Berry Delicious Finished

This afternoon I put the last stitches in the binding on Berry Delicious:

My version of Esther Aliu's pattern Red Delicious, her first block-of-the-month pattern, from 2009. It is the quilt I was working on when I started this blog. You can see a little bit of it in this post from October 2009. That seems like so long ago!

Linked to Esther's WOW Link-up for this week.

Scary Wash

After I completed quilting my "Berry Delicious" quilt (Red Delicious designed by Esther Aliu), it had developed a bit of a wave or bulge across the middle. I presume that was caused by the quilting, which is quite dense in places and less in others. The quilt was flat before I started quilting, anyway! I hoped that washing it would enable it to lie flat again before I add the binding. And as today was forecast to be possibly our last warm day for a while, I had to be brave get it done. I should have taken a "before" picture, but here's an "in progress" shot:

Quilt spinning in the washing machine.

I was very nervous about washing the quilt. I pre-wash my fabrics, but red fabrics can be a problem even if they have been washed already. On top of that, some of these fabrics were small pieces given to me by a friend, and I wasn't sure if I washed those small pieces or not. It was all a long time ago! So I used cold water, and took the precaution of adding a couple of "colour catcher" sheets to the machine. I've never used them before, and never quite understood how they could work. But I found a scientific explanation on the Guardian website here, and that convinced me they were worth a try. I used two sheets, and here's what they looked like when they came out of the machine:

They were white when they went in. Apparently that colour is dye particles that got stuck to the colour-catcher rather than potentially lodging somewhere unwanted in the quilt. Hooray!

The next challenge was finding somewhere flat to spread the quilt out to dry. Who knew a ute had so many uses?

It allowed me to spread the quilt flat to dry in the shade. The heat and breeze did the job quickly. The quilt looks much better after its wash - flatter, and also brighter. The background fabric had probably picked up a bit of dirt during the appliqué and quilting processes. Now on to the binding.

UFO Progress Report

Here's how far I got with my February UFO, Red Delicious designed by Esther Aliu, or in my case, Berry Delicious:

It's been a completed top since 2010. I basted it at the end of January this year, and now it is about 75% quilted.

I've marked on this photo the areas that still need quilting:

"A" in a block represents appliqué that still needs some quilting, and "B" represents background still to be done. Blocks with no letters are finished. Then there are the borders to do of course. But it is a lot closer to finished than it was at the beginning of February.  And when I drew up my list, I allocated this one two months, as I thought it might take more than just one to get it done. I will take a little break from this one for now, either until its number comes up again, or until I'm eager to get back to it!

Linked to Patchwork Times' UFO Link-Up: Here.

Also linked to Esther's Wednesday Link-Up: Here.

Judy at Patchwork Times has selected 5 as the UFO number for March.  My 5 is Celtic Solstice, the Bonnie Hunter mystery from 2013, which has been basted ready to quilt since last February:

So this month I will work on quilting this monster quilt!

More Quilting

I'm still chugging along, quilting my Berry Delicious quilt. Today I did the top left block:

And completed the bottom right block:

So the three largest blocks are finished, and all the other blocks have some quilting. But with lots still to do and February ending tomorrow, it is unlikely this UFO will be finished this month.

Foreground

I filled in the rest of this block with a few lines on the table and basket, and outlines around the cherries:

Not a great photo again. Hopefully one day soon I can take it outside and photograph it in good light.

More Background

Finished quilting the background of another block:

The quilted shape is meant to be similar to the shape of the petals of those flowers.

Background Done

For this block, at least. There's plenty more background quilting to do, but I won't be doing any such time-consuming work on the other blocks. I used Lori Kennedy's Grid Pop design, but doing it around appliqué was slow work:

The top photo is with the flash, which flattens it out. Below without the flash:

A bit indistinct due to camera movement, but you can see the textural effect of the quilting. And you can also see that the foreground is going to need a bit of work.

Filling Spaces

Having outlined the appliqué I'm working on filling the background:

Once I finish this grid I'll be filling in some of it as well. It is slow going.

Because this is Esther Aliu's design, it seems appropriate to link it to her WIPs on Wednesday this week.

Time for a Change

I'm slowly working my way through quilting Red Delicious. My first step in each block is to outline the appliqué, but it doesn't help when this happens:

Thread spontaneously shredding itself. But I changed the needle, and all went smoothly afterwards.

Oldest UFO

It's time to move this quilt along a bit:

"Red Delicious" was Esther Aliu's first BOM design. If I had known it would be all appliqué I probably wouldn't have joined in, as at that time I hadn't done any appliqué. My stitching is rather inexpert, but it probably got better as the months went by.

You can see I wasn't particularly interested in making a quilt all in red and white, so mine became "Berry Delicious". It has been a top since July 2010. I assembled a back for it in September 2010. 

Now it is basted and ready to quilt.

Top Complete - Hooray!

Today I finished the borders on my Red Delicious quilt. I'm pretty happy with the way it has all come together. It makes me smile.

It is still looking for a name, although I'm leaning towards one friend's suggestion, "Berry Delicious".

Border

Sewed a border to my Red Delicious quilt.

Now I have to decide how wide the last border should be.

Blocks Assembled

While outside it was cold and windy, inside I sewed the rest of the blocks together.

I was very happy those swirleys met each other at the corner! It is not hanging quite straight here; the sashing in the bottom left is straight really. Next come the borders — first a grey one the same as the internal sashing, then something else I haven't chosen yet.

Assembly

Spent a bit of time today assembling my Red Delicious.

There are four more pieces to join in at the bottom left and centre. Maybe tomorrow I'll get them done.

Block 11 Done

A little more appliqué, and a touch of stem-stitch embroidery, and the last block is done.


Now I must decide if I am going to quilt it in sections, or put it all together first. Quilting in sections would be easier, but I'm impatient to see how the whole thing looks in one piece. What would you do?

Appliqué

Almost the last of the appliqué for Red Delicious.

The end (of the blocks) is in sight!

Cherries

Lovely afternoon sewing with some friends.

Last One

Red Delicious final block - choosing some fabrics for the cherries.

Progress

Did some work on the second-last Red Delicious block.

Another One Down

Finished another Red Delicious block: