Applique Venture

Rachel's of Greenfield Birches quilt kit occupied me for most of December and January, but I took my time and followed the directions almost exactly. I've wanted to learn more about applique and working with wool, and this project taught me a lot.

Like most kits this one came with almost everything needed to make the 13" X 15" quilt (some quilting thread is needed for the border stitching, and to applique the little bird and trees.) There wasn't an overabundance of fabric or thread, so I had to go slowly and not make mistakes with the cutting, piecing or embroidering. I managed not to make any major mistakes, too.

The instructions were pretty clear, too. I deviated from them only when quilting the border (I used a cut-out leaf that I pinned to the fabric rather than try to trace the quilting design on that dark gray cloth) and how I made the binding (I didn't try to miter the corners but made a continous strip that I folded.) I also did some of the applique stitching differently to make the trees look like actual trees. I've never done applique so it was fun to learn how to from the kit. Working with felted wool also makes the process a lot easier; I didn't have to turn edges or try to replicate intricate shapes.

I liked this kit a lot, so I didn't rush through it. I'm learning to slow down instead of hurry to finish everything so I can move on to the next thing. A confident beginner could easily handle this project, I think. Great experience. :)

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