"Baltimore Rhapsody" - the final block tweaking...

Before tweaking...

More tweaking...I usually don't mind detail work, but even I am ready to MOVE ON and GET ON WITH THINGS.  Before trimming the blocks down, the last outline stitching to highlight all the tedious hand-applique was needed.

Kerry of SimpleBirdApplique was asking about why I do this.  Simply stated, some applique motifs didn't pass the "squint test."  If I put the finished block on my design wall, stand back, squint my eyes, and lose part of the design, that is a signal to me that something must be done.

After tweaking...

After tweaking...

After tweaking...

All of the woodwind blocks have light-colored keys.  When they spill over onto the light background, they simply don't "speak," they melt into the background.  This is especially true with the flute where the keys are basically the same color as the instrument.

Before tweaking...

I even carefully used a different, darker fabric for the body of the flute to emphasize the keys.  Then when I finished, pinned the block to the design wall, stood back and squinted...nothing.  There still was not enough contrast...bummer.

Before tweaking...

After tweaking...

I needed definition, not a cartoon finish, so I used a single strand of DMC embroidery floss in a gray that was darker than the flute.  I do a simple outline stitch with one strand (where the stitches don't overlap, but touch end-to-end.  Using black would have maybe looked comical.

After tweaking...

After tweaking...

 The outline stitching even helps some of the flower pieces.

After tweaking...

Before tweaking...

Even on the clarinet and oboe blocks, where the body of the instrument is black, the lighter, metal keys just look like a mash of gray.

Before tweaking...

Before tweaking...

I outlined the keys in black only where the keys overlap...I did not stitch where the gray met black...the black fabric provided the needed contrast. 

After tweaking...

I did choose black floss for the clarinet and oboe keys...for some reason it didn't seem so cartoon-ish on these instruments.

Before tweaking...

After tweaking...

On the piano block, I painstakingly drew a multi-petaled blossom, picked out a graded selection of reds for the petal pieces, and after all this STILL ended up with a flower that looked like it was made from one fabric when I did the squint test.  Ouch!

Before tweaking...

And on the piano legs, I carefully chose two different brown fabrics to depict the different edges and highlight the perspective.  When I squinted, the legs looked like they were made from the same fabric.

Before tweaking...

Just a little outline stitching using a slightly darker red floss helped tremendously...

After tweaking...

 ...and a little dark brown stitching helped to define the piano legs.

After tweaking...

I had already outlined where "parts" met "parts" on the trumpet, which helped, but then I lost the whole trumpet on the background.

Before tweaking...

After tweaking...

(Can you tell I pinned the block to a black background for the photo?  You can see where I trimmed away behind the trumpet bell. That won't be so obvious when the block is against a light colored batting/backing.)

I went back and outlined the rest of the instrument with the same medium brown and I like the result.

After tweaking...

The viola pears before...there's a pattern here...can you see it?  Maybe this is why people don't use much bright yellow in applique. It is perfect on a dark background, but is totally lost in the cream.

Before tweaking...

After tweaking...

Just a little dark gold helped so much.

I had already outlined all the petals on the double bass block daffodils to help emphasize the blossom details (and the fact that I had used so many fabrics)... 

Before tweaking...

...but the light green stems disappeared when squinting.

After tweaking...

 Same thing with the bottom of the lime...

After tweaking...

And the double bass needed the same definition between the top of the instrument and the side as the three smaller stringed instruments.

After tweaking...

And FINALLY, squinting at the cello block revealed an empty space that would draw the eye in the final quilt (when all the text wouldn't be showing, LOL).

Before fixing...

I decided that I needed to add a huge, mutant butterfly.  I was already making slightly smaller mutant butterflies for the timpani block.

The block still looks a little empty, but it is better.

Picky, picky, picky...but I would stare at the finished quilt and head-slap myself if I had not taken the time.

Head-slapping hurts and should be avoided at all costs.

In stitches,

Teresa   :o)

"Baltimore Rhapsody" Block #18 - the harp...

The harp is the next orchestral instrument in my "Baltimore Rhapsody" quilt (click here to find out more about the project).  It is one of the most ancient stringed instruments - pictures on vases show that it was used in the ancient courts of Babylon four to five thousand years ago. 

There is a harp in the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art that is over 2500 years old.  It was found in an Egyptian tomb and looks as though it could still be played.

Harps were used in both Ancient Greece and Rome.  In Ireland and Wales, it is the national instrument.  A well-tuned harp was one of the three necessities for a Welshman in his home (the other two things were a virtuous wife and a cushion for the best chair).
  

The beautiful, unusual shape of the instrument is due to having to accommodate strings of different lengths.  The most primitive harp would be several strings tied to a hunting bow. 

As the harp got bigger, the strings were attached to two separate pieces of wood, with the lower piece also serving as a sounding board to amplify the sound.  A third piece of wood, the pillar, connects the other two.  In the modern harp, the pillar serves as a sort of pipe that connects the pedals at the base to the mechanism that changes the length of the strings, thus changing the pitch of the strings.

Until 1810, harps had no way to change the pitch of a string, so they could only play music in one key,  With the modern pedals, a harpist can play just about anything.

The person playing the harp tilts the instrument until it rests on the right shoulder.  The strings are played with both hands (one on each side of the strings) and eight fingers/thumbs (the pinkie fingers aren't used).

The modern harp has 47 strings and seven pedals.  The strings are colored so that the harpist can orient themselves - all the C strings are red, all the F strings are blue.  With the pedals, the strings can be set to play either chords or scales.

