Moving It Forward Monday: A Quilt Label and Cross Stitch

Continuing work on my "Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll" project during this year's Quiltville mystery season:  Having finished the top on Friday, I now need to make up the backing so I can then move on to the layering step. 

 

Finished Mystery Top

Backing Fabrics

However backing a quilt also means thinking about a label for it.  Early in this project, I had come across the perfect thematic design for that from an old Georgia Bonesteel "Lap Quilting" episode.  

Given the theme of the mystery quilt, this seemed like the perfect block for the label.

To make it up, that means I need to do applique.  I had considered doing this using the needle turn method but not wanting to turn the label into too much of an additional project (and spend too long a time on it),  I decided to default to easier methods.  

In the beginning, one of the things that got me interested in quilting was learning that most quilting methods could be done completely by machine.  I eventually learned that this was true even for applique.  My first introduction to that was from this book: 

Later on I learned about Beth Ferrier (on Simply Quilts, back in the day) and her methods for machine applique which called for using freezer paper templates and glue basting the turned edges:

I combined her methods with using C&T's "Wash Away Applique Sheets" (developed with Beth's technique in mind) which meant not having to remove the paper after the glue basting:

  After choosing the fabrics and figuring out the image parts....

I prepped the pieces to be sewn onto the the label background

I will say that I hadn't realized just how hard doing all of those points and curves would be to prep given the smaller size of the block I was using.  In the end,  my "Boll" doesn't look just like Georgia's but for a label, it's good enough:

So the backing is now done, next will be layering and further quilting stitch pattern considerations!

Also in the "Continuing Work" category:  I have put more stitches in my "Give Thanks" cross stitch project (last seen at the end of this post).

First reported on here.

I had hoped to get this done to hang up for Thanksgiving but am now continuing to work on it until it's finished.  This way, it will be immediately ready for display next year.   So a little hand work finished off the Thanksgiving holiday weekend --- or was it to rest up for today's Cyber Monday shopping?  You decide, LOL!