Progress on the Bonfire Block

I made some progress on the Bonfire Block. The part that tripped me up these many months was somehow adding the words "Trust" and "Faith" to the logs.

So many possibilities :
1) Stencil it in with PaintSticks
2) Have Aunt Rosita spark up her laptop with embroidery machine, and let the machines do it
3) Thread Calligraphy
4) Free-motion embroidery/quilting
5) Applique the letters

In the end, I decided to use Thread Calligraphy. It has been almost 1 year ago that I took an excellent (live) class from Nancy Kazlackas at the local Sewing Expo. It's about time I used it!


With the words on the logs, I could finally attach the fire section. I layered a piece of batting to the back, used my free-motion foot with smoke-colored thread and free-motion zig-zagged around all the edges. Then I trimmed the batting up to the sewn edges. This way, it will give the fire a kind of Trapunto look. It will stand out and puff up a bit more once I add the regular batting and batting and quilt it. Then I can add some sparkles and finishing touches ... The end is in sight!