Back-Basted Basket Weaving

In November, I (Teri) taught a workshop for the Baltimore Appliqué Society on this lovely flower basket block, made by Mildred Tahara. I wrote about this stunning quilt in the post, In Praise of Jane Austen: An Album Quilt, including close-up shots of the blocks Mildred made that will be BAS workshops. Elly Sienkiewicz designed the patterns Mildred used.

As I began stitching my model, I pondered the basket. My favorite appliqué method is back-basting, so I knew that would be how I'd construct my basket. I studied the baskets on both Elly's and Mildred's models. (Elly was kind enough to loan me her block.) When Elly first made the block, she used a solid piece of fabric and used reverse appliqué.

Basket, reverse appliquéd by Elly Sienkiewicz
What a perfect fabric for the basket!

Mildred also reverse appliquéd the basket with a single piece of fabric, but then she appliquéd the rectangles of white on top of it to give the basket an open look.

Basket appliquéd by Mildred Tahara

Since I was using Mildred's quilt as my teaching model, I wanted the basket to have the same look; however, I don't think I have the patience that Mildred must have, because I couldn't imagine me trying to appliqué all those skinny rectangles. So I decided to "weave" my basket, using the back-basting method. Here's what I did.

First, I marked every other spoke on the back, and basted them, using one piece of fabric. I then trimmed and appliquéd each of the spokes.

Next, I basted the cross-bar on top of those spokes, trimmed, and appliquéd it.

Here is the back of the piece, where the basket is marked. Note the light marked lines in the stitched spokes, which helped me place the first alternating spokes. Here, I am basting the remaining alternating spokes

The basting lines are marked on the outside of the spokes, so that when they are trimmed and the basting stitches are removed one at a time, the marked lines are my turning lines. 

As I stitched these spokes on top of the previous spokes and cross-bar, I got the illusion of having woven the basket fabric. But all I had to do was stitch straight lines...easy peasy!!

After the inside of the basket was finished, I basted one large piece of fabric over the entire basket design—the inside and the outside edges. I marked the basting lines with my white pencil.

First I trimmed—very carefully—along the inside edges and reverse appliquéd the inside of the basket.

After the inside was reverse appliquéd, I appliquéd around the outside edge of the basket, removing just a few basting stitches at a time, not more than an inch or so ahead of my appliqué stitches. 

You can see the woven look that is achieved.

And here is my finished basket!

I am nearly finished with the block. I just have a few flowers remaining to create and stitch. I will be teaching the second part of the this block in January, at which point I will share my version with you. It has been great fun to stitch this Flower Basket, inspired by both Elly and Mildred. 

There are many ways to stitch a basket. How might you go about weaving an appliquéd basket?

Rose of Sharon

In October, Kara and I (Teri) will be teaching this lovely Rose of Sharon block at our local quilt shop, Patches Quilting and Sewing, in Mt. Airy, Maryland. The class will run for three weeks, on Thursday evenings. 

Spoken Without a Word,
30th Anniversary Revised Edition

The pattern for this block is found in the book, Spoken Without a Word, by Elly Sienkiewicz, who designed this particular rendering, stitched primarily with ribbon. When Elly stitched the block, she changed the orientation, omitted the four center buds, and inked a picture of the Maryland State House within the wreath. We chose to create the block with the buds in the center, and we loved Elly's ribbon choices, so we attempted to match her selections as closely as possible. 

Elly's Rose of Sharon

Both Kara and I love this block, and evidently, many other quilters have loved it as well. I thought it might be fun to explore some of the different antique iterations I have come across and share them with you. 

About a year and a half ago, I visited the DAR Museum's exhibit, Eye on Elegance. (To see more about that visit, click here.) There were several Baltimore Album Quilts in their collection that had variations of the Rose of Sharon block. 

I love the colorful fabric choices in this one.
Made for Betsey Hobbs Harper and William Harper; Baltimore, 1848

The fussy-cut fabric in these flowers add such charm!
Made for Betsey Hobbs Harper and William Harper; Baltimore, 1848

Note the block in the center of the top row. 
I didn't get a photo of just the block, but it is quite similar to our pattern design.
Made for Betsey Hobbs Harper and William Harper; Baltimore, 1848

While this wreath has six flowers rather than four, it still appears to be related to the Rose of Sharon.
Made by Ruth Pettit Penn; Baltimore, about 1850

The four vases in the middle of the quilt are surrounded by Rose of Sharon wreaths.
Three of them have four flowers, like our pattern. Can you find them?
Made by Ruth Pettit Penn; Baltimore, about 1850

You may remember that I noted a number of Rose of Sharon blocks in the quilts that we saw at Lovely Lane this past spring. (To see the full quilts from that visit, click here.) Note how many variations there are. Isn't it interesting that these quilts were all made in Baltimore at about the same time? I'm sure neighboring quilters shared inspiration and patterns—just as we do today!

