07 July, 2014

Making The Miles Count

Swiss Baskets ~ 53" X 53"
I carried along this long-abandoned UFO on our recent road trip. Being a passenger in the car for that many miles translates into lots of time to finish handwork; several of these basket handles needed to be appliqued and most of the channel-applique words needed completing. I'm happy to report that this has been accomplished and this now full-fledged flimsy is next in line for a quilting session with Snowbird.  This one dates back to 1999 and was originally planned to serve as a display piece for the nine handkerchiefs collected when we lived in Switzerland from 1996-1999.  The bottom border identifies the country of origin and represents it in the three languages (French, English, German)that I heard on a daily basis while living there. I had taken a class on channel applique from Diedre McElroy while stateside during that period of time and chose that as the method for conveying the wording. I was really rusty on the technique, fifteen years later, but managed somehow to get back in the groove and get the lettering done. 
My plans for the background quilting are a basketweave fill in the white areas.
The handkerchiefs are all whisper-light Swiss batiste and will remain hanging
free from the basket edges above the quilted surface. My hopes are for some
quilted eidelweiss motifs in the outer borders too... wish me luck,
I have some ideas down on paper.  It's great to be this far along!
Life is Good!

5 comments:

Janet O. said...

Must feel so good to have that to flimsy stage! Love the delicate little hankies hanging from the baskets. What a sweet reminder of your stay--and now of your road trip, too! : )

45th Parallel Quilter said...

What a wonderful quilt!! I have hankies that mean things to me ... Williamsburg, VA where we got married etc. May have to think about a similar quilt. I absolutely LOVE the fabric you used for the baskets (woven). I will have to keep my eyes open for something similar. Beautiful work!

Paula, the quilter said...

This is just lovely and I really enjoyed your road trip posts.

sandra said...

I love the Heidi hanky. Heidi was one of my favourite books as a child, and still is.

Dee W said...

What a wonderful idea. I may have to repurpose it for a project that I have in mind. My grandfather used to bring me handkerchiefs, I have a substantial collection. How Hannes?