One Big Stitch Led to Another....

 A few days ago I showed you my very first attempts at big stitch quilting. My success with Tommy gave me the confidence to think, "Perhaps this is how I should finish the rest of the quilt."

After a rummage through my stash, I found some Pearl Cotton #8 threads in just the right colours. That felt like a good sign!

To continue the remembrance theme, I made a simple cardboard template based on the familiar paper poppies we wear on ANZAC Day and Armistice Day. Using the template, I marked poppy shapes around the quilt before stitching around each one in big stitch quilting.

Happy with how they looked, I turned my attention to the appliquéd poppies. Echo quilting around the flowers is subtle and I think it worked well.

Then I reached the leaves...

The leaves were cut with lovely wavy edges, which look beautifully realistic, but they aren't nearly as much fun to quilt around. Trying to keep my stitches neat while following all those little curves is proving to be quite a challenge. They had me wondering if I need to rethink my plan for quilting them. My stitches aren't as even as I'd like them to be, but I keep reminding myself that this is my first ever attempt at big stitch quilting. 

Perhaps this quilt isn't quite ready to wave the white flag just yet! Even so, every new section teaches me something, and I'm still convinced that big stitch quilting is the right direction for Lest We Forget. I may just need to be a little flexible as I work out the best way to tackle those troublesome leaves.

One stitch at a time...

Meet Tommy.

 So today was the day.

I wasn't supposed to be working on Lest We Forget today, but it happened anyway. And I'm so very happy that it did.

I spent some time this morning cruising the web, looking for ideas to fill some of the black and white spaces. I wanted something that would add interest without taking away from the poppies.

Then I came across Tommy.

You know the classic black silhouette of a soldier, standing in the "Rest on your arms reverse" pose? That was the one.

I had quite a large space to work with in the black section, so a printed template wasn't really going to work. There was nothing for it — I would have to draw him by hand.

I'm rather pleased with my efforts.

Next, I set about quilting him using my walking foot and black thread. I couldn't really see him from the front of the quilt. He looked great from the back though. I wanted something subtle... but perhaps that was just a little too subtle.

I decided I would think about it while I worked on filling the other spaces.

Poppies of course.

The first one was great.

Then they went downhill faster than a runaway train. 😂

Some unquilting took place, followed by a rethink.

And then I went off on a slight tangent. My brain came up with the idea of big stitch quilting... and that's when Tommy showed his true colours and my first ever efforts at big stitch hand quilting.

I loved what I was doing.

I see a lot more big stitch quilting in my future.

I really didn't need another handwork project, but it seems I have one anyway. Tommy may be keeping me company and keeping me busy for some time yet.

And you know what? I'm perfectly happy about that.

As I have been working on this quilt, I have found myself calling the soldier in the black panel Tommy.

Not because I have randomly given him a name, or because I have become attached to a name for the sake of it. I call him Tommy because that is what he is.

In British military history, "Tommy" (from "Tommy Atkins") became a familiar name for a British soldier. Add in the tin helmet, the rifle, and that unmistakable First World War silhouette, and the name just comes naturally. When I look at him, my brain simply says, "That's Tommy."

But I think the quilt itself should still be called Lest We Forget.

Why?

Because Tommy is the figure within the quilt. He is one of the characters in the story. The poppies, the soldier, the quilting, and all the details come together to tell that story.

Lest We Forget is the message the whole quilt conveys.

There will still be poppies dotted about in those blank spaces. Hopefully, they will be created with big stitch quilting too. I still like the idea of some echo quilting around the flowers and leaves, but now I think that may become another opportunity for some hand stitching.

I really didn't need another handwork project. Honestly, I have quite enough already! 😂 But it seems that Lest We Forget had other ideas.

Tommy may be keeping me company, and keeping me busy, for some time yet.

As for the barbed wire in the borders...

I make no comments and absolutely no promises. 😂

A New Chapter for an Old WIP.

Back in June 2021, I started a new project, Papaver Pazazz. (Link here back to the original blog post.)

Those bias edges gave me a few problems, even though I was working on freezer paper. 

At the time I added some stems, then all work stopped. I'm really not sure why.

