Baltimore Album Blocks - month 6 - Cornucopia

Here is my month 6 block, a cornucopia.  Our instructor gave us several cornucopia bases to choose from and we were to fill them with items of our choice.  I decided on doing some Fall things - a white pumpkin, an apple, a pear, and some blackberries.  I wasn't real happy with the red color I chose for the apple but liked the highlight shading on the fabric. I decided to tea stain the apple so the red would blend better with my other blocks.  That wasn't quite dark enough yet so I used coffee to stain it darker.  I also decided to put some shading on the pear with the tea bag and for good measure did a little bit on the pumpkin too.  Ahh, much better. 

I don't know if you can tell, but the lip of the cornucopia is braided.  This was the first time I'd tried doing that.  I made a bias strip and sewed it into a tube, then braided it, and sewed it down.  Something didn't look quite right - the braid was way too loose and chunky.  I asked my instructor, and sure enough, the seam I sewed in it made it bulky - I could have just folded in the edges.  I decided to take it apart and cut out the seam.  That reduced the bulk and I was able to make the braid tighter.  I'm much happier with it this way.

My second cornucopia is in process.  It has silk ribbon roses on it - another first for me.  And my third cornucopia is traced and ready to go.  Guess I have some catching up to do.  I'll have to applique like crazy to get back on track.  Being sick sure can slow a person down.