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.
