Wednesday, February 18, 2015

House Construction Finished

The main building work on the centre house block for Lynette Anderson's My Country House is now complete:


However, as with many contractors, some of the finish work still needs to be done!

After I finished the bricks and the gingerbread, I had to redesign the windows and door to fit into the new smaller space. The new windows are 1" square, and I decided it would be easiest to reverse applique them in. I used a ruler to draw the windows and door right on the fabric, and then thoroughly basted the blue fabric to the back:


On the front I cut open and appliqued one window at a time:

Lake view!

The door was also reverse applique, but I have no progress photos. After I cut away the yellow fabric from the whole arch, I tucked the red door fabric between the yellow and the blue. This left the blue transom window above the door free, and I just appliqued it all down. It was tricky, which is why there are no photos, but I am very pleased with the outcome:


There will be a gold doorknob satin stitched in the centre of the red circle. The white crosses in the windows are back stitched with four strands of embroidery floss. The original design has embroidered flowers in the transom window, but I like it the way it is, so I will skip that.

Any readers who are also making this project will notice that I ignored the instructions and sewed together the whole block before appliquing the chimneys (and the door). This was by design! My plan was to open up the seam just by each chimney and tuck the seam allowance inside. Then I wouldn't have to worry about placement beforehand.

The chimneys are 1/2" square, and I basted everything well before the final stitching:


With the applique finished, I just have to take out the basting, go back to the machine and re-sew the roof seam.

I did the same thing for the door, so the grass seam will also have to be re-sewn. But, the trees still have to be added and tucked under the grass, so for now that is just hand basted closed. The trees are next!

10 comments:

  1. This is lovely work, Monica. The reverse appliqué is genius. Looking good.

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  2. This is going to be fantastic. It's your attention to detail in this quilt that is going to make you love working on the quilt and that will make the quilt extraordinary. Love seeing the progress.

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    1. Thank you! My plan is to keep the extra enhancements just in the centre block, and stick to or even simplify the pattern for the rest. We'll see how it goes!

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  3. Your house construction is looking super and the applique is so well done.

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  4. I'm a Lynette Anderson fan so loved seeing this construction. So pretty.

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  5. The brickwork on the house looks really good. I like the way you tackled the chimneys. I hope I can remember that approach next time a house block presents itself. And, still no sign of spring here in the middle of the USA.

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  6. Looking great! It will be fun to see after the landscaping.

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  7. Gorgeous house! There are some great techniques you have used in it.

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I'm told Blogger has been bouncing some comments, so if it happens to you I'm sorry! But the settings look right so I can't explain it. In any case, thanks for reading!

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