Reverend Lipscomb Quilt, 1846-47

The following five Rose of Sharon blocks are all in the Baltimore Album Quilt made for Reverend Best in 1847-48. While similar, none are identical.

 

Shared with permission from Sharon's Antiques.

While surfing the web, I found this Rose of Sharon quilt on a vintage fabric and quilt site, Sharon's Antiques. The block is recognizable, but rather than being part of an album quilt, the entire quilt is composed of twelve of these blocks. The vine border is made up of elements of the wreath, with alternating flowers and buds. The quilt is from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and is dated mid-1800s. 

Permission was kindly granted to allow me to share this quilt with you. Please take a moment to go to their web site (click here) and take a closer look. The quilting is stunning, as is the appliqué workmanship. Who knows, you may even be tempted—as I was—to purchase this beauty!

If you turn this block a quarter-turn, there is a striking resemblance to the pattern we will be teaching.
This block is very much like the pattern in Spoken Without a Word.
Shared with permission from Sharon's Antiques.

We are excited to share this block in our upcoming class. Ribbon definitely gives this block a unique and elegant look. If you're in the area, we hope you can join us for the fun!

French wired, ombré ribbon is gathered for the blooms.

The buds are padded ribbon with ultrasuede calyxes.
Leaves are created with hand-dyed silk ribbon.

Ribbon-worked Rose of Sharon

And we'll close with a few Rose of Sharon from my garden. Happy stitching!

It's Giveaway Time!!

Snowblowing the first two feet of snow.

This past weekend, we experienced a huge blizzard, with high winds and over 30 inches of snow. Depending on where you live, that might not be such a big deal, but here in Maryland, that much snow can be a bit paralyzing. It takes quite a while for all the roads to get plowed, and ours was among the last to be cleared, so we were snowed in for four days. Both Kara and I (Teri) got a lot of stitching done though, when we weren't shoveling our respective driveways and sidewalks. Kara was working on some baby quilts and a wool project. I finished a model for a beginning appliqué class we will be teaching and worked on the appliquéd baby blanket for my new granddaughter.

Blizzard stitching: model for our beginning appliqué class

Fortunately, we experienced no power outages, so our time was pretty productive. I can be perfectly happy staying home for several days, unless I CAN'T go out, and then that is all I want to do. Instead, I enjoyed the beauty of the snow falling outside my window, and I watched movies, stitched, made soup, and read. And shoveled the front porch and sidewalk. Twice. But I digress.

For the past two weeks, we have written about a Baltimore album-style quilt that we helped to make for a dear friend. (See Here's the Story of a Lovely Lady... and Zooming in for a Closer Look.) We love Baltimore album-style appliqué, and we hope you have been inspired by some of the blocks from that quilt. To further inspire you, we thought it would be fun to do our first giveaway. We would like to offer you a copy of Elly Sienkiewicz's 30th Anniversary Revised Edition of Spoken Without a Word. 

Book cover, with cover pattern stitched by Bette Augustine

Remember the pineapple block from last week's post? Its pattern was also included in Elly's first book, printed in 1983. It is one of 25 patterns included in the book, most of which were drafted from antique Baltimore album quilts. (The butterfly pattern on the cover was drawn by Elly's mother.) The original book has been reprinted within this edition, along with many pictures of contemporary models of the patterns.

I worked as Publication Manager with Elly on this book. The best part of the job was communicating with so many of the lovely ladies who stitched blocks or quilts using these patterns. I was blessed to have "met" stitchers from Australia, Canada, and many states in the U.S., learning some of the stories of their quilts. The needlework is stunning and inspiring. And we'd like for you to have a copy! If you already own the book, it would make a great gift, so we hope you will still enter.

Kara and I teach a couple of classes using patterns from the book. The blocks we've made are pictured below.

