Day at the Lake Quilt is coming along -Top Third is Done - Turtle and Perch Blocks Done

The top half of the top is done and sewn together.  That is a HUGE milestone!

I finished up the top stitching and thread painting last week.   

Trimmed up the blocks and sewed them together. 

I DO love this quilt, indicative of life in Wisconsin's north woods, where I grew up. 

Even now, I live near a lake -- though big and busy to have loons.

Though-- this spring I did see one.  It must have been migrating farther north.

This week, I finished up the top-stitching on the water lilies and the lily pads in the loon block.

Nothing spectacular or innovative.  I just outlined the edges to make sure they would not fall off later.

With the realization that the top third of the blocks were done and ready to go, I tore off the tear-away stabilizer on the backs, pressed them flat again, trimmed them down and stitched them together!

This is another of those 10+year projects.  Every year, I take it out and make a little more progress.  And then I get tired of looking at it -- in part because it doesn't seem like I'm getting anywhere with it. 

Now I might even have the momentum to work on the bottom half -- the underwater part.

The Turtle Block

Next up, I did the top stitching on the turtle block.  Again, nothing particularly innovative, just outlined the applique pieces so they would not fall off later. 

Here's a detail shot of the turtle block.

And one with the thread choices.

It occurs to me now that a fancy stitch might work well on the perimeter of the turtle shell.

Perhaps another go at it today to add more embellishments?

It was kind of a nice warm-up for the next block ...

Lake Bottom Perch Fish Block

Here's a detail shot of the Perch Fish on the lake bottom.

I really had no idea what I wanted to do going into it.

As I said, the turtle block above was a nice warm-up for something more creative with this fish. 

I started by outlining the edges, more of a utility to hold everything down.

Then I did the eye -- coloring in with thread until it was solid thread.

After that, I decided to use one of the fancy stitches on my machine to highlight the scales on the body of the fish. 

BACK OF FISH

Here is the stitching on the back of the perch fish block. 

I found a stitch on my machine that looked like fish scales.  

THis also gives a better idea of how much additional stitching happens on a focus piece like this fish.

It's really kind of like drawing or painting or coloring with a sewing machine.

Detail spines on fish

I had to consult a photograph to get the spines on the fins right.  I used a washable (brown or green) marker to give myself a road map for the stitching.  The brown should wash out -- but then again, I kind of like what it adds to it.  

Here are all the threads I used on the Perch Fish Block, including for the lake grasses.

Now I can put them away and tidy up the space in me sewing studio. ;-)

Finally, here is a detail shot of a piece of log submerged in the rocks and silt at the bottom of the lake bed.  I used some of my fancy stitches to hold down the edges and provide some texture.

I still have more reeds and lily pad stems to add--which may be easier when the blocks are sewn together to provide some continuity between blocks.

I am happy with the progress on this one today. 

It actually makes me feel like the end is in sight and this will go from a long-time WIP to done!

For reference, the pattern is by Bee Creative Quilts.

I bought the kit from a quilt shop in Houston shortly after a hurricane in 2005.

Other posts about this quilt:

Progress on the Loon Lake Quilt (Iris and Loon Blocks - 2017)

Threadpainting at Lake Lucerne Quilt Camp (Orange Fish Block, Landscape Blocks 2016)

Progress on the Loon Lake Quilt (applique 2016)

Resurrection of Day at the Quilt   (2016)