Once again, we are at a Friday and I have no finish. Oh, well! I don't feel too bad about it, though. Why put pressure on myself? I had a tough week and sewing is supposed to be fun. So for fun and relaxation I worked some more on my chapel quilt:
Holy cow, that's starting to look like Joan of Arc chapel! No one is more surprised by this than me, really. All along I wasn't super sure it would work out, but apparently it has!
The chapel building itself is pretty much done, except that it needs some details, like the big stone window on the front. It's circular, so I'll have to cut it out and applique it on. Then it's just a matter of finishing off the landscaping. The real chapel is beautifully landscaped and makes a real oasis on campus, so I can't hope to actually reproduce it exactly, but I have a floral panel that I plan to cut up for some flowers and whatnot.
I spent some time making the limestone details on the sides and roof lines of the chapel:
Doesn't that look great? I'm just a little proud of it. In the spirit of free piecing, I just kind of laid out the pieces and stitched them together into a slanted line, without measuring. It was a little scary. It's a subtle detail, but in person it makes all the difference in the building. I'll enhance it with some quilting stitches when the time comes.
The trees that I have in the background here were cut from one of those Van Gogh-type impressionist pieces. I did a kind of "half applique" for the trees. That is, I cut them out and lined them up on the sky pieces, then stitched the raw edges into the seams, leaving the tops free to be appliqued down. (Did that make sense?) I messed up on one of them and ended up with a hard edge:
That looks very non-treelike! I think I'll have to open up that seam again and add in another piece to bridge the gap over to the other side of the seam. It will bother me forever if I don't fix it.
So that's where I am on this project! I'm actually pretty thrilled with it. It "feels" right, you know? Once I figure out how to do the window and where to put the flowers, it won't take long to finish this up. Probably the fussy cutting will take longer than the stitching.
If you'd like to make your own copy of any building, check out Julie's book, Build a Barn, No Pattern Construction. It's very, very helpful. And when it says "don't trim," really-- don't trim. Don't ask me how I know!
Hope everyone has a great weekend. I'll be out looking at furniture, which I find incredibly boring. I know exactly what I want, why doesn't anyone sell it? Yet another mystery of the universe!
Sharing at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Finished or Not Friday.
9 comments:
I really like how you worked this out; especially those trees--they add a lot to this piece...hugs, Julierose
The stone detail! You should be proud! This is going to be wonderful...great job and great vision!
I really really like the pieced stone work you created - it adds SO much. Lovely trees and yes, that hard edge will always annoy you so go ahead and fix it now. Looking forward to the landscaping work.
Oh, my goodness! It’s coming along so nicel!
It's coming together beautifully! We did the furniture shopping think a few weeks ago. It was frustrating. I know what I want but it's apparently out of style at the moment.
Hi Mari, what perfect fabrics for this building. Lovely stitching.
Love how you created the arch over the doorway. It will be even more awesome once it is finished. Furniture shopping? May be we need something like Spoonflower for Furniture.
This is really coming along Mari. I am so impressed - Also, it is totally fine to be in process and sharing that instead of finishes. Enjoy the making part - we enjoy seeing what you are doing. Have a great day. I am off to the long arm shop to (finally) quilt the jersey quilt. It is chilly out this morning so maybe fall is truly coming - instead of this odd season of hot and cold we have had.
You're doing great!
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