Mini Slow Stitch block

 

Mini Block 1 by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Landline is a TV program that has been airing on ABC Australia for 30 years this year. They published an article asking for quilt blocks to be made and sent in as part of their celebrations. One of the members of my local stitching group asked anyone who was interested to create a block and she would organise posting the blocks to Landline.

I decided to have a go. I sorted through the stash and gathered colours that I thought represented our rural and regional landscape and starting stitching these down onto a 15cm square of cotton drill. No real plan in place aside from trying to represent the different landscapes that we have seen when driving from place to place in parts of Australia.

Mini Block 2 by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

I experimented with some couching and used running stitch and colonial knots to add texture to the various fabric sections. Blanket stitch along the curved edges to add some definition and make sure the pieces were all firmly attached. At this stage no idea of where it might end up but having lots of fun hand stitching things in place.

I felt it needed something else so thought about adding a tree. One of the things I love about travelling through our rural regions is the amazing shapes and colours of the trees we see. I searched for something that might make the shape of a tree and found some yarn that was perfect as it was loosely spun and easily separated. I cut several lengths and couched them down to create the trunk and branches.

Mini Block 3 by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

I tried to use the couching to show the textures of the bark that covers many of our trees. The yarn was easy to manipulate and I was very happy with how it ended up - not necessarily realistic but representative of the trees I see. The next challenge was to find something to add for the leaves without needing to stitch each individual one. 

Hunted in the stash and found some wool roving and silk tops and had some fun creating the leafy green sections of my tree. Getting these stitched on proved interesting as they easily got moved or attached to my sleeve if I brushed against them. Lots of little stitches couched them in place using shades of green thread.

Mini Block 4 by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Almost finished after adding the leafy green sections and some pistil stitch grasses along the fence. I had two small fabric pieces to add to the bottom and then the backing as Landline was asking for each block to have finished edges. I went with a folded over edge and struggled somewhat with mitered corners. Take a look at the next image to see the final result.

Mini Block Final Result by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

All finished and handed over. The fun was in the process and I am quite happy to see it go off with the other blocks. I have my photos and the memories of making it. What would you create to add to the Landline quilt?