Notes are played in rapid succession (a glissando) where the strings vibrate until dampened or plucked to produce short notes/chords.

The harp can accompany other instruments, be featured as a solo instrument, or add beautiful flourishes to orchestral music.  As a piano player, I have always wanted to try and play the harp - I think it has the most beautiful sound.

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

Fine-tuning the string section...

As I am getting closer to putting the "Baltimore Rhapsody: Symphony" quilt top together, I am starting to trim down the blocks to their final unfinished size, 15-1/2 inches.

Before doing this, I want to be completely through with any stitching or embroidery so that I wouldn't be handling the blocks too much before seaming in all the raw edges (I hate all the messy strings when blocks start to unravel from being handled too much).

I looked at them with a much more critical eye than when I first finished them.  I saw some things that needed to be tweaked or fine tuned...some more outline embroidery, a French knot here or there, a few more "safety" applique stitches on pointy pieces.

First I tuned up the string section.  Here are some before and after pictures so you can see the difference.  Some of you may think I am being fussy, but after all the work that has gone into this project, I want it to be as  good as it can be.

Violin before fine-tuning...

Violin after fine-tuning...

I had used a slightly darker fabric for the side of the violin to help with the perspective, but it needed a little darker outline stitching to look right.

I went back and added this to all stringed instruments.

Cello before fine-tuning...

Cello after fine-tuning...

I also added some outline stitching to the lighter fruits of the violin block where there wasn't enough contrast between the pear fabrics and the background fabric.

Pears before fine-tuning...

Pears after fine-tuning...

It is a subtle change, but I like the result.  I also made similar adjustments on the viola and double bass blocks.

Now the string blocks are all tuned up and ready to be trimmed!

In stitches,
Teresa   :o)

"Baltimore Rhapsody" Block #17 - some percussion, the timpani...

Block #17 of "Baltimore Rhapsody," the timpani represents the percussion section (see more here).  Percussion, though sparsely scored, is the perfect punctuation for orchestral music. 

Timpani are sometimes called 'kettle drums' due to the bodies being made of shiny copper which makes them look a little like large cooking pots.  Each drum has a covering, or head, that is stretched very tight.  

By either tightening or loosening the head, the drum can be tuned higher or lower, respectively, to play in the same key as the other instruments of the orchestra.  This tuning used to be done quite tediously by turning several screws, one at a time, until the desired tuning was achieved.  Modern timpani are fitted with a foot pedal mechanism that allows uniform, quick tightening or loosening of all screws simultaneously.

Timpani originated in India and came to Europe around 1300.  Crusaders came across them being played by Turks in the Holy Land where they were played on horseback to encourage the soldiers.  European kings and nobles would thereafter have them at court where they played fanfares along with brass players, providing the tonic, bass notes of each chord.

They became part of opera and symphony orchestras during the classical period.  Some say that Haydn wrote the first solo part for timpani in his Symphony Number 103.  The effect was so startling that the work was nicknamed the "Drum-roll" Symphony.

Classically, there were two drums played together, tuned to the first and fifth of the key signature.  When the key changed, the player would rest and/or tune the drums to the next pitch by putting his/her ear to the head and change the pitch while playing very softly.  Early calfskin drum heads would stretch and change pitch while playing, so the player was constantly listening between passages and making the appropriate changes to stay in tune.  Large orchestras can use up to 5 timpani of varying size, arranged in a curve around the player.

Timpani are played by making quick, staccato strokes with a felted mallet, each strike landing between the center and the edge of the drum, then the head is usually damped with the butt or side of the palm to make the sound stop.  

The most characteristic sound made by timpani is the drum roll where each mallet is used evenly in a rapid back and forth pattern...this can be a very exciting effect if it gets louder as it is done. It's too bad that the percussion instruments are behind the other instruments...they can be very entertaining to watch.

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

"Baltimore Rhapsody" Block 16 - the viola block

After the holiday block drought, here is the viola block, the last of the string blocks for "Baltimore Rhapsody" (see background story here).

The viola is the alto member of the string section with its tuning being a fifth below that of the violin.  It is very similar to the violin in appearance, with the body being slightly bigger thus producing a deep, warm tone.

For a long time, the viola was simply used by composers to "fill out the chord," or double the parts of the cello or double bass an octave higher.  CW Gluck finally freed the instrument to more interesting parts, and Haydn and Mozart followed this trend.  

Mozart was fond of the instrument and played it himself in quartets during his later years.  He used two violas in his string quintets and wrote two beautiful duos for violin and viola, as well as a Symphonie concertante for violin, viola and orchestra.

In Strauss's Don Quixote, the viola represents the voice of Don's attendant, Sancho Panza.

The viola is no longer an orchestral drudge played by not-so-good violinists; it has a distinctive voice with a demanding repertoire. 

To be honest, I had not intended to do an individual viola block for this first quilt.  Being so similar in shape to the violin and not a very showy instrument in most works, I, like others, mistakenly considered it sort of "second fiddle" until I did more reading.  I should have known better because I sing alto and know how important that part can be ("anyone can play/sing the melody...").

I know a viola player who is an excellent musician and conductor of the local university orchestra (was it he who asked me if I knew the difference between the violin and the viola?  the viola burns longer...yuck-yuck-yuck...).

In stitches,
Teresa   :o)

Downton Abbey and Sunday night stitching...

Who else was stitching/sewing while watching Downton Abbey last night (besides me and Weasley)?!?

Poor Edith!

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)