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It rested quietly in its project box until 2024, when out it came again and the flowers were appliquéd on.

 And once again it stalled when I realised that the designer had quilted the black and white background before adding the flowers, so I really wasn't sure how to overcome my hurried mistake. Back into the box it went.

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Papaver Pazazz — or simply the poppies, as I have been calling it — saw daylight again when I came up with a plan last year (2025). It was loaded onto the quilting frame and I began to quilt. I don't seem to have saved any photos. 

Not surprising really as I wasn't happy with my efforts, and once again progress came to a halt. It sat on the frame for months, causing all manner of blockages... quilting, mental and creative. Eventually I admitted defeat and took it off the frame early this year. So that Anchor Me (Jiffy's Quilt) could take its place and be finished in time to travel with us to the Isle of Man for the wedding.

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Since getting home, I've spent a couple of afternoons with Jack, carefully unpicking those first quilting attempts. During one sleepless night, a much simpler idea came to mind. 

It wasn't what I had intended to work on today, but it kept calling to me, so I made another start.

I did load it back onto the frame, but only so I could keep everything nice and straight while I used about a billion pins to hold all the layers together. Then it was back to the domestic machine...

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Domestic?

No, no, no.

It's not domestic. I have far too much fun with my sewing machine for it to be domestic.

The fun machine.

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I popped on the walking foot onto my fun machine and set about working into those bias seams. Not quilting in the ditch but stitching a serpentine pattern over the ditch instead.

It reminds me a little of coils of wire laid over trenches, and I quite like the effect. I've already started planning where to go next.

I want to quilt into the flowers and leaves, using the stitching to add extra detail. 

I'm thinking perhaps echo quilting around the flowers and leaves, maybe more serpentine stitching using red thread for the flowers and green for the leaves and stems.

Then there are all those blank spaces in the background. I want to try something creative—not too heavy or loud, because the poppies are the stars of the quilt—but enough to secure the layers and add some interest. I think I have a plan for those too.

And finally... perhaps some barbed wire quilted into the red border.

This quilt will no longer be called Papaver Pazazz or even the poppies.

From now on, it will be called Lest We Forget.

I didn't forget about it and after fretting and worrying over it for the longest time, I'm finally falling in love with it again. 

Ooops, I Acquired Again.

 Do you remember recently I was so very lucky to score a box of fabrics and some ready-made blocks? (Link to previous post) Well... the same lady has been in touch again! As she has sorted through more of her mother's sewing and crafting stash, she reached out and offered me some more. Her grandchildren are doing very well from the sale of Great-Grandma's stash and other treasures. LOL.

I've made two more trips to the house around the corner and come away loaded. No more plastic totes this time, but four huge paper grocery sacks, and they were bursting with goodies. As with the tote, some things I'll be keeping, and some will be passed on to others.

Let's have a look...

Sack #1

The first sack was absolutely bursting with fabrics. Inside were two collections of blocks, along with coordinating fabrics and a big pile of fabric strips. There was also a good selection of offcuts and all those little bits and pieces that we love to use for scrap quilts or I spy. 

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Sack #2

Another lovely collection of bits and pieces and a small selection of strips. There were some quite generous pieces in here too, including several larger pieces that might make good quilt backs if I join them, along with a lovely collection of odds and ends, I Spy fabrics, and scrappy pieces. 

There was not one, but two bundles of ready-made blocks, complete with coordinating fabrics.

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Sack #3

Sack #3 was filled with some panels, more larger pieces of fabric, and yet more strips. There was also a paper bag tucked into the top, which was full of threads and assorted needle types.

I don't usually keep needles or pins from previously loved stash, as you never know where they have been or how old they might be. I've come across some pretty rusty pins hiding in purchased bundles over the years!

That said, these ones look to have been well cared for. None of the bundles I have purchased from Sue have that old, musty smell, which tells me this stash was well loved, well stored, and still a working stash until quite recently.

So, I'll hang on to these pieces and give them a gentle try when their turn comes.

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Sack #4

Sack #4 was filled with yet more treasure. A collection of blender fabrics, all in my colours! They are beautiful and very reminiscent of a quilt kit that has been sitting in my stash for many years, quietly whispering to me.

