symmetrical fabric to fussy-cut for wings is an adventure in itself!
Many of the techniques used in the Cascading Creek and Butterfly and Trillium overlap, so while you might choose to work on one of them during class, you will be able to accomplish both if you desire.
Our second session will cover the center medallion of our Village Wanderings quilt, as well as the corner blocks, the seasonal trees. Because every village needs trees! We will cover the ribbon skills needed to complete the trees, as well as discuss the embroidery used for the little wool birds.
The bluebird sits in the budding spring tree.
A goldfinch in the leafy summer branches.
The woodpecker helps the turning leaves to fall.
The cardinal perches atop a barren snow-speckled wintry tree.
That is a lot of fun to have in one week!! Remember that registration opens at noon EDT on Labor Day. We don't envy you having to make choices among all the wonderful class offerings this year—there are so many wonderful classes from which to select! Of course, we would LOVE to have you joining the fun in one of our sessions, but whatever class you choose, please do plan to stop by to say hello. We'd love to say hi, or to meet you if we haven't yet had that pleasure. See you in February!!
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