"Baltimore Rhapsody" Block #8 - the trombone

In continuation of my original "Baltimore Rhapsody" quilt (read back story here), here is the third brass block, the trombone, which is Italian for "big trumpet."  The brand of this one is "Conn," I embroidered it on the medallion on the lower parallel arm...

The old English name, "sackbut," comes from two French words meaning "pull-push, which describes how the instrument is played (pulling and pushing the slide to change pitches...).  Most 5th grade boys (and me!) think this is hilarious ("You play a sackbut, you play a sackbut!").

The trombone was actually the first brass instrument to be perfected in the early 1400's and was a favorite instrument in early church service music.  This was because early valveless trumpets and horns could not play the hymn melodies to lead the congregation in the singing of hymns. 

Four trombone sizes were used to match the voices, soprano, alto, tenor and bass, although the soprano and alto trombone versions were eventually discarded.

The tubing of the tenor version, when unwound, measures about nine feet long.  Trombones are very popular in jazz, concert and marching bands.  Most people recognize it's signature "slide" sound.  Symphonic masters such as Brahms utilized trombones in beautiful brass choir sections along with trumpets, French horns and tubas.

I decided to reverse applique the posie centers so they would look "deeper" than the petals.  This requires cutting a center hole in each posie petal section and turning the edges under (instead of turning the edges under on the center and simply stitching it to the top of the petal piece.

Here I am snipping tiny slices (to "ease" the edge) with my little scissors before applying the gluestick and turning the inner edge segments to the back.

After applying the Elmer's Disappearing Purple Gluestick to the center edge, I fold/prod the edge segments down, using the paper pattern (ironed to the front side) edge as my guide.

Now I audition posie centers, choosing possibilities from my tiny saved scraps.

(my clumsy fingers really like using these long tweezers to pick up and manipulate all the fussy little pieces...)

Here are the backsides, with centers glue-basted into place, ready to do the hand applique (off block).

Ta-da!  I was playful with my centers, using a big polka dot and a fussy-cut swirl on two of them.

Tracing the freezer paper leaves...

Thank you to everyone who either left comments or emailed me about remedies for my thumb!  After a couple of days away from stitching, I have healed, and now I have"Liquid skin," masking tape, clear finger nail polish, band-aids, a small homemade leather patch, etc. in my sewing kit to try as I continue stitching this weekend!

Now that I have disallowed "Anonymous" comments, I have had no more spam blogger emails in my in box!  Yippee!  If you would like to be able to leave comments (and participate in give-aways!) on peoples' blogs, it is very easy to get a free Google account. 

All you need is an email address and a password.  You can do this without exposing personal info in your profile.  It just makes it possible for us to respond to your comments and questions (and pick you as winners!).

I will be posting a long overdue give-away on Monday to celebrate going over 500 followers (thank you to everyone who follows my blog - I appreciate each and every one of you so much!).

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

p.s.  The patterns of "Baltimore Rhapsody" are original copywritten designs that will be available soon!