A Stitch a Day.....

That's what it takes to turn a project into a flimsy! 9 blocks are complete, and I loved working on this project. I think the pieced background really adds interest. Here is the center block of this top.

I love this block, the flower was fun to quilt and I am pleased with all the designs used in this project.

My other favorite block, are you seeing a pattern here??

Love the paisley in the center of this flower, I used a little of these for some leaves as well.

The birds, what can I say.  Such a simple design and yet, there they are, birds. But do you think they should be sitting up or hanging on the side?  *see below pics*

Which way is up? 

I kind of like this way, with the big flower blocks on the top and bottom in the middle. The pattern is shown like this, and I guess birds do hang in strange positions in the real world.

There is a 3 1/2 " cream border and a dark green print for the binding.  Borders are on, binding is made.  This finishes at 60 x 60 with the blocks being 18".

This BOM was gifted to me and I learned a lot about my processes, from this and from my JT2.  I started the stitching on my trip to AZ at Christmas and made great headway. Then it was back to reality, a pesky 8 - 4:30 day job, customer quilts and life. What worked was to keep focused. I packed the blocks with me to work, where I might only get one leaf stitched on my lunch. But it was one piece closer to finished. Having all the blocks prepped also made a huge difference, there wasn't any bouncing back and forth, it was always ready to go.

Now this goes in the line up for machine quilting, I will start prepping my next applique project and I'm going to start on my Sacawigia Sampler. There are 4 or 5 blocks of applique in this project so it will satisfy both the hand and machine work for awhile.

......and I continue to rock the needle on my BTCT

Take a few stitches this week, it's better than Prozac!
Sharon

Joy of Life Update

Having all the pieces prepped in advance certainly makes it seem like I'm a speedy appliquer. Remember, I have been working on this all of Dec, getting it all prepped with all the pieced backgrounds and bias vines and leaves. Then I had a week's vacation with my 78 yr old Dad in AZ. Not a lot of socializing was going on while I was there. The center block is 1/2 done, and a few blocks still need circles at the end of the vines or in the center of some flowers.  The top center block is about 1/2 done so I'm thrilled with the progress I"m making on this piece.

I missed this one hiccup during the background piecing. Two 9 patches coming together that are exactly the same. Easy fix, I'll swap out from one side to the other. Give me a seam ripper and a few pins and it will be fixed in 1/2 an hour.

I belong to The Applique Society, aka TAS  We meet at our LQS, Fabric Etc in Bellingham, WA  the third Sat of each month. This is the best $25 I spend on quilting all year long.  The group I belong to is bursting with talent and sharing and ideas and laughter, and we can bake quite the selection at Christmas time too.

Tomorrow is the 3rd Sat, you know where you can find me!
Sharon

Joy of Life Applique

Here is my new project.  Merry M so kindly gave me this project in Oct 2011.  I promised I would make it and not let it sit in the bottom of a drawer and now that I've got BTCT finished, it's time to open this up and get started. I believe I'm addicted to having a hand project at all times. It just feels weird not having an applique block to pick up when I sit down. Coming off the 25 block with appliqued borders, BTCT, this one, at 9 blocks, seems like it will be a snap.

The prep work and block piecing is my focus right now. I've made the "pages" of an applique travel book, one where I can put my blocks while they are in process. I've made the 'pages' out of felted wool and that's as far as I've gotten. I need some corrugated plastic board to put inside the cover sleeve, and of course, I'll want an appliqued block on the cover. I may have one already, I'll have to see if it will work with the measurements.

 Joy of Life is available here, here, or here.


Here is the first of two quilts for M.  This has a brushed flannel back and will be super cosy this winter.

M wanted feathers, her favorite motif on quilts.  I did each half of the block with a curved feather and then feathered the border.  With all the plaids, I chose burgundy thread and it worked out terrific.

One more to go for M, it's about 1/3 quilted and it's super cute.  Since I'm still dealing with a sore shoulder/neck at the chiro and massage therapist, I'm only able to quilt for 45 -75 minutes at a time.

Night shiff ended at midnight last night, but a co worker called in sick so I was back at work at 7:30 a.m. It has been a very long day, and now there is no power at home.  Tomorrow I'm off to the dentist, for the 4th time, for the same tooth.  2 dentists and $1900 later, my tooth and face hurts more than it did before I knew I had a sore tooth!  Keep your fingers crossed for an easy fix tomorrow!

Sharon