We're Back "In the Garden" Again: Cornflowers

As Kara stated last week, we will be revisiting our time capsule of posts from a few years ago, and going back In the Garden. We will be using many of the stitches we learned in our Hopeful Flowers Stitch Along, and sharing tips in our Hopeful Stitchers Facebook group. Since this post was first published, the quilt has been assembled, quilted, bound, and taught in two year-long BOMs at Primitive Homespuns. We hope that you will enjoy our return visit In the Garden, and if you have already stitched some of the blocks, perhaps you might share some of your successes in our Facebook group. Below, you can find the unedited original post from 2017. All of the patterns are available as digital downloaded PDFs or as printed copies with ribbon at needleseyestories.com. Enjoy!!

For this week only, use the coupon code CORNFLOWER10 to receive a 10% discount on the printed pattern with ribbon!

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Thursday, October 19, 2017

Introducing "In the Garden," A BOM Series: Cornflowers

For some time now, Kara and I (Teri) have wanted to design a Block of the Month series. We discussed a number of different themes, but we finally settled on a garden. Before Kara left for Germany, we mapped out our plan, and worked with Kathy Makers of Primitive Homespuns Wool & Needleworks to select our palette of wools for the project. We love to mix different materials, so we will be combining wool, a variety of threads, ribbon, and even some beads. The blocks will vary in size, and ultimately, we plan to create a quilt out of the blocks. But you might wish to used the blocks independently in some other way—your creativity should know no bounds!

I will be introducing a new pattern each month in a class I'll teach at Kathy's shop in Frederick, Maryland. After the class, I will blog about it, and the pattern will be released on our website, needleseyestories.com. Any ribbon needed to complete the block will be included with the pattern. Of course, if you want to source your own ribbon, you can simply purchase the digital version of the pattern. If you are interested in purchasing wool and thread kits, you can do so through the Primitive Homespuns website, linked above.

The first block: Cornflowers (or Bachelor Buttons)

The Cornflowers class was held this past Sunday. Our first step was to appliqué down the wool unit for the leaves. Most of us did the leaves as one whole unit and used the embroidery to delineate the separate leaves. A couple people cut the leaves into separate units and appliquéd them down. Either method worked just fine. We worked on outlining the leaves with a stem stitch using Valdani pearl cotton, stitching fairly densely.

We all enjoyed making the bias silk cornflower blooms. The flowers are made with 1.5-inch Hanah bias silk ribbon, which is frayed, folded and gathered. 

Here is a brief tutorial for how to make these flowers. You will need to make two flowers.

Cut a 9-inch piece of ribbon. Fray the edges of both sides
of the ribbon with your thumbnail and index finger.

Fold the ribbon in half lengthwise. We didn't press it,
but a few ladies in class said that they would, because the silk is slippery.

Bring the two ends together. Starting at the fringy edge, backstitch
the two ends of the ribbon together with matching or neutral thread.
You should now have a loop.

Open the loop and take running stitches along the folded edge until you
get back to where you started. Your stitches need not be tiny;
ours were anywhere between an eighth and a quarter inch. 

Don't knot off the thread yet!

Pull the thread gently to gather and take two small backstitches
in the folds to secure the gathers.

The budding bloom on the right of the block is made the same way, with two exceptions. You start with a 4.5-inch piece of ribbon, and rather than opening the loop, you just stitch straight across through all the layers on the fold and gather. We started the class with a fun technique—what is more fun than the magic of turning a piece of ribbon into a beautiful flower? We set our blooms aside to create stems.

Our next task was to tackle the Hungarian Braided Chain stitch, used for the stems. I love this stitch, but it can take a while to feel comfortable with it. Some of us were wishing we had saved the ribbon fraying for after this stitch, so we could fray our stress out! We all agreed that we would master that stitch, but maybe not in one day. ☺

When I do this stitch, I am reminded of French braiding my daughter's hair. I would get the parts of the braid in place and then tug to secure it. As I stitch, I can almost hear her squealing. (Believe it or not, my adult daughter loves braiding her hair now; she might be gentler on herself than I was.) 

