New applique project

This is my latest applique project that I'm working on. Yep, another new project! :o)

All of those leaves are from my green scrap bin and I have already seen a reduction ... the cover closes quite easily now.

The pattern is from Tea In The Garden by Cynthia Tomaszewski and I fell in love with the pattern first time I saw it. This will be a good project to work on during the summer months. The quilt will be queen size, so there are lots and lots of applique to do.

The pattern was changed slightly. In the book, there is a 16-patch that has been replaced with a 9-patch block and all the blocks and sashings were increased in size so that I could make the quilt into queen size.

Have a great day!

Time for some elbow grease

Every now and then, there comes a time when a person just has to buckle down and do a bit of sorting ..... and my studio needs a wee bit of tidying up! :o)

I bought some new boxes to store my stash and they sure have made a difference .... they hold a lot more fabric than what was there before!!!! Now, no more spilling out of the basket and onto the floor. Seriously, they do help to make my studio look a bit more organized and cleaner looking.

Mmmmm ... perhaps my stash is telling me something. Anyway, a good sort is what will be going on this week in my studio.

During my travels, I bought a couple of stamped pillowcases for embroidery. I haven't done any pillowcases for half a century and thought it was about time to do some more. Half a century .... did that catch your attention? :o) When I was very young, my Mom started me with embroidery and knitting and they were crafts that I caught onto very quickly. I was quite proud of my embroidery and I am enjoying this pattern and the work is coming along very nicely.

Have a great day!

Traveling patches

A few days ago Crazymom wanted to know how we were doing with our make-one-a-day 9 patch challenge. Well, so far, I have 22 made! Not bad, eh!

But that will be my tally for a while as I’m off tomorrow to visit family.

What will I be taking for hand work?

A little bit of this …. Hexagons of Hope, which need to be finished and sent off by June 15. I will be making a few pincushions and enclosing thread in my zippy bags. Those thimbles will be going too. BTW …. these thimbles are fantastic for sewing. They are not rigid and are pleasant and easy to wear. No, Ashes …. they are too small for you!

And a little bit of appliqué.

And that is it, my friends, for one week!

Have a great week!

Borders to go

Only the borders left to do and then this top will be finished and ready for quilting.

These are my fabrics for the borders. Don't you just love that heart fabric!

Have a great day!

Much going on

I can do bright …

While I’m making my 9 patch blocks for the challenge in my previous post, another batch is being made out of bright fabrics that were in my stash. These blocks will be made into a quilt and will be sent to Italy for the children of Abruzzo. So much was lost in their devastating earthquake. If you are interested, you can email Roberta for more information at roberta.sperandio@alice.it I’ve sent blocks and a top to Australia and I can do the same for Italy.

My 9 patch blocks are so easy to do (with many thanks to Bonnie Hunter’s system). I had a bunch of 3-1/2” blocks all ready cut out. All I have to do is just sit and sew. So fast ……..

In the evenings, I have been quilting my Dresden Plates. There are only 3 more plates to do. Most evenings that is what you will see me doing …. that is if Ashes and Hank allow me. They each want to take turns on my lap for a cuddle and a snooze. Now you know why I got my hexagon quilt done up so fast.

….. and in my garden, I have ONE trillium. A beautiful red trillium. What a surprise. It takes between 7 to 10 years before they bloom and that is about the time it and others were planted. This is the only one to survive. If you want to see more trilliums, go to this post.

Have a great day!

A challenge?

There is a challenge over at Crazy Mom Quilts to make one 9-patch every day until the middle of the summer. I have joined the challenge ……. because I love 9-patches and I have been waiting for some time to make another blue quilt. So, these will be my leaders and enders and I only need 61 of these blocks to do.

The beige fabrics will be my sashing and I’m just auditioning different shades to determine which value I want and have decided to go with the lighter beige and the big piece is the fabric of choice as there is enough fabric to do my sashings. My plan is to make this quilt entirely out of my stash.

I like this look ..... very cottagey.

So, if you are interested in joining this challenge, join now and start making one a day.

Have a great day!