Wednesday WIP

Machine quilting a hand-appliqued block.

 

See here and here for other process pictures.

 

I'm linking up with the Needle and Thread Network 

and Lee at Freshly Pieced.

 

Friday Finishes

I've had a productive week with a few little finishes to show.

I began the year by digging in my abandoned UFO box

(yes, I have an active UFO box too!)

and found this 10 inch free-pieced sewing machine dating back several years.

I practiced my free motion quilting on it and bound it

and now it's ready to hang on a sewing room wall somewhere.

This little quilt has a fraternal twin sister that is still in the flimsy stage.

I finished hand appliquing my happy scrappy basket of flowers.

And I took this little string quilt from the abandoned UFO pile, added one more row of strings

(I'm not sure what it says about me that I could find the same fabrics in my scrap boxes,

since this is a really old UFO.)

 and bordered it with leftovers from another recent project.

I machine quilted this one with wavy ribbons in the strings,

and freemotion feathers around the border.

All it needs is a binding and it can join the pile of baby quilts

my guild is making this year.

This one measures 32 by 35, so it would be perfect for a preemie boy.

I'm linking up with Amanda's Finish it up Friday post and Amy Lou's Sew and Tell.

and Sew Darn Crafty.

Flower arranging

I brought my pieced scrap flower bits to my guild meeting on Monday and asked for some help.

So Karen P, a former florist, started playing with these blooms.

With some advice and rearranging from other guild members,

we eventually came up with this floral arrangement.

I like how they arranged the leaves

and I especially like how together we came up with something

I couldn't have done by myself.

Here's the basket of flowers with my other scrappy blooms and applique blocks.

This is an asymetrical layout, with some blank spots that will eventually

grow vines and flowers.

Here's a symetrical, centre medallion layout.

I'm not liking this one as much.

And the fuzzy picture doesn't help. Sorry!

And happy anniversary to my DH.

20 years of fun together!

String flowers, design walls, and thrift shop finds

I've been playing with more string flowers,

as well as cutting up some ovals in hand dyed fabrics from a previous project

to make bouquets.

These are not appliqued yet, and I've put the leaves and flowers close together

because I'll lose a bit when I hand applique them.

Too busy, right?

What about if the flowers are arranged in a vase?

I like this better. I need to add the stems, and maybe some embellishment on the vase.

After I made this flower, the colours ran into the green. oops.

Here's a flower from Kaffe fabrics and leaves fussy cut from a Kaffe print.

I'll lose some of the background when I turn under the edges.

I've been accused of having quilter's ADHD. It certainly looks like it on my design wall,

since I have three projects going

(and there's more hiding in my WIP and UFO drawer.) AAAACCK!

So instead of sewing, I distracted myself with some purchases from the local thrift shop.

This apron from unbleached muslin is hand embroidered and hemmed,

but needs ties and a neck strap.

Here's close-up of the embroidery.

This is a hemmed square of cotton fabric, 20 by 20 inches.

It has Christian symbols on it (fish, grapes, bread, crown, lamb)

but with a definite 1960s vibe.

I don't have a plan for it, but I liked the colours.

Here's more goodies: a linen tea towel with the clans of Scotland, with some lovely pinks and golds,

Quilter's Edge iron on 1/4 inch tape, and a small pressing ham.

Blooming on my wall

I've finished hand appliquing these two scrappy flower blocks,

measuring 17 by 20,

the perfect size to make a bag to replace this

made by my mother nearly 30 years ago.

I think those folded stars are back in vogue again.

Here's the other side, showcasing her hand quilting.

Or...

I could put them together with my other hand appliqued blocks

and leftover bits

for a bigger quilt.

Those two blocks in the middle with the white and brown still have freezer paper attached.

I have lots of parts left from my modern posies quilt.

This could be fun!

Blooming again

Thanks for all your comments on my scrappy flowers and buds.

I made a few bigger leaves today

and auditioned backgrounds,

finally settling on this black Lipinski print

These blocks are big -- about 17 by 20 inches

Here's the full blown flower on the right, and three buds on the left.

I've started to hand applique the leaves on the left block.

This may be the first of a series of blocks, or maybe not.