Here are a few photos of my method to help you out. For a really wonderful tutorial, check out Mary Corbet's video by clicking here. (And please don't compare my method with hers!)

1)  Start by making a lazy daisy stitch. Bring your needle up to the front a stitch-length away from the bottom of the lazy daisy.  Carefully take the needle through the tack stitch on the opposite side of the stitch.

2)  Pull the thread through the tack stitch, but do not pull tightly, yet. Take the needle to the back of the work precisely where the thread came to the front. Bring the needle back to the front a stitch-length below.

3)  Using the eye of the needle, so you won't pierce other threads, take your working thread under the stitch in the
middle of the loose stitch.  So your needle is over the outside stitch and under the previous stitch in the middle.
Keep the needle in place for the time being.

4)  This is where I give the working thread beneath a little tug. (Imagine a squealing little girl.)
Pull the needle through, eye first, but don't pull the thread tautly yet.
Repeat steps 2 through 4 until you have created the length of stem you desire. 

Because I was using size 12 pearl, I decided that the taller stems were too skinny for the big flowers, so I stitched another row right next to the first. It gave the stems a cool texture. But of course, you could always swap out a size 5 or 8 pearl if you wished. Or, as always, you might just want to sub in a totally different stitch! And that's okay.

To create the buds, I first appliquéd a piece of green wool in the shape of my bud. This gives the bud dimension, and it insures that if any color shines through the stitches, it is not the cream of my background. I used a periwinkle satin stitch to cover the point, and then I created random, overlapping fly stitches, shaped like a V, pointing to the tip of the bud—first in purple, and then green at the bottom. 

Now we just need to place our flowers and work the centers. To stitch the blooms in place, take some tack stitches into the folds of the blooms. I only stitched in the center, so that the petals would still move freely—like they're blowin' in the wind. In the center, I stitched French knots, using periwinkle floss with three wraps. I surrounded the center with a circle of purple French knots. Finally, I used black floss to make pistil stitches, radiating from the center, adding a bead to the knot. The beads, of course,  are optional. 

We are having a great time designing this quilt, and would love to have you join us! We have twelve garden-themed blocks coming, and ultimately, a border and plan for assembling them. Won't it be fun to garden all year long? We would love to have you join us—In the Garden!

"In the Garden"—Wisteria Border and Quilt Assembly

In November, this wonderful group of ladies completed the final class of our Block of the Month quilt, In the Garden, at Primitive Homespuns Wool and Needleworks in Frederick, Maryland. We had such an awesome time together—stitching, sharing stories, learning new skills, and just having fun. Our last class was a bit bittersweet for me (Teri), as I'd come to look forward to meeting with the girls every month. But there will be other classes.

Our last session focused on assembling the blocks into a quilt, as well as how to make the wisteria border. Kathy, the owner of Primitive Homespuns, always has everything kitted for the classes, but this time, we decided it might be better to give everyone the opportunity to choose the color for the lettering. I was thrilled to see all of the choices. I am a green person, but we had purple, teal, and red letters in the top border—and they all looked fabulous! Every quilt would end up unique and personal to its maker. Some stitched the letters with matching thread, and at least one chose to stitch with a contrasting color thread to make a pop of color. I loved it! Our top is pictured here, with borders and pinned to prepare for quilting.

Here is a brief synopsis of how we worked the wisteria border:

I used a ten-inch square of wool—with a fusible ironed to the back—for my letters and arranged the word patterns on the wool. I stapled the patterns on the wool inside the letters and carefully cut them out, using sharp scissors. I fused the words onto the border strip (pressing on the front and the back) because I knew the long strip of wool would be handled a lot in the stitching process, and I didn't want the words to shift. (Shift happens!) This helped to keep everything lined up correctly. I used a matching wool thread with a blanket stitch all around the edges of the words, which gave a nice clean edge to the lettering. 

I used sari silk ribbon for the wisteria vines, twisting and pinning carefully before stitching.

I used a matching thread and stitched the smaller vines first, and then proceeded to the larger vine, removing pins as I stitched. 

Here, the first smaller vines are pinned down. I folded a piece of sari silk in half and twisted it, pinning so that the raw edges would be beneath the larger vine.

