Venice Complete (Europe 12)

     The canal in Venice has a finished measurement of 54 cm X 75.5 cm (21" X 29 3/4") ... even as I say that it is finished, I can see an area with the gondola that I may add a few stitches.

      I decided I wanted the buildings in the foreground to have more dimension & to look like they were rounded stone pieces, so I tightened up the stitch length while quilting; the pieces further back have a looser stitch so they would lie flatter.  I considered using angelina fibres to give a bit of sheen to the water, but a white coloured pencil did the trick. The dark edges at the base of the buildings are a combination of dark thread stitching and blended Inktense pencils.

    At the end of my Europe trip in May, the guide had mentioned that we send in some photos of our trip to Rick Steves Tours and we could win a trip or maybe get a discount on a trip .... unfortunately, they changed from a 'winning picture' to a 'winning scrapbook website'.  I checked the RS site and blogs are not admissible, so .... it is unlikely they will ever have an art quilt as a challenge and I am not sure that I can or want to create a separate scrapbook website using my quilts.  

A winter quilt

     Charlotte no longer wears sleep sacks to bed and with the approaching winter, it was time to make her a flannel-backed quilt to snuggle up in during the cold winter months.  I already had the quilt top which  I made some time ago .... 2 1/2 inch strips from a jelly roll in ascending colour darkness (or light).  I cut off a 6 inch strip from one side and flipped it, giving it a 2 1/2 inch white border; I made another cut length-wise off-centre in the body of the quilt top and sewed the flipped section in, adding a 3 inch white binding to the quilt.

     Because C's Mom and Dad wanted a 'fluffier' quilt, I did minimal quilting parallel to the flipped section in the quilt.  The back is flannel, using a panel with a coordinating fabric around it to make it large enough.

     Instead of washing the flannel before using it, I waited until the quilt was done to help give a more puffy look when the flannel shrunk a wee bit in the washing / drying. Charlotte snuggled in, stayed warm and slept through the night!!

Venice continued (Europe 12)

     Great plans often don't get completed within the timeline.
     I had some unexpected company for a week (my daughter from Ontario flew in as a surprise) and Venice got put the side.

     So ... topstitching and appliqueing are done.  The batting and backing were added and today, the  machine quilting will begin (depending on new interruptions)

     More shadows need to be added; I will see what I can do with thread and if that doesn't quite meet my needs, I will add a bit more with Inktense Pencils.
   
    Last weekend, we had a SAQA - Atlantic Canada retreat and I got a chance to work with several mediums, playing around with colour.  The Inktense Blocks were much easier to work with and to blend colours than the pencils, so that is next on my wish list. I should be able to get a set of 24 for under $70 at Curry's.