Progress on The Loon Lake Quilt

Detail Lark and Iris

At Quilt Camp in October, I made some progress on The Loon Lake Quilt.  I think this one is going to take me a good 25 years before I actually get it all finished!

Detail Lark with Thread-painting.

 Detail Irises

Detail Iris

 Detail Iris

 

Here's the whole block in context.

This includes the new color choices for some of the grasses.

 Here's a shot of the back of the Larks and Irises block.  You can see from this side just how much stitching I did that weekend--especially on the lower lark.    Some of it was just the applique to make sure everything stays stitched down.  The rest was the thread-painting.

 The amended loons now have striped necks.    Much better!
I didn't do much thread-painting on the loons because it just wouldn't be seen.
Rest assured that the pieces are sufficiently appliqued down.

 
I bought this as a kit with the pattern and fabrics in 2007 (or so).  I think one of the reasons I've been so slow to finish it is that I just have not been happy with some of the fabric choices that were included in the kit.  Hence, my reluctance to commit and actually finish it. 

This time, I "fixed" the loon blocks.  I wanted to see stripes on their necks, but that's not what was included in the kit.  It came with this speckled fabric ---  All this time, I've been trying to figure out what's not quite working on this quilt, and why I can't quite finish it ... This was a major sticking point for me.  But I'm working through it!

Here's the BEFORE picture of the loon and the previous choice for grasses.

Don't you like the neck stripes better on the shot further up?  I do!

I also sapped out some of the grasses in the irises and larks block.  Some of that was my fault -- I substituted something from my own stash that didn't quite work here.

After I got home and put it back up on the design wall, I realized I had not appliqued the landscape in the background.  I'll have to go back and finish that part some day.  Not a big deal--I just need to commit!

See the other Loon Lake posts here, tracking my progress with this quilt.