Quilt on a Clothesline- First entry in a show and a ribbon

After finishing there's a bird in my garden quilt I had realized that I liked freedom in stitching. I liked applique. I am not sure if it was the group I was in or those mild temperatures in Seattle or my background but I found myself drawn to homespun fabrics and fall like colors. I picked up this pattern called, Button Tree Lane to make another wall quilt.

It was fun making this quilt. Each house represented my neighbors and friends. Our neighborhood was the friendliest neighborhood, as warm and cozy as this quilt.

 I used freezer paper for the templates for little windows and doors, chimneys and rooftops.. it was like being an architect and urban planner all in one!

I enjoyed picking colors and prints for the houses. The pattern had appliqued tree stumps and then embroidered branches with buttons.. Well, I for one was not a big fan of buttons.. So after following the pattern for two or three trees, I ripped out the embroidered branches and decided to applique them. Added leaves to make them look like the trees I wanted. The pencil marks I had made for the branches were now quite visible but I did not care. I had seen many of those in a finished quilt or embroidered wall hangings in India. I thought it was just part of a handmade textile art.

I honestly have no idea what needle or batting I used. Looking at these stitches, make me even wonder if I ever did this! Those stitches are tiny! I could not pick a favorite when it came to the houses. They are all so cute!
I do know one thing, I wasn't spending a lot of money on this craft. There was no matching thread to the applique fabrics.

Check out my stitches with white thread on dark brown appliqued tree branches. I have always loved seeing my stitches.. good or bad.. I have always been a fan of imperfections of handmade things.. or traces of human hands in crafts.

So here it is on the clothesline.

and the back.

I used 1/4'' quilting tape for diagonal quilting. Stippling with machine was a big deal.. it was something I could never do.. My machine was not even equipped with darning foot. So I decided to stipple with hand quilting. Who does that?

That local quilt/fabric shop had it's annual quilt show. I entered the quilt just to see it hanging somewhere other than on my dining room wall.

It won me my first ever ribbon!!! Second place in hand applique category. Not bad right?
I honestly don't remember which year it was. But looking at Kavita, I believe she was in preschool and it had to be around 1999.. This is why it is important to date and sign the quilts which I clearly did not do.

Have you ever made a house quilt? This makes me want to make another one fitting my life and quilting style today.