The leaves here haven't started changing yet -- the ones shown here have been slowly decaying on the hood of my husband's old truck since last Fall.
For my Leafs Me Happy block, I wanted to combine piecing and embroidery. Coming up with the text was the hard part - everything I thought up myself was just too lame.. Then I stumbled across this absolutely perfect quote by Humbert Wolfe:
Listen!
The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had out summer evenings, now for October Eves!
The fabric choices were easy. I raided some background fabric from Hocuspocusville, which should be fine since I bought plenty of extra for the pieced center. The fabric for the leaves came from another kitted up project. I doubt I'll miss an inch or two when I finally get started on that one.
Piecing the leaves, which finish at 3", was the easy part. I used my die cutter to cut the 1" finished half square triangles. I'd love that cutter even if all it did was triangles -- those pre-cut dog ears make things so much less fiddly! The 1 1/2" squares, I cut with my rotary cutter.
Once I had my leaves together, I needed to start my embroidery. For days, I tried to figure out how to scatter the leaves around the words. Nothing seemed quite right until I decided to just run them down left hand side.
My handwriting is legible but unattractive, not something I wanted to display on my quilt block. I did some searching online and found all kinds of resources for creating printable worksheets (maybe I can use those with the kids later), but nothing that would make my text pretty enough to embroider over.
Then it finally dawned on me. Microsoft Works came installed on the computer...it might have some fonts I could use... Freestyle Script turned out to be just what I was looking for. I figured out how large my embroidery could be, then printed out the words in the largest font available and traced it onto my background fabric.
Then there was the math and cutting the embroidery so my 10 1/2" block didn't come out too large or too small. My strip of leaves finished at 3" wide, leaving 7" for the embroidery...I measured the words, I figured out how much blank fabric to leave at top and bottom so it would be centered, held my breath until the block was assembled...and I got it right!
Don't forget to visit today's other participants --
Mrs. Pickles Garden, Gingersnaps Quilts, Petite Design Co, A Passion for Applique, Annie Oak Designs, Cherry's Prairie Primitives, krislovesfabric, Scrapbook-ChickADoodle You can find the entire schedule in the sidebar at Cherry Blossoms Quilting Studio.
101 comments:
Would love to see your finished block. The verse is perfect for autumn.
Lovely block and a wonderful saying. Thank you for sharing,
Your verse suits your fall colours so well! Thanks for sharing.
Oooh its lovely - I thought the font was your handwriting! Thanks for sharing.
Lovely block with a wonderful verse. Thank you for sharing.
Your block is loverly and with a wonderful poem.
Thanks for sharing
Britt-Inger in Malmö, Sweden
A great block! and the quote is perfect!
Thank you!
It is only day 2 of the hop and I have read so many inspiring and lovely poems about fall, I'm beginning to see the beauty of it myself......Perhaps I should stop, now that I am still fully disliking fall! Ah, too late! I loved your block.
Your block is wonderful! Thank you for sharing with us.
lovely block! I linke the combination with writing.
A great combination, a lovely block!
Thanks for sharing.
I love this block and you're right. The wording is just perfect!
Very pretty leaves and such a nice verse too. Thanks for sharing.
and yes I listened, I saw and I smiled...lovely
Love your creative block and many thanks for sharing how to do the embroidery letters!
I love your little project. Perfect for the season.
It's wonderful! The verse is perfect too - a fall version of 'take time to smell the roses.'
love, love, love IT!
Very nice!
Great block, I love the combination of embroidery and patchwork. Thanks for being part of the hop.
So did you print on the fabric? Or did you trace it on the fabric??
Nice unique Block. The leaves and the poem are a nice combination. Your embroidery is lovely!
It is a beautiful poem and you did it justice!
Nice job on the embroidery, I use Microsoft Word to print my text for embroidery too...so many possibilities! Love your choice of poem.
Absolutely perfect for Fall. Great idea.
Love the combination of the embroidered poem and the pieced leaves...and only on the left side of the block! Very nice.
Your block is beautiful and I love the words you have chosen. Combining quilting and embroidery works so well.
Great idea about transferring the fonts onto your project - looks great!
The verse is perfect for your block. I am impressed with your sizing. I have a tendency to make my block and then trim it back to the correct size. It wrecks havic on points.Thanks for hopping with us.
Lovely!!! Thanks for sharing:)
I love words on quilts, so this was especially nice in my mind! Great job! (And you're right - the verse is absolutely perfect!)
It looks wonderful and the verse on it is perfect. Nice job.
Very inspiring!!
Pat yourself on the back for figuring out how to get what you wanted... nice job.
I really like your idea for your block. thanks for sharing the tips.
Beautiful block!
Your embroidery is beautiful and I love the saying. Thanks for sharing!
