Imperial Blooms...Finished

 

I finished the quilting and stitched the binding on the other day.  All the quilting was done on my Bernina and I'm very pleased with the quilting.  I used free motion on the blocks and an outline stitch around the scallops in the border.  I used a walking foot for the outline stitches so the wool wouldn't stretch.  I didn't mark the wool, just visualized the same amount of distance as I worked the stitches.

 

 

One day this past week without rain or snow, not that I'm complaining, always need the moisture, to take some photos of the quilt outside.

 

Lots and lots of embellishments, beading and creative stitches.

 

 

The applique consists of cotton fabrics, wool and velvet.  Sue Spargo has the Imperial Blooms book for sale on her website to make this quilt.

 

Thanks so much for the compliments on the little ground squirrel.  She's a female and looks to have had babies, no sign of them yet.

Close Up of Imperial Blooms

Liz wanted to see a close up, here you go.

Imperial Blooms

For some reason decided to finally sew on the four borders of my Imperial Blooms.  Maybe I just wanted to see a quilt on the wash line.  Will have to wait for winter to be quilted, it's very heavy and hot and is definitely a quilt that will have to be machine quilted.  I sure love it.  A huge splash of color from my usual primitive quilts.

I've added this note after Dorothy commented about packing it in the car.  It was one of many that I packed during the fire threat, but I had to scramble to find the borders, maybe that's why I decided to sew it together today.  The BOM was gifted to me by my sewing group after Jim died when I didn't think I would have the money to buy the rest of the BOM or pick up a needle to sew again.  It's a very special quilt in so many ways.

Imperial Blooms Borders and Deer Me

I finished all the applique on the scallops and have them pinned to the wool border.  One or two of the circles are of a different fabric so I wanted to place them just so.  Think it looks good.  Love how all the different shades of the background wools flow, like an artist painted them, Sue does have the most beautiful wools.  Will applique the scallops, sew the borders and then add the final embellishment stitches around the scallops.  This is sewing backwards, but I don't want to catch any embellishment stitches when I sew the borders on.

Yesterday I was sitting in the sun and stitching, and a doe came up with some others.  She looks pregnant, sheddding her winter coat so not looking her best, but healthy. 

She has her yearling with her.  They weren't sure of the ladder, too nervous to attempt to steal any seed.  A drink of water and they were on their way.

Imperial Blooms and Exercise

More progress on the borders of Imperial Blooms, the scallops are not suppose to be cut apart, but I needed to in order to decide placement of the different scraps on the border.  Changing the embellishments some.

Angela, the quilt is still sandwiched like a regular quilt and quilted.  Will attempt to machine quilt at least part of this one.  I hand quilted all the other Sue Spargo quilts that I have made.  That was not easy, but it's hard for me to get close enough to the applique with my machine with all the embellishments.

I heard Mum, human Mum say I was getting heavy.  Of course she meant fat.

So I'm doing leg lifts to flatten my stomach, nice form, tail curled, feet, I mean paws raised off the floor, I can feel the pull.

I'm counting the lifts, but to what number.  Maybe I'll do them until I just fall asleep.

Imperial Blooms Progress and a little Wildife

I started prepping the top border yesterday, using fabric scraps from the flowers and the binding fabric to add the additional applique circle behind the blue wool circle. 

Sidney seems to be curious on what's outside the window.

It's a baby marmot.  Love his bushy tail.

He hears the camera clicking thru the window.

Nothing to be alarmed about.  Although his mom was watching on the rocks and gave him a huge scolding for being so close to the house.  Funny to watch that interaction between them.

Imperial Blooms Progress

I have all the blocks stitched together after finally finishing the embellishment stitches.  With all the beads and embellishing, it's a very heavy quilt, but beautiful.  So Sue Spargo.

The wool fabrics for the top and bottom borders.

I decided to use this striped fabric for an additional circle beneath the blue wool circle.  The fabric came as the binding fabric, but I have something else in mind for the binding.

Oh Boy!

Slight glee at finishing the embellishment on these two blocks from Imperial Blooms, I told you there were a zillion stitches to add.   A few changes to suit me.  I can start sewing those blocks together.

