Bees and Braids
This is the place to cosy up on a cold winter’s day!
Just stitching up my latest quilt and wanted to share the process with you. I learned a new skill with this one, so I’m feeling particularly proud!
It’s been a very busy few months, particularly leading up to Christmas. The 2020 gift of the year was beeswax wraps, followed closely by face masks, which meant that there wasn’t a whole lot of time for doing the fun stuff. But Santa was kind enough to bring me a new sewing machine, so I was determined to spend some of my hibernation time in January working on a few quilt projects. Based upon interest generated from the Merrickville Makers Markets in the fall, I concluded that people really wanted to see a bee-themed quilt. I already have one (or, should I say more accurately, the cats already have one), but a new fabric collection called “Bee Grateful” from Deb Strain caught my eye, so here we are!
I opted to do a friendship braid piecing pattern, which looks quite interesting, but required the creation of my own fabric cutting template. Turns out, it’s easy-peasy with some clear plastic and masking tape to smooth the edges. That’s it. That’s the new skill. I made a template. Really. Exciting times in the Armour household, I know…
Preparing your own template to create a specific shape is easy! Just be sure to use your everyday scissors to cut into plastic. Fabric scissors are precious!!
Cutting all those trapezoids and reverse trapezoids from my strips of fabric (which I had non-scientifically sorted into equal piles of light and dark fabrics) took time, but it was easy to see how the braid-like pattern would take shape. So different!
The next step was to stitch eight strips of “braid” (alternating starting with light or dark fabrics). This took a bit of brain work, believe me. But this is what it looked like when complete:
At long last, it was time to put everything together, sewing the strips side-by-side and adding some dark sashing to make the braids pop against my border.
Looks so nice, but I wasn’t done! I still had to take my quilt top and the backing I prepared in a co-ordinating buttery yellow fabric off to Happy Wife Quilting for sandwiching in the batting and applying some long-arm quilting. What’s a long-arm quilter, you may ask? It is a computerized sewing machine the size of a very large dining table that does the actual quilting stitches (if you’re not doing them by hand or on your own machine). This magical invention can access literally thousands of stitching templates to create designs on your quilt - or it can be used free-hand. The possibilities are almost unlimited! I chose a honeycomb pattern (of course) and it looks fabulous! Jen, the owner of Happy Wife Quilting, is simply lovely and has superb taste and advice. Totally worth the investment (and it’s really not pricey, considering how much effort you’ve already put into this work of art).
Looks cute, non? Once I brought the quilt back home, I quickly finished it off with a tone-on-tone black binding. Final step: I added a label. I know I’ve stated this before, but always sign your work! And I’ve stepped it up a bit in this department, you’ll note. My friend Shannon, owner of Encore Equestrian, does a ton of machine embroidery work in addition to offering a very fine selection of riding tack and apparel. She was kind enough to produce these swanky labels, which just put the whole project over the top, don’t you think?
I’m really pleased with the finished product. Such happy colours! It is roughly 58” by 64” - perfect for snuggling. Right now, I am in the process of submitting it for a juried sale in support of Hopewell Eating Disorder Support Centre in Ottawa. The Art of Hope fundraiser (May 5, 2021) will support art therapy programs for individuals struggling with eating disorders in the Ottawa area. The “Bee Grateful” fabric collection and the friendship braid piecing technique in my quilt represent the eternal gratitude I feel for my family and friends who so generously gave us strength and encouragement during a critical time in our lives. I hope my donation to this cause will help other families conquer this horrible illness. I’ll post links to The Art of Hope on social media this spring so you can bid and buy!
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