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.

BOM Block Two: Meadow Cranesbill

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.

We are excited to continue our free block of the month Sew-Along. If you are new to the blog, this free BOM will consist of 12 relatively simple blocks based on the German flora and fauna that I (Kara) see on my daily walks with our dogs. Last month's block was based on this butterfly that was gracious enough to allow me to take his picture.

I decided to do two different blocks to show a little variety in the materials that could be used; one with just fabric, and one with a combination of wool and fabric. You can read more about them here.

I do a lot of creative thinking on my walks about which block to create next, and lately, the weather has been perfect for a little pondering. The dogs even seem to enjoy it and have stopped pretending we are racing in the Idatarod. The leaves are starting to turn, the apple trees are loaded, and the asters are outdoing themselves in a vivid display of color.

The Autumn colors should be spectacular around here.

Flowers that are blue to bluish purple will always catch my eye, so this month we are highlighting the Meadow Cranesbill or Storchshnäbel in German. This lovely blueish, purple flower is a member of the geranium family and can still be seen in a few places around here, even though the cooler temperatures have arrived.

I'm guessing the name may have come from
the seed pods.

Notice the delicate lines on the petals.

At the beginning of this series,  I hadn't planned on making two blocks each month, but I like the idea of having one block in wool and one in cotton.  I wasn't as diligent this time about taking pictures throughout the making of these blocks, but they are pretty straightforward and simple. 

Cotton Block

All the threads and fabric used in this block.

When I was in France a couple of weeks ago, I searched for just the right color fabric for the flowers and found this rainbow gradated piece that was perfect for the cotton appliqué block; the faint lines in the fabric mimicked the lines in the petals. I appliquéd the petals on the larger flower individually but used one piece for the smaller flower.

Five individual petals

I used one piece of fabric for the smaller flower.

Stitches and Threads used (cotton block):

Green #5 pearl cotton by Painters Threads for the stem-stitched stems, straight-stitched calyx, and bud end. 

The Gentle Art Simply Wool in Parchment for French knots in flower center.

The Gentle Art Sampler Threads (3 strands) in Licorice for bullion knot anthers.

Edmar rayon thread in Lola (171) for straight-stitch pistils.

The pistils and anthers are place randomly around the center. 

The finished cotton appliqué block

Wool Block

For the wool block, I prepped the pieces using Soft-Fuse fusible, with the exception of the bud, which I stapled. As I was looking for threads to stitch down the flowers, I came across some #12 pearl from House of Embroidery, out of South Africa. If you would like to read more about these threads, Mary Corbet, over at Needle 'n Thread just blogged about these threads here. I have a large variety box and the purply-blue was perfect with this piece of wool. You can purchase the threads from Akonye Kena.

I love the variegation in this pearl thread. 

While the color wool I used for the wool version flower was great, it didn't have the lines in it like the fabric did. To create those lines, I used another of the House of Embroidery pearl cotton to make stem-stitched lines on the petals of the big flower.

I eyeballed the three lines for each petal. 

Stitches and Threads used (wool block):

Green #5 pearl cotton by Painters Threads for the stem-stitched stems,  straight-stitched calyx, and bud end. 

The Gentle Art Simply Wool in Parchment for French knots in flower center.

The Gentle Art Sampler Threads (3 strands) in Licorice for bullion knot anthers.

Edmar rayon thread in Lola (171) for straight stitch pistils.

House of Embroidery pearl (34A) for stem-stitched line on flower

House of Embroidery pearl (15A) for blanket-stitching around the flowers

Again, the pistils and anthers are place randomly around the center.
I was a little overzealous with the French knots in the center, but there were
no embroidery police around  to make me pull some of them out!

And the finished wool block

All the threads and wool used for this block

Have you started the first block yet? If so, we'd love to see your progress; and remember, for every block picture you share, you will receive an entry for our grand finale giveaway! Please join us for the fun and let us know if you have any questions.