The larger vine is made with a long piece of sari silk, folded in thirds so the edges overlap in the center, as pictured here.

The center section is lightly twisted and pinned, and then the ends are twisted and shaped using the pins to secure.

The tighter you twist the silk, the more gnarled the vine will be. Stitch the smaller vines first, and then the larger one. I added some seed stitches throughout, using a matching 30-weight silk thread, to add more texture to the vines.

I used pearl cotton for the stems and leaves, and floss for the wisteria blooms. The petals are made with bullion-knotted lazy daisy stitches and some French knots for the smaller buds at the tips. 

The pattern includes the sari silk needed to make the wisteria vine and will be available on the website, along with all the patterns for each of the blocks. I know this post is a wee bit—okay, waaaay—overdue, but I wanted to have the quilting finished before posting it. So I hope you'll forgive me for taking so long. A quilter I am not. (Thanks, Yoda!) But I was determined to tackle this one, trying big-stitch quilting for the first time. Valdani #12 pearl cotton was my choice, and I loved the way it stitched.

First, I outlined all of the motifs. Then I used painter's tape to mark my quilting lines for the cross-hatching. I thought it would be fun to add little flowers, sprinkled through the cross-hatching, so every so often, I'd make a little bloom with five lazy daisy stitches and a knot in the middle. After the first row, I made little notches in the tape where I wanted to stitch the flowers. 

One important tip if you quilt using painter's tape: it's perfect because it isn't too sticky, but it does like the silk ribbon, so I found it worked better if I didn't press the tape directly onto the ribbon. I put a scrap piece of tape upside down where the tape would go over the ribboned sections. 

And finally....I have finished!!

In the Garden—a wool and ribbon appliqué and embroidery block of the month series

 

You can purchase all twelve of the individual block patterns on our website. If you purchase all twelve patterns, the Wisteria Border and Quilt Assembly pattern is free. And remember: all the hard copy patterns come with any ribbon needed to create the block. But you can also purchase digital copies of the patterns if you have access to the ribbons yourself. It is never too late to join us In the Garden!

Stop back tomorrow for a synopsis of the individual quilt blocks!

PS—If you have been following along and have purchased each block throughout the past year, please email us. We have a list compiled of about ten people who have bought all the blocks and will receive the final pattern free. Email us before you purchase if you think that you are on that list! ☺

"In the Garden"—Wheelbarrow of Flowers

Well, we have made it to the final block in our In the Garden Block of the Month Series! Our final block is a wheelbarrow full of flowers. Several years ago, I (Teri) had an old rusted wheelbarrow that I used as a planter to hide an ugly corner of our home's foundation. That year, I planted it with coleus and sweet potato vines. But this wheelbarrow was to be filled with a variety of favorite flowers we had not yet stitched.

My garden wheelbarrow

We had such a fun time in our class this past weekend at Primitive Homespuns Wool & Needleworks, that I didn't pause to take a single photo! The afternoon was over so quickly that we were all surprised when it was time to pack and head home to stitch. Here are a few highlights of the block.

The wool pieces for the wheelbarrow and birdhouse are appliquéd in place using a matching thread. Because the weave of the wool that I used for the roof of the birdhouse was pretty loose, I used a buttonhole stitch to give it a cleaner look. A piece of dark wool was placed behind the hole in the house to give the illusion of going inside.

I stitched the spokes of the wheel using a dark pearl cotton—three lines intersecting at the center, dividing the wheel into six sections. I searched my button stash the hub of the wheel, but you could just appliqué a circle of wool there. (Or you could embroider a circle with a fun circular stitch!)

  

I had appliquéd a piece of plaid green wool to the top of the wheelbarrow to serve as a background for the flowers. I knew I wanted to stitch black-eyed Susans. I've been a Marylander most of my life, and our state flower has always been a favorite. I used yellow silk ribbon stitches to create the petals' pearl cotton knots for the centers. 

Did you know that the black-eyed Susan was chosen as Maryland's state flower because it has the same colors as part of our state flag; it has an average of 13 petals, and MD was one of the original 13 states; and, it usually blooms on or around Independence Day? You are welcome for that piece of fascinating trivia!

