Caswell Quilt - Block A5 in progress

Here's an in progress shot of my next block - A5. I've done a little of the appliqué, but mostly I've just cut out all the pieces. I'll take it with me for handwork - and I've got another two blocks ready to go as well.

The red and the yellow fabrics stand out a lot don't they? Hopefully in the big scheme of the quilt they'll fit right in. I'm still amazed by the number of green fabric scraps I've got kicking around in the stash - I know I'm not going to run out ... ever!

In my mind I'm already dreaming of alternate ways I'm going to put this quilt together - I really need to settle on down. With 30 appliqué blocks to make, I'm not going to be at that stage any time soon!

Caswell Quilt - Block A3

Yay, I'm just so thrilled, I've finished my first Caswell quilt block (probably should have given it a better going over with the iron ...):

I'm really super happy with how it looks now - selecting fabrics was part of the fun, and it's amazing how many different ones I have in my stash that will look good in this project. Some of them are super old - the blue/burgundy one in the petals must be 20 years old!

It was fun to spend some serious time needle turn appliquéing, though the Monmellick project had a little, it was all quite simple - this one required serious attention to placement and which order to do things in.

Now I can't decide if I should prep another block to take on vacation with me soon, or if I should stick to the hand-work I already have going ... decisions, decisions!

Block 13 and another beginning ...

Amy and I had a busy day out and about shopping yesterday, and when I got home I took the opportunity to finish putting my next block together:

Block 13 - Indian Plume

So many 1" HST's, I'm so happy they've all lined up nicely. I thought it would be fun to throw that little bird in the centre - I will be using up scraps from my Mrs Billings project forever it seems!

And because I've been dying to start it, last night I prepped and began to appliqué one of the blocks from the Caswell quilt.

This is block A3 - I don't know why I didn't start with A1, but this block appealed to me. As you see I have a long way to go, but I'm enjoying it - the fabric selection is really fun. The top fabric in the big leaf on the left I'm not sure about, but I'll keep going and see if it grows on me.

Well, that's it for now - I'm itching to put some more stitches in the appliqué block ...

Block 40 & 57

Last night I managed to get two more blocks put together, and made good progress on another one which I will finish today. I think this will be a fun project, chipping away at the scraps makes me happy. The blocks don't make a big dent in the stash though, I didn't mention yesterday - these blocks finish at 6 inches - they're by no means large!

For the block I shared already, and the first of these blocks, I was using thangles for the 1" HST's. I don't often use thangles, and I'm not really sure why but some of the HST's were coming out just a smidge undersized - not a lot, but in such a small HST, it was noticeable. So, for block #57 I reverted to my favourite method - to cut a 2" square, stitch either side of a diagonal line and trim - and I'm much happier with the accuracy.

Here are my blocks:

Block 40 - Four Crowns

Can you see in the bottom row there that the HST is a little small? It will disappear into the seam allowance, but having pieces that are a little small makes putting the block together more challenging than it needs to be, and there are a few points on the block that are not quite perfect. Yes, I know, fussy fussy ... I can't help it!!

Block 57 - Quartette

For this block I reverted to my fave technique for HST's, and I'm much happier with the seam intersections - all the pieces came out the right size!

There are a LOT of 1" HST's in this quilt, so I'll get plenty of practice perfecting the technique. The block I'm working on right now has 28 of them! It'll look so cute though :-)

Chatter soon though, I'm dying to get back to my sewing machine!!

Honouring our Quilting Heritage - Lori Smith

I'm excited to report that I'm entirely finished my Montmellick quilt, it's washed, blocked, bound, labelled and a hanging sleeve has been applied. It's in the bag ready to be handed in, yay! I decided not to share a picture just now, I'm going to wait for a little bit, but not too long, I promise!

My next primary projects (yes, I've decided to work on two at once - most unlike me!) are an appliqué quilt, which I'm thinking will be The Caswell Quilt by Corliss Searcy, and a pieced project, Honouring our Quilting Heritage by Lori Smith. 

As well as those two, I'll continue to plug away at my 30's hexies and my French General tumblers when I'm out and about, and as the mood strikes me I'll put together a few scrappy stars here and there.

Today I made up the first block in the Lori Smith pattern ... they're not in numerical order, but in the order they appear in the quilt...

Block 18 - Tic Tac Toe

The original quilt has a lot of brown fabric and a very vintage look. While I'll still be using my repro fabric scraps, I'm probably going to use less brown - I think I'd like a somewhat brighter end result. Let's see how that goes.

I have time on my hands for a couple of days, so I'd really like to get some more blocks made. It's fun to spend time with Bernie again!

Chatter soon xox

Oops, I missed September!

Yesterday I was certain I'd have time to get a post up on here - I'm not sure I've ever gone a whole month without blogging. But before I knew it, it was midnight and my eyes really needed to close - guild work, cardio tennis, school holiday kiddo appts - my day had disappeared.

I have been busy hand quilting on Montmellick, and I'm super excited that I'll have the quilting done in the next day or so - then it's on to binding, hanging sleeve, label etc. I can't wait! There's no picture to share on that project, but soon I promise!

So that I have a little eye candy for you - I wanted to share a project that one of my sweet friends Chris brought to class a couple of weeks ago:

Chris has been working on the Civil War Love Letters quilt for a couple of years now, and she was thrilled to share that she's finished hand quilting. Isn't it just lovely?

The blocks are just lovely, and Chris stuck closely to the fabric and colour combinations in the book. She told us all it was a big learning curve working on the quilt, but so very well worth it.

Doesn't this quilt look just like something I'd work on? I have to admit that I'm very much tempted, but I think I already know what I'll be working on next. And you know I'll share when I begin :-)

Also in the eye candy department:

Betty brought more show and tell - this is a quilt she worked on for her sweet grandson. Isn't it striking made up in solid fabrics?

Betty said she wasn't super happy with her quilting, but we all thought it was absolutely wonderful, and another fabulous finish. How lucky I am to have such creative ladies coming to classes?

Better dash - I have to run Camo to tennis training, and then it's a quick drop off and dash to guild. Tomorrow will be a much quieter day, and I will be able to get back into the hand quilting.

Chatter soon! xox