Memory Quilt #1 - Ready for the Next Stage

 The top - all held together with paste, ready to add some fabric paint in a few places, including the crease in the sky and some shadows.  Then, it's time to sit at the sewing machine and sew down every little piece that has been added to the quilt top, and then do some thread painting.  When that's done, it's time for the quilt sandwich, and some quilting to finish up.  I think I'll just add facing and a sleeve to this quilt, and not worry about a border.

 Detail - My solution to a couple of problems, including the disproportionate pictures on the left.

 The tree - how many pieces?  I lost count.

And, the lone sunflower plant  - couldn't leave them all out.  That poor bird was supposed to be a meadow lark in the fabric.  Think it's tummy will become the proper yellow.

Designing and constructing this quilt top has been a lot of fun, and brought back many memories.  If Dwight hadn't been the amazing photographer he was as a "kid", with his Baby Brownie camera, we wouldn't have these incredible nostalgic pictures that are on this quilt.  I'm trying to decide what the subject of the next memory quilt will be.  By the way, no one has given me a name for this quilt?????

(This is the story that I concocted - in the picture above, you can see that I have a shadow of the actual fork.)  

Alfalfa Hay was first mown, and later raked into windrows so that it could cure in the sun.  I drove the John Deere, following the windrow of hay, and the hay was picked up by a hay loader that trailed behind the wagon, that had teeth that carried the hay up onto the wagon where my brother, Dwight, arranged and packed it.  When the wagon was full, we would head for the stack yards, where the giant derrick for the Jackson Fork was used to build large haystacks for winter use.  

    

My grandfather’s derrick for the Jackson Fork was well built of poles, and the pulley system carefully constructed.  Our team of horses, named Pet and Babe,  was hitched to the pulley system.  Grandfather would be on top of the haystack, Dad would be on the wagonload of hay, and Dwight would be ready to lead the team.  The horses would go far enough ahead to raise the large fork from the ground onto the hay wagon.  Dad would push the fork tines down into the load, and secure it.  He would give the signal to my brother, who would lead the horses ahead, so that the fork full of hay would rise from the wagon, and swing over to the haystack.  Grandpa would grab the trip rope and pull, and the hay would be deposited on top of the stack.  We often held our breaths, as the large clump of hay would threaten to cover him, but there were no mishaps.  

Almost There - The Memory Quilt #1

I am hoping that my three sister critics will make suggestions here - not that I'll follow them, but it helps to see someone else's perspective.  Ron and I just had a good talk about the three on the right - it needs some more help to carry it up and a little more to the left.  I've had sunflowers on and sunflowers off - I just left a tiny one to the right of the  story.  Awaiting your critique and help.  I'm also trying to figure out a name of this quilt other than Memory Quilt #1.  I never could name anything without great agony - even my children.  Help!

I tried the idea of fuzzing the edges of the pictures, but that didn't work - will probably stitch around them with a narrow decorative stitch to break up the straight sides a little bit.  Like the sepia (or antique) tones much, much better than the black and white.

Story Quilt or Memory Quilt?

 This was the first step - First plan (draw) my quilt on a piece of newsprint, then transfer that design to clear vinyl.  The parts of the quilt were also traced onto freezer paper.  Ironing the freezer paper templates to the fabric of choice makes life a lot easier.  The sky is divided(cut) into three parts, with the painted fabric on top, and a lighter print used behind the cuts.  The quilt foundation is a piece of thin batting, pinned to my design wall.  The next step was to paint a piece for the sky - It's a little too dark, but since this is my first time to do this, I figured I'd be content with the results.  then, I cut the bottom pieces from the lighter fabric, and placed it under the cuts so that it made the design more interesting.

 The plastic overlay is lowered so that I can place each piece in the proper place.  This is a detail with the first hills and greenery.

 Ditto.

 I've come quite a way - the color in the above picture isn't true because of the light in the room.
I took the lower picture by natural light from the window, and the colors are more true.

My biggest decision at this point is whether or not I'll want to leave the white borders on, or cut them off, or border the pictures with a thin black border.  So, sisters, dear, I await your helps with this decision.  Be sure to click on these to enlarge so that you can see what I'm talking about.  (At this stage, only the hills and fields are secured permanently to the backing.)

Tulips and a Blaze of Glory!

These are my favorite tulips.  I wish I remember what made them so special.  They have been planted in this spot south-west of the house for years, and always come up in a blaze of glory, as well as being the same wonderful big blooms.  (all of my other tulips seem to get smaller and smaller every year, but I refuse to tear them out and plant new ones.)  Tulips are so amazing - along with daffodils and hyacinths, they really bring spring to our mostly chilly climate.