I wanted to pull some of the purples that were throughout the quilt, so I chose salvia as another flower to stitch. I used pearl cotton to create the stems and leaves, and stacked fly stitches topped with a French knot for the blooms. I highlighted the purple pearl cotton that I used with a strand of light purple, so the blooms would pop a bit more. The purple I chose seemed to be so dark that it nearly disappeared, and adding the lighter color helped.

I also knew I wanted to include daisies, so I moved to the other side of the wheelbarrow and created the daisies using—of course—lazy daisy stitches. I varied the number of petals, to keep it interesting and to better fill the space. I used yellow ribbon French knots for the centers, but you could just as easily use floss or pearl cotton. The leaves are green ribbon stitches with silk ribbon.

The bullion roses were a new technique that we learned in class. I started with two yellow bullion stitches in the center, and then used a variegated pink to create the outer petals with overlapping bullion stitches. The buds were created using just two or three bullions. The calyxes were also made of bullion knots, using green pearl. I filled in the space with a few French knots. Be sure that you are wrapping the thread around the needle more times than you need to fill the space, so that it creates a curved stitch that will nestle around the previous stitches. And using a milliner's needle (size 1, 3, or 5) will make these knots SO much easier and more enjoyable!! It is much easier to pull this needle through all the wraps on the needle because the entire shaft is the same width. Ask me how I learned NOT to try these knots with a chenille needle... For a tutorial on making a bullion rose, click here or here.



The remaining space was filled in with lavender. I love lavender, and I know that I have taken photos of it in the past, but unfortunately, I couldn't locate any of them to share. To stitch it, I filled the area with small feather stitches using green wool thread, and then I just randomly made the lavender French knots throughout the section. Lavender is a great filler, both in a dirty garden and a stitched one! The stitched lavender does miss that wonderful aroma, though.

The wheelbarrow was finished, but my birdhouse needed a bird. I decided to add some yellow and make a goldfinch. He flew down and perched on the tire before going into his house. To stitch him, I outlined the body with an outline stitch and filled it with yellow stem stitches and straight stitches. I followed a photo I had taken to add the black and white wings and the black top of his head. A French knot with a small white stitch formed his twinkling eye. I used a pale orange floss to make his beak and claws. I think he's pretty cute!

One of the hardest things for me to learn when we started embroidering blooms with a variety of ribbons and threads is that there is likely to be a fair amount of variation. If I absolutely HATE the way a wonky stitch makes me feel when I look at it, I un-stitch. But more often than not, I keep stitching, and when the piece is finished, what looked horrid to me at first becomes hardly noticeable—even to me. I have spent a lot of time in gardens taking pictures of flowers, and I have come to realize that few of them are perfect. Well, they ARE perfect—in their imperfection! The petals are not all the same size or shape, bugs eat holes in some of them, the wind blows some away. While there are times that I redo a flower or two, especially when I am experimenting, a lot of times, I surprise myself and find that what I first considered a mistake just added some realistic charm to my garden. 

If you have ever taken a class with us, you know that we love to discuss the organic nature of our flower-stitching. I saw this plaque yesterday while I was shopping and thought it a perfect mantra. Remember: 

Stitching is supposed to be fun! Enjoy the organic nature of your garden.

Our Wheelbarrow of Flowers pattern is now available on our website, along with the other blocks in the series. As always, the hard copy of the pattern includes the ribbon needed to make the block. Next month, we will be creating a top border for our quilt, and we will discuss assembling the In the Garden quilt. We are almost finished!

Wheelbarrow of Flowers

To read more about our other blocks in the series, click on the links below.

• Introducing "In the Garden," A BOM Series: Cornflowers
• "In the Garden"—Oak Leaves and Acorns
• "In the Garden"—Violets
• "In the Garden"—Cardinals and Holly
• "In the Garden"—Rose
• "In the Garden"—Robin and Forsythia
• "in the Garden"—Dragonfly and Fern
• "In the Garden"—Hummingbird and Fuschia
• "In the Garden"—Hydrangea
• "In the Garden"—Monarch and Butterfly Bush
• "In the Garden"—Garden Gate

We would love to see you In the Garden!