Getting back on track...................

For those who weren't following or can't remember, my inspiration was this sampler I stitched when my husband and I were married in 1976.  I wanted to do a CQ to commemorate our 40th which is coming up this fall.  It was a difficult piece to carry about and in the last months of caring for my mother it was set aside.









I had this vintage tablecloth which had this lovely crocheted border but the linen in the center was stained and had hole.  So I decided  to cover it with a  foundation for this piece using vintage hankies..

I had gotten this far with it before I got sidetracked.  Two bluebirds morphed into 8 bluebirds.  I still have the charms and beads to add and lots of foliage to finish. But the end is in sight.

I had wanted from the beginning to back it with a soft blue moiré taffeta which proved almost  impossible to find.  When I visited Susie W in January 2015 we scoured the garment district and fabric stores with no luck.  I did find a piece of blue silk the right color but I had my heart set on the taffeta.  I finally found a piece on line and used the silk on the corset blocks...

The camera greatly exaggerates the pattern of the moiré.  It is really very subtle.  I had wanted to add some SRE in the indentation in the sides but again it is awkward to work on with a hoop and difficult to carry about at this stage of completion.

So I pinned the piece to the taffeta and basted around the indentation. I used the quilter tape so I didn't have to mark a line where to baste.  I did put a tailor's tack on one corner of the quilt and taffeta so when I reapply the quilt it will fit correctly..

When I remove the quilt I have the basted area marked and it will be easy to put in a hoop, carry about and add just a touch of SRE.  I would really like to have it finished and enter it in the fair this fall.  I have never entered a piece in the fair but this has special memories with every stitch...  Happy Valentine's Day...