Leafs Me Happy Blog Hop

I Think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast'
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Joyce Kilmer, Trees

Welcome to my day on the 

Leafs Me Happy Blog Hop

A big Thank You to Madame Sam at Sew We Quilt for making this hop happen and another Thank You to Cherry at Cherry Blossoms Quilting Studio for being the head Cheerleader.  If you want to see all the blogs that have been involved during this hop the list is there.

Here is the list of everyone that is on board for today:

Quilter in the Closet

SewMuch2Luv

Peanut's Patchwork

Quilting Lines  That's Me!

Mochawildchild

Ariane Quilts

Lily Patch Quilts

Cindy's Crafty Creations

Hill Valley Quilter
Count it *all* JOY!!!

Rose Creations

Sew We Quilt

Now I believe the reason you showed up here today was to see what I have to share.  While you are here please take the time to have a look around.  This is my THIRD blog hop in a week and I have added several tutorials and pattern downloads that you might like to peek at.  Please leave a comment on them and let me know what you think about them.

I LOVE TREES!!!  Just in case you couldn't tell from the poem at the top of the post.  My living room is decorated with a tree and leaf theme.  I'll have to share some pictures of that soon.  My favorite quilt that I have made is of a tree.  Here, I'll share a picture of it.

Oak at Sunrise

So when I saw this hop was open I quickly signed up to participate.  I even had an idea of what I wanted to do.  This the design that I drew and stitched out to test it before putting it on a customer's quilt a few years ago.  I played with it and changed it a little but I still had all my design work.

Here's one of my design sheets.

Original Design for Longarm Stitching

Here are the samples I stitched out back then.  I had to see if it would work.

Stitched Samples

A  Closer Look

Planning to Make Pillows from These

I traced the leaves onto fusible webbing.  I used a couple of sheets.  Then ironed them to some of my favorite fabrics, batiks of course, and cut them out.

Traced Leaves

Then I pulled out a 12" pieced of graph paper and played with the placement for a while.

How Many Will Fit on a 12" Block? 

I tried out several backgrounds, made a decision and then I ironed them on.  I had thought I would use a lighter background but the leaves just looked kinda plain.  I love for my quilt projects to have a sparkle and the black did that.

Ready to Stitch

Stitching adds a lot don't you think?

Variegated Cotton 50 Weight Thread

These were all cut from the same fabric.  Looked like a leaf to me!

Oak Leaf Wreath

I'll probably add veins in the leaves when it's quilted.
You didn't think I could stop with one did you?

A Different Look

I chose a different batik and a different arrangement more like the stitched ones.  I added some acorns that I freehand cut because the center looked empty.

Rayon Twist Thread

Oak Leaf and Acorn Dance

Use a Stabilizer

Tip for Machine Applique:  Use a good tear away stabilizer.  This is my favorite because if you can't get it all out it becomes soft after washing.  Leaving it behind the leaves will give a slight trapunto effect.

RinseAway by HTC  Leaving it behind the Leaves will add Dimension 

Now how about a Giveaway Or THREE.  This one will be open until Midnight, October 20th.
This will give some of you who are late to the party a chance or two to win too!

Three Drawings

Just leave a comment about what you like about trees or leaves or my blog.
For a SECOND Chance be follower of my blog, new or old, and leave a second comment saying that you are.  I'll draw for THREE winners.  One for each pattern.  The two on the edges are paper pieced.

Linking with Freshly Pieced