A real thrill, the wool mat I had worked on and posted about months ago, I had submitted it to a mag, received a call this morning, must say it's very nice to talk to the real person behind a computer screen, especially when they end up sounding as nice in person.  Anyway, accepted to be published in the Prim mag.  I've named it Winter Whites.  A good start to the week.  Oh boy!

Imperial Blooms Progress and ...

Started prepping the last block from Imperial Blooms.  I have a few turquoise beads left so I'm going to use those for extra embellishment, don't know if you can see it or not. 

Also going back to add bullion knots to this block, there's a zillion to make and I had to stop making them when I originally made the block, my fingers needed a rest.   I always think, how does Sue do this all the time.

You thought it was going to be wildlife pics.  Also starting the baptis fan quilting on my version of Cherie Ralston's Stark Raven Mad.

I should be ready for some needle turn applique in a few days after stitching through wool.

Sue's Imperial Blooms and ...

No, that block isn't really as big as it looks.  Just a closeup to show the wonderful textures that Sue Spargo includes in her kits.  Had a tiny piece of lime green velvet left, so added it to the inner circle to finish that off.  Just need to add a few more embellishment stitches.  I realized I only have one more block to finish and then the borders, so I think I will go back and add additional embellishment stitches to the previous blocks since I like working on increasing my skill with all the possible stitches without going back to read the tips and instructions, plus I know now it helps to have the correct needle size.  I knew that, but didn't think it made that big of difference, but it does when you are using specialty threads.

Of course, wildlife, big horn sheep as I'm looking at them from upstairs in my fabric room.

A profile of Bailey as I try to snap a pic of a baby big horn just outside the storeroom window downstairs.

As many pictures I take and have taken in the past, I don't have one picture from the trip when Jim and I moved up here so many years ago from Texas. We would have been on day four of the trip, almost here.  One more day to go, sure of all of us, the five cats would be the most relieved.

Imperial Blooms, a finish for now

My other quilting self picked up block 6 from Sue's BOM and added a few more embellishment stitches until my fingers couldn't pull the thread any longer.  I added the little beads that I happened to have to the velvet piece and can't tell you how many of the little blue beads around the center wool piece I lost, enough to know it was lots.  Never worked with such tiny beads.  So I will leave this block for awhile and go back to my primitive quilt, a big wool applique piece that I started. 

Imperial Blooms progress

 I finished block 5 today, decided to wait to add the outline embellishment stitches until the quilt is quilted.  Remember now that is what I did previously to anchor the applique since it is difficult to machine quilt up close to the embellishments, at least for me.

Difference between the two layouts, yes, or there will be, decided also to add the scraps of leftover fabrics to my blocks to break up the background and just like the look.

Imperial Blooms progress

 Switched gears yesterday to start another block from Sue's Imperial Blooms.  Love making those little circles, so I went over board on them as you can tell from the pic.  Easy to make with Sue's creative idea to use a hole punch.

Need to applique a few more pieces and then add the embellishment stitches.

Imperial Blooms Block completed, Grizzly Bear, updated

 Finished block 4, April of Sue's Imperial Blooms.  Seem to be picking up some speed on the embellishment stitches that I am not familiar with and not having to go back and look at Sue's instructions, like the bullion stitch. 

I added the blue shell beads instead of using wool.  Embellished the center with the bullion stitches all over the green wool instead of at the top, had thread left on the needle, why not use it.

And yet another grizzly mauling in the last week in the park.  The officials weren't sure if the man died first and then was mauled, but it looks like after the autopsy of the man that he died from a bear mauling.  This evening, I added this after just reading that they have trapped the bear,  a grizzly that returned to the site, checking the DNA of the bear for a match, doesn't make sense to me since a separate bear could have originally attacked the man and then the other bear came later. I'm sure they know what they are doing. Sad, in so many ways, we think we will always be safe, but life can change in the blink of an eye. The man was hiking alone without bear spray.  I think a company needs to donate bear spray and hand them out to all visitors entering the park, to increase their knowledge of just how dangerous a wildlife park like Yellowstone can be and the precautions that need to be taken for a safe, fun trip.