These pieces are end of bolt and range in size from over a metre in size, down to a few small offcuts. 

There was also this lovely collection of pansy fabrics. Who doesn't love a pansy?

Again, the pieces range from over a metre down to fat eighths. Such a lovely variety of sizes, and so many possibilities.

And three more larger pieces that would make good backs.

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And then... there was this mystery, tucked into sack #4

I don't know what this is. 

It looks knitted, but it doesn't seem to ladder or come unravelled.

 It's huge — look, it fits our queen bed! It is lightweight and has a lovely drape

I'm tempted to find some way to bind it and call it done. Whatever it is, it's beautiful.

Here is a corner, showing the top and side edges, from the back of the fabric. 

What do you think it might be? I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

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That wasn't quite everything. There were also some very large pieces of polyester, a big piece of linen, and several other rather large pieces of fabric that I'm not even sure what they are. We are talking metres of fabric per piece!

I have refilled one of those big sacks with fabrics that I know I won't use, so they will be passed on to someone who will love and use them.

And now I think it might be time for me to stay away from Facebook Marketplace for a while. LOL.

I have plenty of my own works in progress waiting patiently for attention without adding Great-Grandma's projects and half of her cotton fabric collection to the mix!

Wish me luck finding somewhere to put all this new fabric. 

And a long sewing life. 

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I spy, with my sewing eye.....

 Yesterday was a good sewing day. I spent part of the morning putting all of the I Spy blocks together. Before I started, I decided I was going to play along too. I don't know why I picked the letter S, but that's what I settled on before I set off sewing.

As I stitched, I kept spotting things beginning with S. I sewed and sewed... and found more and more of them. Wow! I had no idea there were so many!

(ugh! Blogger is distorting my images today. If you click on them you will get a clearer image). 

Here's what I managed to find:

🔹 Sports car
🔹 Scotty dog
🔹 Stegosaurus
🔹 Spiderman
🔹 School bus
🔹 Skeleton
🔹 Sophie
🔹 Semi truck
🔹 Sorcerer
🔹 Stripes
🔹 Smurf
🔹 Shark (Though Jennifer thinks it should be under M for Man eater)!
🔹 Sailboats
🔹 Starfish
🔹 Seahorse
🔹 Sea sponges
🔹 Snow White
🔹 Sailor bears
🔹 Spaceships
🔹 Sleeping dog
🔹 Street map
🔹 Sporty bears
🔹 "Straya"... according to Tony! 😂

Did I miss any? 

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With the I Spy top complete, I turned my attention to the scrappy hexagon top I'd been working on before we went away. I trimmed the edges straight...

...it's a donor quilt, so I'm quite happy to do that. I then had a rummage through my stash looking for a piece of fleece to use as the backing. I have a couple of pieces here, but none of them seemed quite right, so I'll see what I can find while I'm out and about today.

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After a quick lunch I pulled out my stitchery and settled into my armchair. I managed to finish the stitching on the half-completed block.

And here it is!

Tony arrived home just before I was finished, so I decided that was a good place to stop for the day.

Later today, once the chores are out of the way, I plan to make a start on the next block.

It's all ready to go, I just need to load it into my hoop.

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Before I get to sit 'n' stitch, I have a few chores to tackle. The washing machine is on, and as it's not a good drying day, so Gran's airer will be getting a workout.

I also need to go grocery shopping... and fleece shopping. 

If I'm going to quilt these two tops, I'll need to tidy up the quilting frame first. It hasn't been used for a while, so I'm sure it will have collected a good coating of dust.

No doubt one or two other jobs will make themselves known before the day is out, but I'm sure there will be time to stitch. Then it's back to work tomorrow.

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While I was sewing my I Spy blocks together yesterday, I noticed a bit of commotion outside my window. When I looked up, I spied a visitor scrambling all over Old Man Tree.

There were dozens of sparrows making a terrible racket, shouting at him and keeping just out of reach. LOL.

Poor puss didn't manage to catch himself a snack. I'm not sure where he lives, as I don't see him very often. He was definitely an unexpected addition to my I Spy game for the day. I wonder if "sneaky cat" counts as an S?

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