Very nice! Thanks for participating in the blog hop!
Nice block and autumn poem too.
Awesome especially with the Verse.Thanks for sharing.
lesson learned thank you
I love the block and the verse, very appropriate.
Thank you for sharing :)
Great block. Love the sentiment.
Awesome!
I think you did a fine job writing on your block. I think it was a great idea.
Love, LOVE, LOVE your block!! Captures my love of Fall perfectly!
ROSEMARY B here:really really beautiful! I love those pieced leaves
Thank you for sharing your creativity
Beautiful block and great verses.Thanks for sharing!
Very lovely...thanks for sharing
Great job on your block. I love your poem.
Greatjob, Michelle -- I love the combination of the two!! :)
Michelle-Love your embroidery-I'm a fan of hand work as it is so relaxing. I saw your Nancy Drew books-brings back many great memories of long ago. From California, thanks for sharing.
this is a fantastic block. I love the saying.
What a great block. I love the verse with the pieced leaves.
Great idea --- using our fonts for embroidery lettering.....perfect!
Your block is awesome & I love the quote!! Thanks for participating & sharing your beautiful work!!
Hi!!!! Beautiful block and I love the verse!!! Fits it beautifully!!!!
Bearpaw pattern and a message to go with it. Wonderful idea. Thanks for sharing.
Love mixing verse and quilt blocks. Nicely done. Thanks for sharing!
I was hunting for the "follow" button as soon as I read the lines from the poem on your block!!! Totally love the way your creativity rocks!!! Love your block!!!
Very nice! Love it. Thanks for sharing.
I enjoyed looking at your Fall creation!! It's *Leafing* me all warm inside with a yearning for some Hot cider. I like your designs
Fall Blessings
Gmama Jane
Very nice fall block , I really love the quote , thanks for sharing :-)
Your block is fabulous! I love the verse, too.
Don't you love the look of handstitching & piecing look together? Your lovely block is a wonderful example on how to bring the two elements together more often. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Sincerely,
Tricia
Love the poem and the block - totally right for each other :o) Thanks for hopping with us!!!
I like the embroidery aspect of it :)
I love that verse - and I love your combination of embroider and piecing! blessings, marlene
Perfect autumn block, and perfect autumn saying! I love it!
I love you block with verse!
absolutly adorable. Love the poem. Nice job.
I love your tiny leaf blocks! Great block!
Just love your block. Thanks so much for being part of the hop.
It is absolutely perfect for the season of Fall. I think I need some little 3" leaves. Sew sew sew..... always a new project I want to make :) thanks for sharing. Janita
Very, very neat block. That verse is wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
What a wonderful saying on your wonderful block! I love piecing and embroidery together.
You obviously worked so hard to get this block just right, thanks for sharing.
What a fun block!! TFS
Your embroidery is wonderful.
Perfect verse for October here in Vermont and everywhere else too. Thanks for taking part in the Hop. It's been a hoot so far!
I love the combo of stitching and piecing. Great saying. Thanks for sharing.
Lovely work! Very neat to combine lettering and blocks! Thanks for sharing.
This is a wonderful block!!! I just love the verse you added!!!
Good idea to use Microsoft word for your saying. I will have to remember that tip. Thanks for sharing.
I just love the blocks, very festive
Cheers
maggie
Very cool block!
Sweet Simple block with a sweet verse makes for a beautiful quilt. Thank you for sharing...Judith, Texas
Your embroidery looks great! Looks like you chose the right font for the block. :) Thanks for sharing!
what a interesting saying...... fits perfect with your leaves....
thansk for sharing
in stithces
Loved your design!!
Your block sums up fall!
Your block is wonderful, don't talk your work down, fabulous. I would be proud to have it on my wall in a frame, so there. Thank you for sharing I think it is darling.
It's wonderful! I love quotes and stitching on blocks.
xx
Great job Michelle, love the embroidery. I'm going to get myself a GO, I've been sitting on the fence for awhile and I think the time has come for me to just buy one. The inspiration is endless. Thanks for sharing, Happy stitching, Pauline
the block is lovely, I love the embroidery and the leaves are perfectly placed down the side
Great block Michelle. The best of the bunch!!
Beautiful block and what a neat poem!!
Hiya! So nice!!! The verse and the leaves work perfectly together. Thank you for sharing with us. Blessed be, hugs!!!
playamom57 at yahoo dot com
You selected a very nice verse and block design. Well done!
Thank you for taking time to participate and share. Your project is lovely and the poem is perfect. Great idea to go find a font! It was creative to combine piecing and embroidery - very nice effect.
Pretty leaf block! Love that you combined it with embroidery, it's perfect for fall decorating.
Thanks for sharing.
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