I'm a part of Wombat Stew - a paper piecing bee of Aussies (and now 1 honorary Aussie!) - and we have just finished Round 1. I kicked it off all the way back in September, asking for Japanese cuisine-themed blocks. And wow, the girls delivered!
Marieka made 2 cups of
chopsticks and the plate in the bottom corner, Jane made the
teapot and cups, Lara made the
rice bowl and soy sauce, Gemma made the plate of gyoza, Kristy made the
sushi platter, and Fiona made the shoji screens. The blocks have been sitting at the bottom of ever-changing blocks on my
sewing desk, and when I pulled them out on Wednesday night to piece
them, I fell in love all over again!
Picking a favourite is like picking a favourite child - not possible. But it is possible to have some favourite bits of each block, for example the Flurry selvage on the soy sauce bottle, the linen gyoza, the wasabi on the sushi platter, the accurately elegant-coloured chopsticks, the rice bowl print on the teapot and cups, and the way the shoji screens tie it all together.
Once I had pieced it all together, I only had to look at it for a second to know that pebbling was how this needed to be quilted. Partly to make it nice and heavy to sit straight for a wall hanging, partly because it makes me think of rice, partly because I wanted an all-over design to make the blocks pop.
I had chosen the backing to use up this green solid that isn't really that nice to work with (a rather coarse feel to it), but I didn't even think of how well it would show the quilting! Pebbling is such a great design - it's forgiving to any wonky/bubbly seams, or in this case, lots of small seams from paper piecing (just circle around the thickest seams!), it's forgiving for any wonky quilting as it just looks so freehand anyway, and it's so much fun! It does use a lot of thread - over 4 bobbins all up just for this small wall hanging! I don't see myself using it for a full-sized quilt, but for minis, it's definitely a favourite.
Binding was a bit of a pain -trying to sew in between the small pebbles around the edge, and it was very easy to slip through to the front (some of which are still there, but not noticeable unless right up close). And my thread kept tangling, especially the red section. But I got there, and the black frames it so nicely, with the pop of red to balance out the red in the blocks and to add some more interest! I love this wall hanging so much I even did a
front label to immortalise where this all came from, utilising the Rising Sun-esque plate center to write the label. 'Itedakimasu' is what you say before you begin to eat, literally meaning "I humbly receive". It's like saying 'bon appetit!' in French.
My husband's job this weekend is to work out how to hang it in the kitchen without the ability to put hooks or such in the wall. I did add corner pockets for future dowel/hook usage, but maybe it'll just get pinned to the wall for now, as the walls are coated in a soft, rubbery substance and take pins very nicely!
Behind the scenes - a little old lady stopped and inspected the hanging very closely, saying few words, before shuffling on... I think she liked it? And she wished me luck. For something.
Stats:
Size: 23" x 28"
Techniques: Paper piecing, bee blocks
Quilting: Pebbling on an Elna 1000 with Aurifil 2021 50w
Batting: Low loft cotton (random Japanese brand)
Category:
Wall Hanging - #2
Now to decide what category to enter it in! Mini quilt or wall hanging... And if you like these patterns, come back Monday for something special!