Eight-Pointed Star With Sprigs of Berries, by Kara

Eight-Pointed Star With Sprigs of Berries, by Teri

Rose of Sharon, by Kara

To enter for a chance to win this book, Spoken Without a Word:

1. Leave a comment on the blog. (If you are reading this in email, just click on the title to head to the blog site.)
2. In your comment, tell us what your favorite fairy tale is.
3. To be entered in the drawing, your comment must be in by Monday, February 1, at 12 noon, EST. 

We will be choosing a name from the entries at random and announce the winner next week. Please be sure that we have enough information about you to identify you. For instance, if you don't want to include your last name, tell where you are from so we know which "Mary" likes Cinderella, such as Mary from Timbuktu.

Thanks for visiting! It's always a pleasure to hear from you, and we can't wait to learn what your favorite fairy tales are. And just so you know, there is more to come about fairy tales in the future. Stay tuned!

Another Baltimore Album Journey

Respect and admiration. That was my feeling the first time I (Teri) saw a Baltimore Album quilt. Unlike Kara, however, I was perfectly satisfied enjoying the beauty of those lovely appliquéd quilts, as long as someone else was making them. I was absolutely certain that skill set would never be mine, not to mention the fact that I was pretty certain I lacked the patience to complete such work. I was happy creating patchwork beauties; my one venture into appliqué had been a bit daunting. (See A Learning Journey to Celebrate Fifty Years.) After finishing that one block, I had happily surrounded it with patchwork. 

So several years ago, when I started working with Elly Sienkiewicz of Baltimore renown, I did not expect to be pulled over to the "dark side" of the quilt world. Imagine my surprise the first day I worked with her, when she asked me if I would make some teaching models for a ruched rose. I just looked at her and told her she was highly overestimating my skills; I didn't even know what a ruched rose was, let alone how to make one. But she said she knew I could do it and proceeded to give me a quick lesson. And I did go home that night and make beautiful ruched roses! I was amazed...and already beginning to feel the tug.

For five years, I was part of the volunteer staff of the The Elly Sienkiewicz Appliqué Academy in Williamsburg, Virginia. Being surrounded by such talent was beyond inspiring. I began to feel like I just might be missing something. So my "sisters" surrounded me and cheered me on, teaching me tips of the trade. Jan Vaine taught me her Perfect Placement method of back basting, and before long, I had fallen in love with appliqué.

Our Stitching Sisterhood, all of whom have taught and inspired me and stirred up my love for Baltimore Appliqué. Working alongside these lovely ladies at the Appliqué Academy was an honor and a blessing. I love these ladies!

At this point, I have completed four entire blocks, three of which are in quilts in faraway states. (One of those quilts will be a future post.) But I have many mini-blocks and partial blocks, where I have learned valuable skills. Someday, I will finish some of them; others will likely remain lessons. But my love for appliqué has deepened with every stitch. The beauty that can be achieved with fabric, ribbon, and thread never ceases to amaze me. Some days I still have to remind myself not to fear the needle and to step beyond my comfort and try new things. I still have to push through that "I can't do it" hurdle and forge ahead, knowing that I can't learn if I don't try. In most cases, I persevere and am pleased with the outcome.

Elly's ruched rose motivated me to learn more about dimensional appliqué. This bouquet and the small flower blocks above are from Jan Vaine's book, Ribboned Bouquet. I can't believe I haven't finished this, with only one flower left to do. When I pulled this one out, I determined to complete this posthaste!

This peahen block was one of Elly's classes. The wreath should be filled with flowers, and perhaps someday it will be. The bird is appliquéd onto a piece of lightweight interfacing for easier handling; it would then be stitched to the block as a unit. I enjoyed creating a peahen to mimic the photo I'd taken in Hawaii.

Another of Elly's classes. I loved learning to make the rolled ribbon roses, but the day Elly taught me how to make them, I think she realized I was a remedial ribbon roller. We both persevered, and once I got the hang of it, I was hooked.  This elegant block I will definitely finish!

My only Baltimore block that is still in my possession. This block, Eight-Pointed Star With Sprigs of Berries (or Divine Guidance), was our first teaching experience at our local quilt shop. The pattern is from Elly's book Spoken Without a Word. Baltimore Album appliqué has most certainly gotten into my blood.

The most important thing I've learned on this journey is never to say never. I didn't know what I could accomplish until I tried. And if I hadn't tried it, I wouldn't have discovered the joy it gives me. We hope you might be inspired to try something new with your needle, too!

Have you ever tried a new stitching venture that took hold of your creative side? Please share your stories with us!