Today is the start of the Bloggers' Quilt Festival and I decided to enter my Baskets of Blue in the Applique category. This is quite a step for me because it is the first all hand appliqué quilt that I have ever made!
In December of 2012, I went to my favorite quilt shop in Waxahachie, TX, Common Threads, to spend a gift certificate that I had received. That shop has lots of BOMs and classes, but I had never participated in any. However, that day I saw this basket quilt hanging as a BOM and I fell fast. I don't know what possessed me because I had never done much appliqué, but I loved that quilt, and signed up for the BOM (actually BsOM). Each month I would receive fabric to make 12 little basket blocks and I started out by trying different methods of appliqué that I found on the internet.
In the past I had taken a class on needle turn appliqué (when I first started quilting) and that convinced me that I didn't want to do it. But I tried needle turn, I tried back basting and I checked out several youtube videos for different types of appliqué. I finally settled on the spray starch method. The prepping was much worse than sewing the baskets on, but I persevered and most months I kept caught up. I was really excited when I finished it.
If you like it, I hope you will vote for "Baskets of Blue" on the Bloggers' Quilt Festival that starts today with voting starting November 1 until the 7th.
I quilted it on my domestic sewing machine and it measures approximately 65" square.
Please visit
Bloggers' Quilt Festival to see other quilts and to enter one of your own. All the information on how to do it, when to do it and what prizes can be won is there. You can enter 2 quilts during the festival.
